Primary Care of Women, 2e [Hardcover]

Karen J. Carlson MD (Editor), Stephanie A. Eisenstat MD (Editor), Fredric D. Frigoletto Jr. MD (Editor), Isaac Schiff MD (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0323010652 | ISBN-13: 978-0323010658 | Publication Date: March 29, 2002 | Edition: 2

This up-to-date and expanded 2 nd edition is an invaluable resource for clinicians committed to providing primary health care to women. It provides a concise, practical synthesis of knowledge from various disciplines, including sections on medical disease, behavioral medicine, and prevention. Coverage focuses on problems commonly seen in primary care practice that occur more frequently or exclusively in women, or that manifest differently or respond differently to treatment in women than men. All topics are thoroughly addressed in a focused, well-organized approach that helps readers quickly locate answers to specific questions. With its focused presentation and clear discussion, Primary Care of Women, 2nd Edition offers an authoritative look at the complexities of a woman's biological, emotional, and social functioning in the context of her physical and mental health.

• In addition to problems treated mainly by primary care clinicians, content also includes information on conditions managed by specialists, providing a comprehensive source for all women's health considerations.
  
• A section on psychology and behavior provides a framework for addressing many of the problems that prompt women to seek medical care, including depression, obesity, and domestic violence.
  
• Screening and prevention, essential aspects of primary care practice, are reviewed.
  
• The interaction of pregnancy and medical illness is covered, addressing a range of issues including: the effects of specific medical problems on fertility, maternal health, and fetal well-being; the effects of pregnancy on existing diseases; the evaluation and management of problems in early pregnancy; and modification of treatment during pregnancy.
  
• An emphasis on clinical decision making and a problem-oriented focus makes this reference practical and useful for the clinical setting, with extensive cross-references, tables, and summaries of management recommendations.
  
• Relevant scientific data is included when available to support the book's clinical focus.
  
• Attention to the cost-effectiveness of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions is implicitly and explicitly considered, with guidelines for efficient use of subspecialty resources.
  
• The patient's preferences are considered key components of the clinical decision-making process, offering tips for patient education such as what the patient can expect from specific tests or treatments as well as the probabilities of various treatment outcomes.

• Coverage of problems affecting aging women, including memory loss/Alzheimer's and degenerative arthritis, has been expanded.
  
• More subspecialties are represented in this edition, covering topics specific to allergy, chronic pain management, oral surgery, sports medicine, and more.
  
• Special populations of women, such as disabled and homeless women, are included with specific treatment considerations where appropriate.
  
• New topics are addressed in this edition, including: pulmonary disorders, sleep disorders, sports injuries, chronic pain syndromes.
  
• New chapters have been added on: hypertension, allergy, temporomandibular joint syndrome, memory loss/Alzheimer's, GERD/peptic ulcer disease, and chronic cough.
  
• Material on topics such as menopause, osteoporosis, obesity, breast cancer, and diabetes, has been thoroughly revised.

Editorial Reviews

From The New England Journal of Medicine

The goal of this book is to provide a practical reference on the primary care of ambulatory women. After reading the book, I tested its usefulness in answering questions that arose in my office practice of family medicine and in my usual academic work. I found that the choice of topics was broad and the material was often dealt with in depth. The book is organized in typical chapters and subsections. There are few lists, a limited number of tables, figures, and algorithms (in black and white), and occasional case discussions. These aids are well chosen and appropriate to the topics. Examples of useful figures and tables include the figure entitled "Diagnostic Tests and Diagnoses to Consider from Antinuclear Antibody Pattern" and the table entitled "Evaluation of Hyperandrogenism." The format lends itself more to in-depth reading than to quick referral to refresh one's memory about a specific fact when one has a patient in the office. There are no handouts for patients. Basic, but not detailed, information about physiology and epidemiology is provided. Chapters have bibliographies but are not specifically referenced. The emphasis on women's health is obvious. The chapter on common dermatology emphasizes many of the skin problems that affect women in particular. Most chapters dealing with specific diseases include material relevant to pregnancy, and there is a section on medical diagnoses in pregnancy. Most discussions of drugs also note special uses for women and indications or contraindications in pregnant women, and there is a specific chapter on the use of drugs during pregnancy. Many of the chapters are excellent (e.g., those on liver disease, sexual dysfunction, breast cancer, and domestic violence). The book is clinically focused and useful. Controversies (such as that over the use of mammography and other screening techniques) are handled with balance and aplomb. Common, rather than rare, entities are emphasized. This is clearly a book about outpatient care, rather than about inpatient care, emergency medicine, or intrapartum and surgical management. The doctor-patient interaction and psychological issues are frequently dealt with in the clinical chapters but not uniformly in the chapters in the section on behavioral medicine. For example, the chapter on depression emphasizes risk factors and the use of drugs more than the use of psychological counseling or practical tools for interaction between the primary care clinician and the patient. By contrast, the chapters on sexual assault and care of the homeless woman included many such sensible tips. Information on nutrition is interspersed but not usually emphasized. Some of the omissions I found as I tried to use the book in caring for my patients also highlight the topics chosen by the editors. Several musculoskeletal disorders are not covered with the level of detail needed for the treatment of many of my patients, such as the young marathon runner with various overuse injuries or the elderly patient with rotator cuff syndrome or frozen shoulder. There is no mention of cocaine in the discussion of stroke syndromes in young women. The atypical but relatively common symptom of weakness and fatigue in the legs with walking is not mentioned in the section on peripheral vascular disease. The relative efficacy of topical steroids as compared with oral antihistamines for allergic rhinitis is not mentioned. Potentially life-threatening angioedema is not on the list of side effects of angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors used for hypertension, but I have seen this condition twice recently. There is no discussion of hypercalcemia or hyperparathyroidism. In my judgment, there is a tendency to overemphasize testing and underemphasize clinical trials for symptoms (for instance, in an algorithm provided for chronic cough). There is an adult weight-for-height table but not a body-mass index table. More Internet sources could be listed, and a chapter on issues for gay women would add substance. As a primary care clinician, I find that no one source of information provides everything I need for my practice. This book does not either. However, it has much to offer. As a book editor myself, I thought the editors provided a good balance between the use of a set chapter format to enhance readability and the flexibility to maximize the substance needed in the coverage of many topics. This book is useful both for general review reading and as an occasional quick reference source to keep available on the office bookshelf. Marjorie A. Bowman, M.D., M.P.A.
Copyright © 2002 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS.

Review

"The choice of topics was broad and the material was often dealt with in depth...Many of the chapters are excellent...the book is clinically focused and useful.This book is useful both for general review reading and as an occasional quick reference source to keep avaiable on the office bookshelf."(The New England Journal of Medicine,December 5,2002)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 832 pages
• Publisher: Mosby; 2 edition (March 29, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0323010652
• ISBN-13: 978-0323010658
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #677,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)