Oxford Textbook of Clinical Hepatology (Oxford Medical Publications) (2 Volume Set) [Hardcover]

Johannes Bircher (Editor), Jean-Pierre Benhamou (Editor), Neil McIntyre (Editor), Mario Rizzetto (Editor), Juan Rodï¿1/2s (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0192625152 | ISBN-13: 978-0192625151 | Edition: 2

The Oxford Textbook of Hepatology covers the liver and biliary system from basic science to clinical practice and is intended to inform clinicians comprehensively and be up-to-date. The basic science content enables the reader to appreciate the importance of ongoing research. The clinical content covers pathogenesis, etiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment. The effects of liver disease on other systems, and the effect of other diseases on the liver and liliary tract are dealt with in sections unique to this book. The book's comprehensive coverage includes rarer disorders, and drug and toxic insults to the liver. This edition has been very substantially improved, augmented, and brought right up to date throughout and there are many new chapters.

Editorial Reviews

From The New England Journal of Medicine

The five editors of the Oxford Textbook of Clinical Hepatology, all renowned European hepatologists, endeavored to produce a comprehensive account of clinical hepatology. Their main purpose was to provide a useful book for both general clinicians and hepatologists. The result is a well-organized book comprising more than 150 chapters in two volumes. More than 200 authors from Europe, the United States, and other parts of the world contributed to this second edition.

A first curious glance through the pages showed a wealth of figures and illustrations and many photographs and tables, making the text inviting and easily understood. Chapters are structured with many subsections, thereby helping the reader to grasp the relevant contents quickly.

For a more critical appraisal, I selected a few topics to see whether the work reflected the enormous progress hepatology has made during the past few years. I chose the chapters on viral hepatitis, hemochromatosis, ascites and renal dysfunction, and intrahepatic cholestasis. The contribution on viral hepatitis includes initial results of combination therapy with interferon and ribavirin for the treatment of hepatitis C, with references as recent as 1997. This is probably the most up-to-date information one can expect from a textbook appearing in early 1999. The well-written chapter on hemochromatosis extensively covers the current literature on the mutations of the HFE locus of the hemochromatosis gene. The authors provide a detailed diagnostic strategy and an algorithm for family screening, which will be particularly helpful for the reader who is not a hepatologist. I greatly enjoyed the splendid chapter on ascites and renal dysfunction in cirrhosis. Pathogenesis, differential diagnosis, and treatment are described in detail, incorporating the most recent publications. There is ample information about new therapeutic strategies, such as the transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt for the treatment of refractory ascites and "aquaretic" drugs for the treatment of hyponatremia. The chapter on intrahepatic cholestasis is a real pleasure to read. It incorporates information about recently discovered cellular and molecular mechanisms, including studies on the canalicular multispecific-organic-anion transporter. It also deals with the clinical consequences of cholestasis, such as pruritus, and their treatment. Clinicians will greatly appreciate a large table listing drugs reported to cause intrahepatic cholestasis, along with the respective references.

I also selected some clinically relevant issues in order to investigate the practical value of this textbook, especially for general physicians. I looked for portal hypertension, hepatocellular carcinoma, acute liver failure, and liver transplantation. The section on portal hypertension and gastrointestinal bleeding provides an excellent up-to-date overview, even for those familiar with this issue. For a nonspecialist, however, some clear-cut suggestions or algorithms would be helpful with respect to the three clinically relevant situations: treatment of acute variceal bleeding, prevention of rebleeding, and primary prophylaxis against bleeding. A summary for the practicing physician at the end of each chapter should be considered for the next edition of this textbook.

As a gastroenterologist with a particular interest in hepatology, I found the chapter on hepatocellular carcinoma very interesting, because of its wealth of information on the history, epidemiology, and diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. A general physician or internist with another specialty, however, might be more interested in information about how to proceed with a particular patient in the form of algorithms for diagnosis and treatment and new developments. Unfortunately, most of the references in this chapter are from the 1980s, including the information on chemoembolization or ethanol injection. The criteria for the selection of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma for liver transplantation are missing, as is information about new therapeutic approaches, such as interstitial high-frequency therapy and laser therapy. The information on acute liver failure is somehow hidden in a chapter on hemostasis in liver disease. This clinically relevant topic deserves a chapter of its own. The chapter on liver transplantation provides up-to-date information, but basic illustrative coverage of selection criteria might be appreciated by nonhepatologists.

The Oxford Textbook of Clinical Hepatology offers chapters on issues that are hard to find in other textbooks; for example, the ways in which the liver is affected by diseases of other systems, such as cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, hematologic and lymphatic diseases, skin diseases, and endocrine diseases, are extensively covered in seven chapters. Moreover, the effect of liver disease on other systems is taken up in 11 chapters. There is an interesting contribution on liver disease and pregnancy. I also enjoyed a chapter on the history of hepatology, which is probably unique for this kind of textbook. There are interesting appendixes, such as those containing tables on nondrug chemicals and natural toxins causing liver injury or rare diseases accompanied by hepatic abnormalities.

With so many good qualities, there are still aspects of this book that could be improved in future editions. The 81-page index deserves attention: the needs of a clinician who is not a hepatologist could be met more diligently. For example, the reader looking for Budd-Chiari syndrome finds 12 entries but no reference to the chapter on obstruction of the hepatic venous system that extensively deals with this syndrome.

This textbook combines useful information for the care of patients, citations to the relevant literature, and coverage of controversial issues in research and new concepts. It will be very helpful for general physicians and a pleasure for gastroenterologists and hepatologists to read.

Reviewed by Alexander L. Gerbes, M.D.
Copyright © 1999 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS.

Review

Unquestionably the most comprehensive compendium yet devoted to the liver...As a specialist textbook, this one is hard to beat The Lancet a clear, straightforward, and no nonsense approach to the subject...remarkably successful British Medical Journal ...excellent, superb Gastroenterology

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 2229 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (February 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192625152
• ISBN-13: 978-0192625151
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.8 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,933,789 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)