Customer Reviews

Tropical Dermatology (Vademecum)

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This editorial novelty is a handbook for students and physicians, as it is a compendium of the most frequently encountered and important tropical dermatoses by naming their geographic distribution, etiology, clinical characteristics, and treatments. Superficial mycosis, pseudomycosis, subcutaneous mycosis, systemic mycosis, opportunistic mycosis, mycobacterial infections, pyodermas, treponematosis, genital and tropical ulcers, parasitic, viral and contact dermatosis, insect bites, dyschromias and many others are included.

The need for a tropical dermatology handbook has been accelerated by the current phenomenon of rapid globalization and the fact that 75% of the world population lives in the tropical and subtropical regions. Most of these dermatoses affect not only these regions and lower socioeconomic groups but also the immunocompromised hosts, so frequently seen in our daily practice. Patients undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplants, immunossuppresion treatments and those suffering from AIDS are becoming a daily challenge in our practice, as they are occasionally compromised by these tropical dermatoses, most of them well known in the tropical region of Mexico.

Through the collaboration of 28 authors, the main concepts of these dermatoses are clearly elucidated. There are 17 chapters, 358 pages, 8 tables and an outstanding iconographic collection of 206 black and white clinical, microscopic illustrations.

There is no doubt that "Tropical Dermatology" reviews the basic tenets of public health in the field of tropical dermatology. The editors, Roberto Arenas and Roberto Estrada, illuminate this with their knowledge, abilities and experience as teachers, writers and editors. They succeed in selecting a group of well known authors who are experts in their fields, and succeed in obtaining an interesting handbook that is versatile, precise, concise and easy to read and comprehend. As it is written in English, it goes beyond the medical language of international barriers.

This "Tropical Dermatology" handbook should be on the bookshelves of all of us interested in the fields of dermatology, infectious disease or public health.

Two of the biggest names in Mexican Dermatology and international skin tropical disease research/patient management have combined to edit a very useful, practical book about tropical dermatology. The text includes chapters from the editors and 28 expert contributors (mainly from Mexico) covering all dermatoses (mostly infectious diseases) common to the tropics. Each chapter is concise and the writing style is uniform - all diseases are subdivided into the same subsections - brief historical introduction, geograpical distribution, etiology, clinical picture, and treatment. The text is easy to read, well indexed and adequately illustrated, although all figures (nearly 200 in all) are in black and white in order to keep production costs low. The book is a compact size with a ring-binder spine in keeping with other volumes in the Landes Bioscience Vademecum series. It is an ideal book for a big coat pocket or the clinic desk drawer. It is the sort of book that is extremely useful if one happens to be puzzling over a patient from the tropics and thinking "I wonder if it could be that...?" Chances are that the memory can be focused very quickly with a quick dip into this book.

Aside from dermatologists, this book will certainly be of interest to mycologists and indeed any physician who either practices in tropical countries or sees patients that travel to the tropics. For trainees in dermatology this book provides essential core knowledge (for example, all you need to know about rhinosporidosis in 500 words and 3 illustrations - remember this next time you examine a patient with an odd intranasal papule!) and would prove to be a good investment. Drs. Arenas and Estrada are to be congratulated on producing an important and readable book. It has been well received in Mexico and it deserves to be an international success. The reviewer's copy of this book has been donated to the Calnan library at St. John's Institute of Dermatology. I encourage you to have a look at it, and then buy your own copy.

This manual is directed at a broad audience: medical students, general practicioners, health professionals, and humanitarian organizations, as well as well informed and careful travellers. It is of interest to anyone living or working in a tropical area. Presented in an easy to read format, the book has 358 pages and 206 figures with black and white illustrations. The text is concise, precise and written in english for broad audience appeal.

Three quarters of the world population live in tropical or subtropical regions which are often characterized by extreme poverty and severe living conditions. It is here that the grave tropical diseases are concentrated, constituting tropical pathology. Roberto Arenas and Roberto Estrada are dermatologists practicing in Mexico, a country where they are able to observe the full spectrum of tropical pathology, rendering them highly qualified to direct the publication of this manual of tropical dermatology.

The editors have compiled this brief, but complete, manual with the input of experts in the field of tropical dermatological diseases. 70 dermatoses, are presented in order of importance. The mycoses (22 of the 70) are presented first: superficial mycosis, psuedomycosis, subcutaneous mycosis and mycosis by opportunists. The other chapters describe other tropical dermatoses, mycobacteriosis, pyodermas, treponematosis and genital ulcers, parasitic dermatosis, virosis, etc. For each of the 70 diseases detailed, the co-authors describe the geographic location, epidemiology, etiology, clinical picture, laboratory characteristics and treatment. Each chapter ends with selected bibliographic references.

In short, this manual is practical and highly recommended. It is simple but complete, making it perfect for the reader who would like to expand his information base about tropical dermatology. The only regret is that the excellent photographs are not available in color which would add value to this handbook.

With his previous work included in publications such as The Atlas of Dermatology and Medical Mycology, Dr Roberto ArenasÕ participation in any publication pertaining to tropical dermatology along with Dr. EstradaÕs experience in community medicine are automatic guarantees of the bookÕs quality. This book is clearly written and easily understood. It covers a broad range of tropical pathology including general mycosis, parasitic illnesses, malnutrition induced skin disorders, tropical ulcers and contact dermatoses from marine animals and arthropods. Tropical Dermatology should be included in libraries of Dermatologists, Mycologists, Pediatricians, Internists, and General Practitioners. While its target audience consists primarily of physicians and health professional in tropical and sub-tropical areas, the book also serves as a beneficial resource for physicians unfamiliar with tropical medicine as well as in areas where these illnesses do not prevail.

This is an interesting and complete book. Due to its diagnostic and therapeutic orientation, it is of very practical use. The black and white photographs are of good quality and the references are well selected and up to date.

This handbook will be useful for physicians in training as well as physicians of non-tropical countries.

Drs. ArenasÕ and EstradaÕs professional acumen is well known throughout Mexico as well as the UK, France, Italy, Thailand, Peru and Brazil.