Little Black Book of Geriatrics / Edition 4

by Karen Gershman

Overview

Thoroughly revised and updated, the Fourth Edition of this pocket-sized handbook provides comprehensive, concise, evidence-based information on diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the elderly patient. The Little Black Book of Geriatrics is a convenient resource offering quick access to vital information and makes a great reference for solving pressing problems on the ward or in the clinic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763757717
Publisher:	Jones & Bartlett Learning
Publication date:	08/05/2008
Series:	Jones and Bartlett's Little Black Book
Edition description:	4E
Pages:	458
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 6.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Karen Gershman, MD, CAQ, CMD is the Director of Geriatric Fellowship for Maine Dartmouth Family Practice Residency Program.

Editorial Reviews

2 Stars from Doody

This book is one of a series which uses a compact reference-based format to review a specialty, in this case geriatric medicine. Its purpose is to provide a concise guide to geriatric medicine and to serve as a quick and easy reference to geriatrics. Its audience is house officers, medical students, and practicing primary care physicians. Some tables in this book give useful comparison data (e.g., causes of dementing illnesses). Some of the references are to specific review course syllabi not generally available to individuals or libraries. This is the hieroglyphics approach to geriatrics. There is nary a complete sentence in the text of this book. Although the idea of a compact ready reference to geriatrics is brilliant, this book fails in the execution. Some concepts are presented too superficially to note important exceptions; some are misleading. Overall, this book is too flawed to find wide use.

David O. Staats

A comprehensive overview of health problems and care options associated with the elderly. Covers common geriatric problems; health care maintenance; ailments related to specific disciplines such as endocrinology, psychiatry, cardiology, and orthopedics; and ethical concerns. Most entries include disease name, cause, epidemiologic information, pathophysiology, symptoms, signs, course of disease, complications, tests, radiologic studies, and treatments. Small format and good organization make for a convenient quick reference. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

Reviewer: David O. Staats, MD (University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center)
Description: This is the third edition of a compact handbook of common problems encountered in geriatric medicine. It strives to provide evidence-based recommendations.
Purpose: Its purpose is to provide a convenient practical compact handbook for use in clinic, nursing home, or hospital.
Audience: The audience here is trainees — medical students and house officers — and practitioners.
Features: Each entry has a similar format of cause, epidemiology, pathophysiology, symptoms, signs, course, complications, diagnostic procedures, treatment (preventive and therapeutic), and team management. The references seem somewhat out of date. The index seems incomplete and difficult to use. There are a number of useful tables and flow charts in some of the entries.
Assessment: There is a lot of information in this book. Its outline form is favored by some, but the pagination and entries are choppy. There is an expansion of information here over the earlier editions, especially in discussing dementing illnesses. On the whole, this book is lackluster.

Doody's Review Service