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Manual of Rheumatology
Editor-in-Chief : Dr. PK Pispati
Associate Editors : Dr. NE Borges and Dr. SS Uppal
There are medical textbooks for every discipline written and published in India, save for Rheumatology. This void has now been filled. The Indian Rheumatology Association commissioned and published in December, 1999 the 'Manual of Rheumatology' intended for postgraduates in internal medicine, rheumatology and also for orthopaedic surgeons and family physicians. This in itself is an admirable attempt and marks pioneering efforts.Such a publication is particularly relevant as rheumatology is not taught at an undergraduate level at all and hardly taught at postgraduate level.
The book opens with the first chapter 'A Clinical Approach to the Rheumatic Patient'. This chapter is written in a lucid, cogent manner replete with algorithms and diagrams. The complexities of Immunology of Rheumatic Diseases are simplified in the next chapter. Hardcore approach to laboratory investigations for arthritis is discussed in the third chapter. Radiology of Arthritis is vividly described next. The chapter on Rheumatoid Arthritis could afford to carry more of Indian data. Seronegative Spondyloarthropathies and Infection and Arthritis are no nonsense chapters. Rheumatic Manifestations of HIV is a bold attempt to bring in recent knowledge. Gout is described in a picturesque manner and is very readable. Arthritis in children has melodramatic description. SLE makes it a very readable chapter and so also Antiphospholipid Syndrome, a fashionable disease in rheumatology. Scleroderma, Polymyositis and Dermatomyositis, Vasculitis, Osteoarthritis and Osteoporosis are all described in a commendable way. Soft Tissue Rheumatism, Fibromyalgia and low backache are common bug-bears of rheumatic diseases and are clarified to a great extent. Drug Treatment of Rheumatic Diseases is described routinely. Emergencies in Rheumatology is a fascinating chapter and finally the authors address the problems and prospects of patient education fairly and squarely in the last chapter.
Whereas disease criteria which are listed make it a handy compendium the index is missing.
At a time when rheumatic diseases are assuming growing importance, the Manual of Rheumatology is a timely publication. All the authors and particularly the Editor-in-Chief Dr. Prakash K Pispati and his Associate Editors Dr. Nirupa E Borges and Dr. SS Uppal deserve kudos for bringing out this absolute must publication on your desk.
OP KAPOOR
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