Psychiatric Bulletin (2006) 30: 79. doi: 10.1192/pb.30.2.79
© 2006 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Psychiatric Bulletin (2006) 30: 79
© 2006 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Adverse Syndromes and Psychiatric Drugs: A Clinical Guide
Shubhra Mace, Principal Clinical Pharmacist
South London and Maudsley NHS Trust
Peter Haddad, Serdar Dursan & Bill Deakin (eds) Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2004, £29.95 pb, 330 pp. ISBN: 0-19-852748-9
There are books to suit different purposes. For example, one may read a
book for pleasure, use another for a particular reference and another still as
an academic text. Then there is a book such as this one that fulfils all of
these criteria.
This book covers a number of adverse syndromes associated with drugs used
in psychiatry, including relatively common scenarios such as extrapyramidal
side-effects and extending to less well-understood phenomena such as diabetes
mellitus and neuroleptic malignant syndrome. All the chapters follow the same
format including sections on clinical features of the syndrome, differential
diagnosis, management, risk factors and prevention, with a summary at the
end.
There are few surprises in the recommendations, which on the whole appear
to be in line with current practice guidelines, although less so with
practice. One of the great strengths of the book is that it can be used as a
guide to aid clinical practice rather than solely as an academic text.
This book is a welcome addition to a slowly growing collection of practical
guides on drugs used in psychiatry. It is a stimulating read and will appeal
to academics and clinicians alike. I recommend it to psychiatrists,
pharmacists, general practitioners, nurses and any other healthcare
professionals involved with or interested in drug treatment in psychiatry.
