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Color textbook of pediatric dermatology, 4th ed
BOOK
Color textbook of pediatric dermatology, 4th ed William L. Weston, Alfred T. Lane, and Joseph G. Morelli, 2007, Saint Louis, Mosby. 446 pages. $134.00. ISBN: 978-0-323-04909-2. Written with great enthusiasm for the topic and in clear, expository prose, Weston, Lane, and Morelli strike an accomplished balance between references from current medical literature and interpretation of that information to support recommended treatments and approaches to disease states. Every reader may not agree with every recommended therapy, but therein lies the art of medicine, especially as it pertains to treating pediatric patients. To compare the text with a wholly different field, and with regard to the treatment regimens especially, the tone of the authors is reminiscent of Julia Child in her Mastering the Art of French Cooking, combining the experience of a career’s work with an eagerness to give pithy, practical advice to colleagues. The authors’ goal of creating a format for teaching pediatric dermatology to trainees guides the outline for the text. Experienced dermatologists and trainees alike will find value in the problemoriented differential diagnoses on the front and back covers of the book, in addition to those described in the discussion of each disease. The book is filled with so many high quality photographs that it could easily be marketed not only as a textbook but also as an atlas. The photographs also show, in many cases— and to the authors’ credit—the great variability in presentation of the same condition, which further enhances the book’s didactic value. Chapters 8 (‘‘Viral Infections’’) and 20 (‘‘Drug Eruptions’’) are especially well done, both distinguished by many helpful tables outlining differential diagnoses for these two entities with extensive clinical overlap, especially in the hospitalized pediatric patient. With chapters titles such as ‘‘Disorders of Pigmentation: The White Lesions and the Brown Lesions’’ and ‘‘Immobile and Hypermobile Skin,’’ the authors show that by considering diseases morphologically, one can appreciate a fuller understanding of the pathogenesis. The accompanying CD-ROM includes images from the text and 25 Patient Education Sheets for common dermatologic diagnoses in children that will be of great use to pediatricians and dermatologists alike. The language in the handouts has inherent didactic value for residents and students, in teaching ways to explain diagnoses and treatments J AM ACAD DERMATOL
REVIEWS
to patients and parents. The Color Textbook of Pediatric Dermatology, 4th ed will be a welcome, substantive addition to the library—and clinic—of practitioners caring for the pediatric dermatology patient. Katherine B. Puttgen, MD Baltimore, Maryland doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2008.05.019
Mycosis fungoides: Perspective historical allied with critique methodical for the purpose of illumination maximal. Atlas and text A. Bernard Ackerman, Kwame Denianke, Jennifer Sceppa, Masoud Asgari, Francois Milette, and Jorge Sanchez, 2008, New York, Ardor Scribendi. 316 pages. $130.00. ISBN: 978-1-893-35734-1. This book is a pleasure to read, well organized, lucid, and written in a clear and incisive manner. The atlas in the first part of the book demonstrates the varied clinical presentations of mycosis fungoides (MF) and correlates them with their histologic features. This case-based correlation of multiple clinical and pathologic presentations is unique and extremely helpful. The text is divided into two parts to provide a context for the discussion: ‘‘Part I: Mycosis fungoides: 1806-1979,’’ and ‘‘Part II: Mycosis fungoides: 1979 to present.’’ In each part, articles on MF are briefly summarized then followed by a critique. Part I reviews the significant publications on MF based upon the year the article was published, starting with Alibert’s seminal article in 1806. All of the key articles by Bazin, Hallopeau and Besnier, Riehl, Unna, Brocq, Kiel, Worringer-Kolipp, Darier, Se´zary, Degos, Pinkus, Blufarb, Civatte, Hu and Winkelmann, Braun-Falco, and other famous dermatologists are discussed. I not only thoroughly enjoyed reading about some of the viewpoints our predecessors espoused that turned out to be erroneous, but the historical background also helped me understand our current thinking. For example, in 1870, Bazin described ‘‘(1) An erythematous period [. . .]; (2) A lichenoid period [. . .]; and (3) A mycotic or fungoidic period,’’ which corresponds to our current concept of the patch, plaque, and tumor stages.1 However, because of ideas first espoused by Alibert and Bazin, the disease was AUGUST 2008 359
Color textbook of pediatric dermatology, 4th ed William L. Weston, Alfred T. Lane, and Joseph G. Morelli, 2007, Saint Louis, Mosby. 446 pages. $134.00. ISBN: 978-0-323-04909-2. Written with great enthusiasm for the topic and in clear, expository prose, Weston, Lane, and Morelli strike an accomplished balance between references from current medical literature and interpretation of that information to support recommended treatments and approaches to disease states. Every reader may not agree with every recommended therapy, but therein lies the art of medicine, especially as it pertains to treating pediatric patients. To compare the text with a wholly different field, and with regard to the treatment regimens especially, the tone of the authors is reminiscent of Julia Child in her Mastering the Art of French Cooking, combining the experience of a career’s work with an eagerness to give pithy, practical advice to colleagues. The authors’ goal of creating a format for teaching pediatric dermatology to trainees guides the outline for the text. Experienced dermatologists and trainees alike will find value in the problemoriented differential diagnoses on the front and back covers of the book, in addition to those described in the discussion of each disease. The book is filled with so many high quality photographs that it could easily be marketed not only as a textbook but also as an atlas. The photographs also show, in many cases— and to the authors’ credit—the great variability in presentation of the same condition, which further enhances the book’s didactic value. Chapters 8 (‘‘Viral Infections’’) and 20 (‘‘Drug Eruptions’’) are especially well done, both distinguished by many helpful tables outlining differential diagnoses for these two entities with extensive clinical overlap, especially in the hospitalized pediatric patient. With chapters titles such as ‘‘Disorders of Pigmentation: The White Lesions and the Brown Lesions’’ and ‘‘Immobile and Hypermobile Skin,’’ the authors show that by considering diseases morphologically, one can appreciate a fuller understanding of the pathogenesis. The accompanying CD-ROM includes images from the text and 25 Patient Education Sheets for common dermatologic diagnoses in children that will be of great use to pediatricians and dermatologists alike. The language in the handouts has inherent didactic value for residents and students, in teaching ways to explain diagnoses and treatments J AM ACAD DERMATOL
REVIEWS
to patients and parents. The Color Textbook of Pediatric Dermatology, 4th ed will be a welcome, substantive addition to the library—and clinic—of practitioners caring for the pediatric dermatology patient. Katherine B. Puttgen, MD Baltimore, Maryland doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2008.05.019
Mycosis fungoides: Perspective historical allied with critique methodical for the purpose of illumination maximal. Atlas and text A. Bernard Ackerman, Kwame Denianke, Jennifer Sceppa, Masoud Asgari, Francois Milette, and Jorge Sanchez, 2008, New York, Ardor Scribendi. 316 pages. $130.00. ISBN: 978-1-893-35734-1. This book is a pleasure to read, well organized, lucid, and written in a clear and incisive manner. The atlas in the first part of the book demonstrates the varied clinical presentations of mycosis fungoides (MF) and correlates them with their histologic features. This case-based correlation of multiple clinical and pathologic presentations is unique and extremely helpful. The text is divided into two parts to provide a context for the discussion: ‘‘Part I: Mycosis fungoides: 1806-1979,’’ and ‘‘Part II: Mycosis fungoides: 1979 to present.’’ In each part, articles on MF are briefly summarized then followed by a critique. Part I reviews the significant publications on MF based upon the year the article was published, starting with Alibert’s seminal article in 1806. All of the key articles by Bazin, Hallopeau and Besnier, Riehl, Unna, Brocq, Kiel, Worringer-Kolipp, Darier, Se´zary, Degos, Pinkus, Blufarb, Civatte, Hu and Winkelmann, Braun-Falco, and other famous dermatologists are discussed. I not only thoroughly enjoyed reading about some of the viewpoints our predecessors espoused that turned out to be erroneous, but the historical background also helped me understand our current thinking. For example, in 1870, Bazin described ‘‘(1) An erythematous period [. . .]; (2) A lichenoid period [. . .]; and (3) A mycotic or fungoidic period,’’ which corresponds to our current concept of the patch, plaque, and tumor stages.1 However, because of ideas first espoused by Alibert and Bazin, the disease was AUGUST 2008 359