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Das entmündigtenproblem unter sozialpsychiatrischem aspekt
[ 12
B(X)K REVIEWS
latrogenic Diseases points out that one in I\)ur patients admitted to general medical beds (at the Johns Hopkins Hospital) exhibited adverse drug reactions, that 5°~, of admissions were due to such reactions, that 13.6",, of patients developed such complications during hospital treatment, and that six of 714 patients admitted died of drug toxicity acquired during their stay in hospital. By comparison with surgical mortality even for fairly minor procedures, this figure is of course small, but it serves to remind us that treatment by a modern physician is not entirely without its hazards. latrogenic Diseases is first-class, and should be in every hospital library. It begins with two chapters. on the epidemiology of iatrogenic disease and drug interactions respectively, and then works through the clinical manifestations of drug reactions in every body system. The neurologist will find useful information, for example, on thalidomide, nitro~
furantoin and imipramine neuropathics: on antibiotic-induced neuromuscular blockade: on myopathies due to chloroquine, corticosteroids and emetine; and of course on the remarkable neurological syndromes that may complicate the administration of the phenothiazines. The presenta.tion is concise, detailed, accurate, and splendidly documented though nearly all the literature surveyed is in the English language. To one who has been so often infuriated by papers m which a drug familiar all over the world under its proprietary label i-, camonflaged under an outlandish " ' p r o p e r chemical description, the concluding cross-index of official and proprietary drug names furnishes an invaluable appendix to the volume. The fact that in addition to its many other virtues the book is actually readable strengthens the re~iewer's unreserved recommendation. lit N~'~ MILLER
Das Entmiindigtenproblem unter sozialpsychiatrischem Aspekt (Medizinisch-juristische Grenzfragem No. 12), by K. SEIDEL AND V. PAPPERITZ, 80 pages, 6 illustrations, 29 tables, VEB Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena, 1972, M 12.
The prevalence rate was 1.7 per I00,0~) of the general population. The study comprises a statistical examination of the age and sex structure of this patient group as well as an appraisal of relevant social and medical characteristics. In view of the radical social changes which have taken place in Eastern Germany since 1945, comparison is also made with a comparable group of patients before that time. The authors discuss their findings in the light of these changes, with particular emphasis on the forensic aspects which have been considerably influenced by recent legislation introduced in 1968. Although the difficulties in extrapolating from studies confined to a particular area are well recognized, this book provides many points of interest which have wider and more general implications.
The need for custodial care and the criteria used for the certification of mentally ill patients, are aspects of medical practice which in a democratic society need to be kept under constant review. In more recent years, the remarkable advances in treatment and changes in social attitudes have been reflected in many countries by the introduction of less rigid and more human legislation. This monograph describes the findings of an epidemiological study of 328 patients resident in Dresden and its surrounding district, who were compulsorily detained because of mental illness.
Research Methods in Psyehopatholoyy (Approaches to Behavior Pathology Series), by T. MILLON AND H. I. DIESENHAUS,xvi+ 191 pages, 15 illustrations, 14 tables, Wiley, Sussex, 1972, £2.85 (cloth), £1.75 (paper). Books on psychopathology form a very large part of the vast and rapidly expanding library of psych ology texts. The size of the literature of psychopathology, which has been defined (by one of the authors) as "that important field of medicine and psychology concerned with the study of maladaprive behaviour, its aetiology, development, diagnosis and therapy", reflects the widely different approaches and theories relating to abnormal human behaviour. This book, however, is not concerned with these aspects but with an examination of research methodology in this complex area of study. Primarily intended for undergraduate stu-
K S( HAPtRA
dents, this book makes a valuable contribution anti fills an important gap in the current literature. The main part of the volume is devoted to a critical examination of methods which have been employed in the investigation of abnormal human behaviour. The authors classify these methods according to different kinds of data level which they divide into (I) biophysical data, (2) intrapsychic data, (3~ phenomenological data, and (4) behavioural data. The methods applicable to each of these lbur different levels are then fully described and critically examined in a clinical context. This is an excellent book and one which will bc read with benefit by even the postgraduate student. since the authors also cover many fundamental aspects of research such as the importance of specifying the problem, selecting a research design, and the analysis and interpretation of results. These topics receive careful attention and are lucidly dis-
B(X)K REVIEWS
latrogenic Diseases points out that one in I\)ur patients admitted to general medical beds (at the Johns Hopkins Hospital) exhibited adverse drug reactions, that 5°~, of admissions were due to such reactions, that 13.6",, of patients developed such complications during hospital treatment, and that six of 714 patients admitted died of drug toxicity acquired during their stay in hospital. By comparison with surgical mortality even for fairly minor procedures, this figure is of course small, but it serves to remind us that treatment by a modern physician is not entirely without its hazards. latrogenic Diseases is first-class, and should be in every hospital library. It begins with two chapters. on the epidemiology of iatrogenic disease and drug interactions respectively, and then works through the clinical manifestations of drug reactions in every body system. The neurologist will find useful information, for example, on thalidomide, nitro~
furantoin and imipramine neuropathics: on antibiotic-induced neuromuscular blockade: on myopathies due to chloroquine, corticosteroids and emetine; and of course on the remarkable neurological syndromes that may complicate the administration of the phenothiazines. The presenta.tion is concise, detailed, accurate, and splendidly documented though nearly all the literature surveyed is in the English language. To one who has been so often infuriated by papers m which a drug familiar all over the world under its proprietary label i-, camonflaged under an outlandish " ' p r o p e r chemical description, the concluding cross-index of official and proprietary drug names furnishes an invaluable appendix to the volume. The fact that in addition to its many other virtues the book is actually readable strengthens the re~iewer's unreserved recommendation. lit N~'~ MILLER
Das Entmiindigtenproblem unter sozialpsychiatrischem Aspekt (Medizinisch-juristische Grenzfragem No. 12), by K. SEIDEL AND V. PAPPERITZ, 80 pages, 6 illustrations, 29 tables, VEB Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena, 1972, M 12.
The prevalence rate was 1.7 per I00,0~) of the general population. The study comprises a statistical examination of the age and sex structure of this patient group as well as an appraisal of relevant social and medical characteristics. In view of the radical social changes which have taken place in Eastern Germany since 1945, comparison is also made with a comparable group of patients before that time. The authors discuss their findings in the light of these changes, with particular emphasis on the forensic aspects which have been considerably influenced by recent legislation introduced in 1968. Although the difficulties in extrapolating from studies confined to a particular area are well recognized, this book provides many points of interest which have wider and more general implications.
The need for custodial care and the criteria used for the certification of mentally ill patients, are aspects of medical practice which in a democratic society need to be kept under constant review. In more recent years, the remarkable advances in treatment and changes in social attitudes have been reflected in many countries by the introduction of less rigid and more human legislation. This monograph describes the findings of an epidemiological study of 328 patients resident in Dresden and its surrounding district, who were compulsorily detained because of mental illness.
Research Methods in Psyehopatholoyy (Approaches to Behavior Pathology Series), by T. MILLON AND H. I. DIESENHAUS,xvi+ 191 pages, 15 illustrations, 14 tables, Wiley, Sussex, 1972, £2.85 (cloth), £1.75 (paper). Books on psychopathology form a very large part of the vast and rapidly expanding library of psych ology texts. The size of the literature of psychopathology, which has been defined (by one of the authors) as "that important field of medicine and psychology concerned with the study of maladaprive behaviour, its aetiology, development, diagnosis and therapy", reflects the widely different approaches and theories relating to abnormal human behaviour. This book, however, is not concerned with these aspects but with an examination of research methodology in this complex area of study. Primarily intended for undergraduate stu-
K S( HAPtRA
dents, this book makes a valuable contribution anti fills an important gap in the current literature. The main part of the volume is devoted to a critical examination of methods which have been employed in the investigation of abnormal human behaviour. The authors classify these methods according to different kinds of data level which they divide into (I) biophysical data, (2) intrapsychic data, (3~ phenomenological data, and (4) behavioural data. The methods applicable to each of these lbur different levels are then fully described and critically examined in a clinical context. This is an excellent book and one which will bc read with benefit by even the postgraduate student. since the authors also cover many fundamental aspects of research such as the importance of specifying the problem, selecting a research design, and the analysis and interpretation of results. These topics receive careful attention and are lucidly dis-