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Inflammatory bowel disease
DIGEST LIUER DIS 2000;32:365-6
Book reviews Disease of the liver and biliary system in children Editor: D.A. Kelly Blackwell Science Ltd. Oxford, UK, 1999, 375 pages, g99.50. ISBN o-632-04802-6. Format: Hardcover book. Purpose: To cover all the essential aspects of liver and biliary diseases occurring in children, with special emphasis on diagnosis and patient management. Content: The topics described in this book vary considerably ranging from the genetic and biochemical abnormalities involved in the pathogenesis of liver disease to the diagnostic and therapeutic aspects which may be useful in clinical practice. All the different liver and biliary diseases, both common and uncommon, are adequately described in the nine sections. The last part of the book includes an Atlas with 75 plates which is a pattitularly useful tool for post-graduate students. Commentary: The large amount of information gathered over the last few decades in adults had not been paralleled by paediatric hepatology. The careful search and review of relevant literature published until 1998 contributes to fill this gap. The competence of the authors, chosen from several countries for their clinical and scientific expertise ensures the excellent quality. Hifihlifihts: The format of each chapter is remarkably uniform with a large number of algorithms and tables. They offer a synthetic view of the state of the art for most topics. The efforts not only of the editor but also of the authors to cover all the relevant practical aspects is clearly evident to the reader. limitations: The chapter of chronic hepatitis is not as informative as some of the others. The important issue concerning antiviral therapy in children has not been dealt with in detail, most of the data being derived from studies in adults. Equally sclerosing cholangitis has been included in this chapter. Final note: This book will be useful to gastroenterologists, not only in the paediatric setting, by offering practical advice. Also general paediatricians and post-graduate students will benefit thanks to the up-to-date information included. The price is more than reasonable. Reviewer: M. Podda (Milan, Italy).
Inflammatory bowel disease J.B. Kirsner W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, USA, 800 pages, US$l45. ISBN o-7216-7616-2 Format: Hardcover book. Purpose: This book - now in its 51h edition (first published in 1975) tries, with success, to describe all the basic and clinical advances made in these last few years in the IBD field and aims at presenting the most up-dated overview of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Content: All you need to know about inflammatory bowel disease is easily found in this book, which, in the present edition, is divided into eight sections which cover homeostasis of the bowel, aetiology and pathogenesis, clinical aspects, pathologic, endoscopic and radiologic features, as well as medical, surgical and prognostic problems (300 pages dedicated to the latter three). Commentary: The writer has the four previous editions of this book in his personal library, a book which is in continuous competition with the other great text on IBD, coming predominantly from the UK, namely “Inflammatory bowel disease” by R.N. Allen et al. (which reached its third edition in 1997). In his more than 30 years dedicated to these diseases, the reviewer believes he has spent many mornings, nights, Sundays and holidays
reading the “Kirsner” (as he affectionately calls the book) which only rarely loses its place in the bookcase even for short weekends. What’s his comment then? Once again he frankly admits that the author has “hit the target”; all new major advances since the last edition have been included and all the new contributors have fitted perfectly into the style of the book which is characterized by precision, clarity and completeness (and it has been very rewarding to find himself and his co-workers cited often in the list of references). Figures, tables, radiologic, histologic and endoscopic representations are of first class quality and the linguistic approach is convincing with a pleasant way of tackling even the most controversial problems. Highlights: The entire text is to be considered of superb quality. limitations: I wouldn’t dare to call this a limitation but I do miss the historical chapter on IBD by J.B. Kirsner who is a real teacher in the field. Final note: This is one of the “great” books in gastroenterology; buy, read and study it well, your IBD patients will be well rewarded. Reviewer: G. Bianchi Porro (Milan, Italy).
Portal hypertension. A multidisciplinary approach to current clinical management S.J. Knechtle Futura Pub]. Comp., Armonk, USA, 1999, 300 pages, US$150. ISBN O-87-993-414-X Format: Hardcover book. Purpose: To analyse the multiple approaches to the problem of portal hypertension and its most serious complication, i.e., variceal haemorrhage. Content: The book consists of eleven chapters and all authors are American. There is a short chapter on the natural history of portal hypertension whilst the other chapters cover medical management of portal hypertension, endoscopic management of variceal haemorrhage, the technique and uses of the transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, the various surgical approaches to portal hypertension including liver transplantation, the Le-Veen shunt, portal hypertension in children. The final chapter attempts to integrate the various treatment modalities in the management of portal hypertension. Comment: The majority of the Authors are surgeons, as a result, the book is surgery-orientated and rather unbalanced: two chapters are devoted to surgical shunts and devascularization procedures, while 130 of the 293 pages are taken up by two chapters on TIPS and its impact on liver transplant. By converse, the natural history of portal hypertension, which is crucial for understanding the rationale of management of this condition, is dealt with in a mere 5 pages only, one and a half of which focused on therapy. In addition, the style of the chapter on medical treatment is that of old-fashion reviews, with just a hint being made to systematic reviews and meta-analysis. Leafing through the references at the end of each chapter, one has the impression that the book was compiled in early 1997. Yet, some of the most important studies on medical and endoscopic therapy that had already been published, or had been presented at major international meetings, at that time, have not been included. Furthermore, statements such as “pblocking drugs have not been popular in clinical practice . .” perhaps reflects the situations in some areas of the United States, but certainly not the situation worldwide, and are, therefore, misleading for non-US readers. The book does have some strong points, such as the chapter on TIPS and the good quality figures, but this, in my view, does not compensate for
Book reviews Disease of the liver and biliary system in children Editor: D.A. Kelly Blackwell Science Ltd. Oxford, UK, 1999, 375 pages, g99.50. ISBN o-632-04802-6. Format: Hardcover book. Purpose: To cover all the essential aspects of liver and biliary diseases occurring in children, with special emphasis on diagnosis and patient management. Content: The topics described in this book vary considerably ranging from the genetic and biochemical abnormalities involved in the pathogenesis of liver disease to the diagnostic and therapeutic aspects which may be useful in clinical practice. All the different liver and biliary diseases, both common and uncommon, are adequately described in the nine sections. The last part of the book includes an Atlas with 75 plates which is a pattitularly useful tool for post-graduate students. Commentary: The large amount of information gathered over the last few decades in adults had not been paralleled by paediatric hepatology. The careful search and review of relevant literature published until 1998 contributes to fill this gap. The competence of the authors, chosen from several countries for their clinical and scientific expertise ensures the excellent quality. Hifihlifihts: The format of each chapter is remarkably uniform with a large number of algorithms and tables. They offer a synthetic view of the state of the art for most topics. The efforts not only of the editor but also of the authors to cover all the relevant practical aspects is clearly evident to the reader. limitations: The chapter of chronic hepatitis is not as informative as some of the others. The important issue concerning antiviral therapy in children has not been dealt with in detail, most of the data being derived from studies in adults. Equally sclerosing cholangitis has been included in this chapter. Final note: This book will be useful to gastroenterologists, not only in the paediatric setting, by offering practical advice. Also general paediatricians and post-graduate students will benefit thanks to the up-to-date information included. The price is more than reasonable. Reviewer: M. Podda (Milan, Italy).
Inflammatory bowel disease J.B. Kirsner W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, USA, 800 pages, US$l45. ISBN o-7216-7616-2 Format: Hardcover book. Purpose: This book - now in its 51h edition (first published in 1975) tries, with success, to describe all the basic and clinical advances made in these last few years in the IBD field and aims at presenting the most up-dated overview of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Content: All you need to know about inflammatory bowel disease is easily found in this book, which, in the present edition, is divided into eight sections which cover homeostasis of the bowel, aetiology and pathogenesis, clinical aspects, pathologic, endoscopic and radiologic features, as well as medical, surgical and prognostic problems (300 pages dedicated to the latter three). Commentary: The writer has the four previous editions of this book in his personal library, a book which is in continuous competition with the other great text on IBD, coming predominantly from the UK, namely “Inflammatory bowel disease” by R.N. Allen et al. (which reached its third edition in 1997). In his more than 30 years dedicated to these diseases, the reviewer believes he has spent many mornings, nights, Sundays and holidays
reading the “Kirsner” (as he affectionately calls the book) which only rarely loses its place in the bookcase even for short weekends. What’s his comment then? Once again he frankly admits that the author has “hit the target”; all new major advances since the last edition have been included and all the new contributors have fitted perfectly into the style of the book which is characterized by precision, clarity and completeness (and it has been very rewarding to find himself and his co-workers cited often in the list of references). Figures, tables, radiologic, histologic and endoscopic representations are of first class quality and the linguistic approach is convincing with a pleasant way of tackling even the most controversial problems. Highlights: The entire text is to be considered of superb quality. limitations: I wouldn’t dare to call this a limitation but I do miss the historical chapter on IBD by J.B. Kirsner who is a real teacher in the field. Final note: This is one of the “great” books in gastroenterology; buy, read and study it well, your IBD patients will be well rewarded. Reviewer: G. Bianchi Porro (Milan, Italy).
Portal hypertension. A multidisciplinary approach to current clinical management S.J. Knechtle Futura Pub]. Comp., Armonk, USA, 1999, 300 pages, US$150. ISBN O-87-993-414-X Format: Hardcover book. Purpose: To analyse the multiple approaches to the problem of portal hypertension and its most serious complication, i.e., variceal haemorrhage. Content: The book consists of eleven chapters and all authors are American. There is a short chapter on the natural history of portal hypertension whilst the other chapters cover medical management of portal hypertension, endoscopic management of variceal haemorrhage, the technique and uses of the transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, the various surgical approaches to portal hypertension including liver transplantation, the Le-Veen shunt, portal hypertension in children. The final chapter attempts to integrate the various treatment modalities in the management of portal hypertension. Comment: The majority of the Authors are surgeons, as a result, the book is surgery-orientated and rather unbalanced: two chapters are devoted to surgical shunts and devascularization procedures, while 130 of the 293 pages are taken up by two chapters on TIPS and its impact on liver transplant. By converse, the natural history of portal hypertension, which is crucial for understanding the rationale of management of this condition, is dealt with in a mere 5 pages only, one and a half of which focused on therapy. In addition, the style of the chapter on medical treatment is that of old-fashion reviews, with just a hint being made to systematic reviews and meta-analysis. Leafing through the references at the end of each chapter, one has the impression that the book was compiled in early 1997. Yet, some of the most important studies on medical and endoscopic therapy that had already been published, or had been presented at major international meetings, at that time, have not been included. Furthermore, statements such as “pblocking drugs have not been popular in clinical practice . .” perhaps reflects the situations in some areas of the United States, but certainly not the situation worldwide, and are, therefore, misleading for non-US readers. The book does have some strong points, such as the chapter on TIPS and the good quality figures, but this, in my view, does not compensate for