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Nutrition in gastrointestinal disease
GASTROENTEROLOGY
BOOK Howard
1987;Y3:1142-4
REVIEWS
M. Spiro,
M.D.
Book Review Editor Yale University School of Medicine 333 Cedar Street, Box 3333 New Haven, Connecticut 06510
Chronic Active Hepatitis: The Mayo Clinic Experience. Edited by Albert J. Czaja and E. Rolland Dickson. 352 pp., Inc., New York, 1986. ISBN $69.75. Marcel Dekker, O-8247-7615-1. This is a homely book with a shiny plastic cover and unattractive typography; the latter half of its title suggests it might be parochial as well. Beneath this deceptive exterior, however, lurks a book that students of the liver in general and of chronic active hepatitis in particular will be glad to make the acquaintance of. There are no startling new revelations, but at last most of what is known about this complex disease has been synthesized, organized, and cogently presented. Twenty-two authors have collaborated to prepare 17 chapters on the diagnosis of chronic active hepatitis and its treatment as revealed in the methodical clinical stddies that have been carried out at the Mayo Clinic since 1967. To those who might believe the point of view is unnecessarily narrowed by focusing on the Mayo experience, I would counter that at least the book is about a well-defined population and all the authors are talking about the same disease spectrum. Dr. Seeff and Dr. Wright have written an outsiders’ postscript to the book and have given a fair analysis of the design, methods of analysis, and applications and limitations of the Mayo data. I would recommend this book as a resource to anyone who has been confused about chronic active hepatitis (not all confusion will be vanquished but at least it will be lessened) or who enjoys watching a puzzle unfold as good questions are combined with sound methods. It is also a convenient sourcebook for th8 chronic active hepatitis literature: there are 800 or so references. Needless to say, this may not be the book for you if your questions are about milder forms of autoimmune chronic active hepatitis or not about autoimmune chronic active hepatitis at all. These topics are touched upon in the book but are not part and parcel of the “Mayo experience” and therefore not exhaustively treated. This is not a criticism: we were forewarned in the title. COLIN E. ATTEKBUKY.
New Haven,
M.1).
Connecticut
Nutrition in Gustrointestinal Disease. Edited by Luigi Barbara, G. Bianchi Porro, Rodolfo Cheli, and Martin Lipkin. 320 pp., $68.50. Raven Press, New York, 1986. ISBN O-88167-256-4 (order code 1706).
This 35-chapter book is based on a symposium held in Italy in 1985 which focused, according to the preface, on “nutritional problems and their relationships to pathological conditions of the small and large bowel, biliary tract, liver, and pancreas.”
Three chapters are devoted to the esophagus, seven to the stomach, 11 to the small bowel, four to the colon, and 10 to the biliary tract, liver, and pancreas. There is great diversity to the areas covered by these chapters, and substantial unevenness in their quality. To this reviewer, the price of the book is high. PAUI. MAh’DELSTAM. M.D.
Lexington, Kentucky
Atlas of Gastrointestinul Endoscopy. By F. E. Silverstein and G. N. Tytgat. 272 pp., 1300 illustrations, $125.00. W. B. Saunders, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1987. ISBN 0-03-012792-0.
These are times of proliferating endoscopists and texts about endoscopy. This new book is a very useful addition. Learning the mechanics is only a part of being a good clinical endoscopist. More important skills are the ability to interpret what is seen and to know what to do with what is seen. This text provides both the novice and the more experienced a guide to that goal. A collection of superb endoscopic photographs of the alimentary canal in health and disease, this atlas is organized into 12 chapters; the first reviews normal anatomy, with the remainder, arranged by organ systems, providing views of most gastrointestinal disorders within the reach of the endoscope. Included are three extensive chapters on esophageal disorders; outstanding reviews of idiopathic, ischemic, and infectious colitis; and a good introduction to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and papillotomy. There is no section on percutaneous catheter placement or enteroscopy. To clarify what is being seen in the photographs, many are accompanied by high-quality line drawings labeling what should be seen. The photographs are supplemented with diagrams, radiographs, and tables. The authors also provide a useful text that provides a very basic description of endoscopic techniques and a brief description of the disease process displayed in the photographs. These brief descriptions are in no way complete reviews of the topic, but they do provide a succinct summary of information that should be a part of every endoscopist’s armamentariurn in dealing with the clinical problems he or she sees. This section of text is followed b9 a description of the endoscopic findings in the photographs. I found this section particularly useful, as the authors discussed some commonly used classifications (e.g., what is stage II esophagitis?, or grade II varices?), and made practical and subtle points about what one was seeing, or should see, based on their extensive experience. For example, they gave their opinion, description, and pictures of what they considered a red hole and a hemocystic spot on esophageal varices.
BOOK Howard
1987;Y3:1142-4
REVIEWS
M. Spiro,
M.D.
Book Review Editor Yale University School of Medicine 333 Cedar Street, Box 3333 New Haven, Connecticut 06510
Chronic Active Hepatitis: The Mayo Clinic Experience. Edited by Albert J. Czaja and E. Rolland Dickson. 352 pp., Inc., New York, 1986. ISBN $69.75. Marcel Dekker, O-8247-7615-1. This is a homely book with a shiny plastic cover and unattractive typography; the latter half of its title suggests it might be parochial as well. Beneath this deceptive exterior, however, lurks a book that students of the liver in general and of chronic active hepatitis in particular will be glad to make the acquaintance of. There are no startling new revelations, but at last most of what is known about this complex disease has been synthesized, organized, and cogently presented. Twenty-two authors have collaborated to prepare 17 chapters on the diagnosis of chronic active hepatitis and its treatment as revealed in the methodical clinical stddies that have been carried out at the Mayo Clinic since 1967. To those who might believe the point of view is unnecessarily narrowed by focusing on the Mayo experience, I would counter that at least the book is about a well-defined population and all the authors are talking about the same disease spectrum. Dr. Seeff and Dr. Wright have written an outsiders’ postscript to the book and have given a fair analysis of the design, methods of analysis, and applications and limitations of the Mayo data. I would recommend this book as a resource to anyone who has been confused about chronic active hepatitis (not all confusion will be vanquished but at least it will be lessened) or who enjoys watching a puzzle unfold as good questions are combined with sound methods. It is also a convenient sourcebook for th8 chronic active hepatitis literature: there are 800 or so references. Needless to say, this may not be the book for you if your questions are about milder forms of autoimmune chronic active hepatitis or not about autoimmune chronic active hepatitis at all. These topics are touched upon in the book but are not part and parcel of the “Mayo experience” and therefore not exhaustively treated. This is not a criticism: we were forewarned in the title. COLIN E. ATTEKBUKY.
New Haven,
M.1).
Connecticut
Nutrition in Gustrointestinal Disease. Edited by Luigi Barbara, G. Bianchi Porro, Rodolfo Cheli, and Martin Lipkin. 320 pp., $68.50. Raven Press, New York, 1986. ISBN O-88167-256-4 (order code 1706).
This 35-chapter book is based on a symposium held in Italy in 1985 which focused, according to the preface, on “nutritional problems and their relationships to pathological conditions of the small and large bowel, biliary tract, liver, and pancreas.”
Three chapters are devoted to the esophagus, seven to the stomach, 11 to the small bowel, four to the colon, and 10 to the biliary tract, liver, and pancreas. There is great diversity to the areas covered by these chapters, and substantial unevenness in their quality. To this reviewer, the price of the book is high. PAUI. MAh’DELSTAM. M.D.
Lexington, Kentucky
Atlas of Gastrointestinul Endoscopy. By F. E. Silverstein and G. N. Tytgat. 272 pp., 1300 illustrations, $125.00. W. B. Saunders, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1987. ISBN 0-03-012792-0.
These are times of proliferating endoscopists and texts about endoscopy. This new book is a very useful addition. Learning the mechanics is only a part of being a good clinical endoscopist. More important skills are the ability to interpret what is seen and to know what to do with what is seen. This text provides both the novice and the more experienced a guide to that goal. A collection of superb endoscopic photographs of the alimentary canal in health and disease, this atlas is organized into 12 chapters; the first reviews normal anatomy, with the remainder, arranged by organ systems, providing views of most gastrointestinal disorders within the reach of the endoscope. Included are three extensive chapters on esophageal disorders; outstanding reviews of idiopathic, ischemic, and infectious colitis; and a good introduction to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and papillotomy. There is no section on percutaneous catheter placement or enteroscopy. To clarify what is being seen in the photographs, many are accompanied by high-quality line drawings labeling what should be seen. The photographs are supplemented with diagrams, radiographs, and tables. The authors also provide a useful text that provides a very basic description of endoscopic techniques and a brief description of the disease process displayed in the photographs. These brief descriptions are in no way complete reviews of the topic, but they do provide a succinct summary of information that should be a part of every endoscopist’s armamentariurn in dealing with the clinical problems he or she sees. This section of text is followed b9 a description of the endoscopic findings in the photographs. I found this section particularly useful, as the authors discussed some commonly used classifications (e.g., what is stage II esophagitis?, or grade II varices?), and made practical and subtle points about what one was seeing, or should see, based on their extensive experience. For example, they gave their opinion, description, and pictures of what they considered a red hole and a hemocystic spot on esophageal varices.