The authors of Antimicrobial Therapy in Primary Care Medicine attempt to present the most current information concerning this subject. Included are the most common trade names and adult and pediatric dosages for a number of therapeutic preparations, and the information contained herein should be used only as a guideline to these; the text should not be considered as an official therapeutic document. If there is a discrepancy in the therapeutic uses, preparations, or dosages, the reader is advised to obtain official and more complete information from the pharmaceutical manufacturer and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Authors or Publisher are not responsible for typographical errors within the contents of this book.
PREFACE
Infectious diseases have afflicted mankind since prehistoric times. Diseases such as tuberculosis, syphilis, and influenza have produced epidemics responsible for millions of deaths and untold morbidity. Most diseases known to the ancients were infectious in etiology; ironically, it appears that most newly recognized diseases _ Legionnaires' disease, Lyme disease, and the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), to name a few _ are also infectious diseases.
It is only in the last half century that effective antimicrobial therapy has been available to alleviate the burden of these afflictions. Much, however, has happened in these fifty years. Whereas the physician of the 1950s could prescribe penicillin, streptomycin, sulfonamides, or tetracycline, the physician of the 1990s chooses from a wide variety of potent antimicrobial agents active against almost all species of bacteria, fungi, protozoans, multicellular parasites, and many strains of viruses. Many hospital pharmacies report that one-third of their budget goes toward antimicrobial agents, and approximately one-seventh of all prescriptions written by office-based physicians are for antibiotics.
The results of this use of antimicrobial drugs have been largely but not entirely favorable. Tuberculosis sanatoria have closed, rheumatic heart disease is a clinical rarity, and women no longer die of puerperal fever. However, the selective pressure of antibiotic therapy has led to the emergence of drug resistance among Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Hemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Enterococcus species, and has also produced a dramatic increase in fungal superinfections.
It is in this dynamic world of new and potent antimicrobial agents, evolving drug resistance among microorganisms, and emerging infectious diseases that the modern primary care physician practices. Superimposed upon this scenario are the socioeconomic realities of medical practice in the 1990s, including managed care and the necessity of providing cost-efficient as well as medically appropriate treatment.
The goal of this handbook is to provide a concise, readable, and portable reference that covers the majority of infectious disease problems seen daily by primary care practitioners, as well as by physicians in training. A limited bibliography is provided at the end of each section, for those who wish to spend a greater deal of time researching a topic in more depth. Tables are used liberally, and clinical algorithms are provided for the evaluation of patients presenting with urinary tract infection, sinusitis, and other syndromes. The handbook is not intended to be a definitive reference for the management of infectious diseases _ indeed, this would be impossible in a book this size _ and the interested reader is encouraged to consult standard textbooks of medicine and infectious diseases for further information on any given topic.
It is our hope that this handbook will enable the busy practitioner to better provide quality medical care to his or her patients. Critical comments are invited.
AUTHORS
Roger E. Nieman, M.D.
- Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, Abington Memorial Hospital - Abington, Pennsylvania
Edward J. Barbieri, Ph.D.
- National Medical Services - Willow Grove, Pennsylvania
- Adjunct Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine, MCP Hahnemann University - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Andrew P. Ferko, Ph.D.
- Associate Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine, MCP Hahnemann University - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
G. John DiGregorio, M.D., Ph.D.
- National Medical Services - Willow Grove, Pennsylvania
- Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine, MCP Hahnemann University - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Joseph R. DiPalma, M.D.
- Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine, MCP Hahnemann University - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
ISBN# 0-942447-22-0 (1997)
$17.00
