Tony Hollingworth

Published by CRC Press

ISBN  978-1-4822-1529-8

https://www.crcpress.com/Differential-Diagnosis-in-Obstetrics–Gynaecology-An-A-Z-Second-Edition/Hollingworth/9781482215298

Price   £49.99

Having an accessible, readable and trustworthy review of Obstetrics and Gynaecology is worth its weight in gold-and this book is certainly a worthy contender. It is a British production and so is well suited to readers based in the UK. However I am sure this should be of interest to a variety of healthcare professionals in other parts of the world.

There is a healthy list of contributors, many of whom are based in the UK and the A-Z layout works out very well. The book starts off with abdominal pain and ends with vulval ulceration and covering a lot in between. Despite its relative slimness (359 pages including the index), it packs in a lot of useful detail. The subject matter covered is wide and varied, covering the usual suspects and some unusual but interesting topics. It is ideal for primary care and can be used both as reference book and equally a book to dip into and read around a topic. I tended to use it for the latter purpose and it was interesting and fun to use. The concise layout lends itself well for dipping into the subject matter and I found it useful, educational and quite painless to do!

Each of the topic sections are short, often broken up into small paragraphs and is well illustrated with colour pictures or boxes. Regular use of bullet points is made and the text is well written and easy to understand. Although there are a number of contributors, the editing style remains pretty uniform throughout the book.

I would say this book would be ideal for junior hospital staff, midwifes and nursing staff, non obstetric and gynaecological medical staff and primary care as well as undergraduates. This wide range of interest groups is a positive reflection on the quality of the book. It is a shame that there is no web version or ebook available within the purchase price. The book itself is not cheap but it is a well produced hardback that is up to date, user friendly and informative. For the right user, this will prove to be a good investment as long as you use it regularly.

Dr Harry Brown

December 2015