Reviewed by Dr Harry Brown

4th Edition: Edited by Mark Lebwohl, Warren Heymann, John Berth-Jones and Ian Coulson

ISBN 978-0-7020-5235-4

Published by Elsevier Saunders

Price £147

http://www.elsevierhealth.co.uk/dermatology-and-cosmetic-surgery/treatment-of-skin-disease-expert-consult/9780702052354/

Without doubt this is an excellent book and the reader is encouraged to dip in and read around a topic and enhance their knowledge. It is also a super reference book, particularly when wanting more information about dermatological therapeutics-an area that is often neglected.

Of course as expected in a classy dermatology book, the production values are superb with plenty of pretty pictures-in colour of course. However there are several nice points that makes this a little bit more special. The conditions are laid out in alphabetical order and a small chapter is devoted to it. Even better, the chapters are not long and detailed making it an easy and rapid read. There is a short introduction to the topic (if you want more detailed information on the condition such as clinical features and pathogenesis then look elsewhere.) The rest is devoted to management strategies which is the strong selling point of the book.

The standardised layout then lists first, second and third line management strategies and under each heading can be found journal references. The management strategies, often pharmacological are simply listed in a yellow text box followed by the journal articles. Specific investigations are also suggested as well.

The spread of topics is immense ranging from the common to the rare, to conditions I have never heard of. I would guess this book would great for dermatology outpatient clinic, a GP with a special interest in dermatology or even just a GP who wants a good dermatology therapeutics book. As once the diagnosis is made-this tells you what to use.

Another nice plus for the book, is that the editors are half from the UK and half from the United States and also the contributors are from both sides of the pond and elsewhere. This gives the book great balance and more authority.

As expected there are the usual electronic formats included within the price, the web version and the ability to download onto a mobile device via an app. This without doubt adds more value to the purchase of the book.

All in all, this is a top class dermatology book and is ideal to quickly look up and read what is the best therapy or range of treatments for a given condition. That assumes of course you have the correct diagnosis in the first place!

Dr Harry Brown

April 2014