Comprehensive Review of Infectious Diseases

By Andrej Spec, Gerome V. Escota, Courtney Chrisler and Bethany Davies, MBBS MD MA MSc PGCertMedEd MRCP FRCPath

ISBN: 9780323568661

Pub Date: December 20th, 2020

Reviewed By: Rajendra Karnatak, MBBS (University of Nebraska Medical Center)

Description

This review aimed at preparing trainees for the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) infectious disease (ID) subspecialty board exam includes special features such as practical tips for the exam, ID memory aids, tables and illustrations, and over 440 board-style questions, well organized into seven sections. This edition includes access to an electronic version.

Purpose

The purpose is to prepare infectious disease clinicians for the initial and maintenance of certification ID subspecialty board exam in the U.S. However, it also can be a great resource for physicians who are not ID clinicians but wish to learn more about the field, such as hospitalists, resident trainees, and medical students. The authors are practicing ID physicians in the U.S. and the U.K. Most are early career ID physicians who are working in ID fellowship training programs. Some are program directors and associate program directors of ID fellowship training programs in the U.S. All authors are rising stars in the field of ID and are very aware of high-yield topics for the ID board exam.

Audience

Trainees in the infectious disease subspecialty are the primary audience for this book. The first two sections are an excellent read for resident trainees beginning the ID fellowship and do a good job familiarizing them with the basic concepts of microbiology and ID pharmacology. This book also can be an important resource for early career ID physicians in practice as a quick reference. Other audiences for this book are resident trainees interested in ID, and non-ID physicians wishing to learn more about treating their patients with infectious diseases.

Features

The first of the seven sections contains four chapters on microbiology. Section 2 has five chapters on ID pharmacology including the basic principles of the mechanism of action, activity, and adverse reactions of antimicrobial agents. Section 3, the most comprehensive, presents 26 chapters on selected infection syndromes, organ system-related infections, and pathogen-specific infections. The eight chapters in section 4 focus on infections in immunocompromised hosts i.e., HIV, cancer and immunosuppressive therapy, solid organ and bone marrow transplant, and primary immunodeficiency disorders. Section 5 has eight chapters on special topics such as infection control, immunization, travel medicine, bioterrorism, ID mimics, common skin manifestations of infectious diseases, and ID memory aids. It is extremely helpful to have these memory aids in one place. Sections 6 and 7 contain high-yield, ID board-style questions. Much of the material in these sections appears in the online version. The most important feature of this book is the repetition of ID high-yield topics from different angles. It also contains excellent tables, images, and flow diagrams.

Assessment

This excellent book presents high-yield topics for the ABIM ID board exam. The consistent message is “repetition is the key to excel” on the ID boards.

© Doody’s Review Service, 2021, Rajendra Karnatak, MBBS (University of Nebraska Medical Center) Doody’s Score: 92-4 Stars!

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