E-Book Overview
If you understand how drugs work (pharmacodynamics), how they are handled by the body (pharmacokinetics), how they interact with each other, and how drug treatments are assessed, then you will become a better prescriber. A Textbook of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics gives you that understanding. Fully revised throughout and extensively illustrated, the fifth edition of this well-established textbook has been streamlined to focus on what medical students and junior doctors really need to know in order to understand the implications of prescribing one drug over, or in combination with, another. The text provides current information on all areas of drug prescribing with updated discussion and guidance on such topics as adverse drug reactions, personalized medicine, gene and cell-based therapy, advances in cancer therapy, and mechanisms of drug action and treatment guidelines in HIV and mycobacterial infections therapy. A new chapter on alternative medicines and nutraceuticals has been introduced and Further Reading lists have been updated to include key medical websites. All medical students and junior doctors who read this book will learn not only how to use drugs safely and effectively, but, importantly, the rationale behind effective prescribing decisions.
E-Book Content
A Textbook of
Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
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A Textbook of
Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics FIFTH EDITION
JAMES M RITTER MA DPHIL FRCP FMedSci FBPHARMACOLS Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at King’s College London School of Medicine, Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals, London, UK LIONEL D LEWIS MA MB BCH MD FRCP Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology and Toxicology at Dartmouth Medical School and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA TIMOTHY GK MANT BSC FFPM FRCP Senior Medical Advisor, Quintiles, Guy's Drug Research Unit, and Visiting Professor at King’s College London School of Medicine, Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals, London, UK ALBERT FERRO PHD FRCP FBPHARMACOLS Reader in Clinical Pharmacology and Honorary Consultant Physician at King’s College London School of Medicine, Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals, London, UK
PART OF HACHETTE LIVRE UK
First published in Great Britain in 1981 Second edition 1986 Third edition 1995 Fourth edition 1999 This fifth edition published in Great Britain in 2008 by Hodder Arnold, an imprint of Hodden Education, part of Hachette Livre UK, 338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH http://www.hoddereducation.com ©2008 James M Ritter, Lionel D Lewis, Timothy GK Mant and Albert Ferro All rights reserved. Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form, or by any means with prior permission in writing of the publishers or in the case of reprographic production in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. In the United Kingdom such licences are issued by the Copyright licensing Agency: Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Hachette Livre’s policy is to use papers that are natural, renewable and recyclable products and made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The logging and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. Whilst the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of going to press, neither the authors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. In particular, (but without limiting the generality of the preceding disclaimer) every effort has been made to check drug dosages; however it is still possible that errors have been missed. Furthermore, dosage schedules are constantl