Arthrotec

MARGARET T. SHANNON, BILLE ANN WILSON AND CAROLYN L. STANG. Appleton & Lange's 1999 Drug Guide. Stamford CT: Appleton & Lange, 1998. xvi + 1593 pp., $31.95.

According to the authors of The Health Professional's Edition of Appleton & Lange's 1999 Drug Guide, this reference text is "designed to be used to give health care providers the information needed to make appropriate decisions regarding drug administration." It is most comparable to the plethora of drug handbooks/guides that are particularly applicable to nurses and those responsible for medication administration.

The major portion of this Guide are drug monographs based on an alphabetical listing by generic name, indexed to both generic and trade name(s). The trade names for most multiple component (combination) drugs are listed in the index and referenced to a separate appendix. For example, Arthrotec is listed in the index with the reader referred to the appropriate page in the Combination Drugs appendix where the only information given is the pharmacological classification, dosage form and the generic components. The drug monograph for single entity drugs provides a boxed area that lists the phonetic pronunciation of the drug, the trade name(s), the pharmacological classification, the prototype drug in this classification and the drug's pregnancy category. This is followed by a succinct description of the drug's actions/pharmacodynamics, uses, route and dosages (including adjustments based on age and/or renal function), pharmacokinetics, contraindications and precautions, adverse/side effects, drug interactions, diagnostic test interferences and clinical implications. In just over an average of one printed page per drug, this text provides ample information for optimizing the prescription, dispensing (including patient counseling) and administration of a drug. For detailed information on a drug, additional reference sources would be needed.

In addition to the drug monographs, their are eight appendices. These include schedules of U. S. and Canadian controlled substances, drugs that should not be crushed, FDA pregnancy categories, conversation and equivalents, combination drugs, key terms and abbreviations. The Guide also contains two compatibility charts, one listing antibiotic IV Y-Site compatibility and the other nonantibiotic IV Y-Site compatibility.

I found two parts of each monograph in this Guide to be particularly interesting and useful: (i) the Clinical Implications section that contains bullet points for administration, assessment and patient and family education, and (ii) the prototype listing in the section that contains the American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS) pharmacological classification. When seeking information on a specific drug, the reader is referred to the drug considered to be the prototype for that classification for a more in-depth discussion of that drug class. For example, basic information is given in the monograph for granisetron (Kytril), but the reader is referred to the prototype 5-HT3 antagonist ondansetron (Zofran) for additional information on that drug class.

This Guide will fit-albeit quite bulky-in a lab coat pocket, and would be useful as a "peripheral brain" for any health care practitioner or student desiring an accurate, quick and fairly complete overview of commonly available drugs. It, or a similar quick-reference text, should be located at select locations in a hospital, physician's office and pharmacy. It is not designed to be a tome that provides in-depth information and usually ends up gathering dust in the library. It is an excellent source for basic information on the use and administration of most drugs.

Glen E. Farr University of Tennessee

Copyright American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Spring 1999
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