Community‐Acquired Pneumonia:Community‐Acquired Pneumonia

This comprehensive and authoritative text on community-acquired pneumonia has 59 chapters written by 74 well-recognized experts in the field of respiratory infectious diseases. The initial chapters discuss such general topics as the epidemiologic, pathologic, and pathophysiologic characteristics and the diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia, and later chapters deal with specific pathogens. Each chapter is adequately illustrated and referenced. The major strength of this volume is its comprehensive character. A few of the highlights of this excellent text are the following. The book opens with a fascinating review of the history of pneumonia. The chapter on laboratory diagnosis nicely relates the pros and cons of sputum Gram staining. The chapter on radiographic imaging is excellent, well illustrated, and a great review for seasoned clinicians and trainees alike. Special problems and patient populations, such as pneumonia in pregnancy, pneumonia in children, and chronic and nonresolving pneumonia, are discussed in several chapters that are quite helpful and discuss topics that are generally not well covered in general infectious diseases textbooks. The chapters on specific etiologic agents thoroughly discuss common pathogens as well as the esoteric ones. In general, the text is clearly written and well edited. The text does have a few limitations; however, they do not detract greatly from the overall value of the book. First, some of the more subtle radiographic findings are not demonstrated well in the radiographic reproductions. Second, in light of the recent interest in bioterrorism, there is a need for additional discussion regarding inhalational anthrax, pneumonic plague, tularemia, and other respiratory infectious diseases that could be encountered in a bioterrorist attack. Third, inherent in such a comprehensive text is some degree of overlap and some unwieldiness with respect to finding material on topics of interest. For example, in chapter 3, which discusses clinical features and outcome, and chapter 10, which discusses treatment, there is mention of a scoring system for assessing severity of illness, need for hospital admission, and outcome. This system is explained in detail in chapter 17, “Critical Pathways,” but the reader is not referred to chapter 17 in the earlier chapters. Last, an inherent limitation of printed textbooks is that they quickly become dated. For instance, there is no discussion of the updated guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America or the Canadian Infectious Diseases Society/Canadian Thoracic Society that were published in 2000 [1, 2]. Likewise, there is limited information regarding the conjugate pneumococcal vaccine that was licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2000 or the subsequent publications documenting its efficacy [3, 4]. Despite these and other minor flaws, the text achieves its goal (as stated by its editor, Thomas Marrie) of integrating the art and science of medicine and potentially stimulating readers to address remaining questions regarding community-acquired pneumonia. In conclusion, this text is an excellent, comprehensive compilation of material on community-acquired pneumonia that is well organized, clearly written, adequately illustrated, and well referenced. Clinicians and researchers who deal frequently with this condition will want this text on their shelf.