Book review
Tietz Fundamentals of Clinical Chemistry
Editors: Carl A. Burtis, Edward R. Ashwood, David E. Bruns
Saunders Elsevier, St. Louis, Missouri, 2008.
Dunja Rogić
Clinical Institute of Laboratory Diagnostics, Clinical Hospital Center Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Laboratory medicine is continuously changing and developing, and in the same manner it is followed by the most read textbook of clinical chemistry, the sixth edition of which was published this year. This book has for decades been the prime source of information for everybody: students on postgraduate study and specialization in medical biochemistry and related professions, and as well for all of us whose professional existence is permanently connected to medical biochemistry laboratory. The textbook can be useful for doctors too because it clearly and exactly describes the clinical significance of each test, is user friendly (information can be easily found) and latest publications, printed or online editions, are listed in references.
Along with old ones, a new editor, David Bruns, long-standing Editor-in-Chief of the Clinical Chemistry journal, has taken part in preparation of this edition. The authors of all chapters, of which there are 47 new ones in comparison with the fifth edition, are renowned experts in particular areas. The book has 45 chapters divided into sections as follows: I Laboratory Principles, IIAnalytical Techniques and Instrumentation, III Laboratory Operations, IV Analytes, V Pathophysiology, and VI Reference Information (reference intervals, therapeutic and toxic drug levels, and critical values). In comparison with the previous edition, this one contains two completely new chapters, Introduction to Clinical Chemistry and Evidence-Based Laboratory Medicine, andNewborn Screening. Nowadays, it is increasingly expected from a laboratory expert to direct its laboratory development towards evidence-based medicine principles, to be clinician’s partner and consultant, and to be familiar with quality standard requirements that have to be met in the scope of laboratory accreditation procedure. As the field of molecular diagnosis has made extreme progress since the last edition, the chapter on nucleic acids has been significantly extended with participation of many new expert contributors. However, in order to present the issue in detail, the same group of authors has published another book entitledFundamentals of Molecular Diagnostics.
With this textbook edition, a new product, Elsevier Evolve, anetwork web site intended for experts engaged in education in the field of clinical chemistry, has been launched. It offers some new possibilities and teaching methods for certain chapters as well as a question bank and electronic illustrations. At the end of every chapter there is also a set of questions for students to ease their learning, memorizing and understanding of important facts. All chapters begin with a list of aims and attainments as well as key words and definitions presentedin the chapter, which, together with detailed term index makes it additionally easier to find one’s way through the most detailed and most comprehensive textbook of clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine written since 1971.
