Book Review

Thrombosis in Clinical Practice

N Engl J Med 2006; 354:2399-2400June 1, 2006

Article

Thrombosis in Clinical Practice
Edited by Andrew D. Blann, Gregory Y.H. Lip, and Alexander G.G. Turpie. 326 pp., illustrated. Abingdon, England, Informa Healthcare/Taylor & Francis, 2005. $139.95. ISBN: 1-84214-163-5

In the past few years, several books on thromboembolic diseases have been published. They either focus on the mechanisms of thrombosis or offer the reader practical guidelines for the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic diseases. In Thrombosis in Clinical Practice, the authors maintain a fair balance between an overview of the basic science of thrombosis and clinical information about the management of thromboembolic diseases.

In the beginning of the book, two interesting chapters about the pathophysiology and epidemiology of thromboembolic diseases concisely report well-known and updated data. The text is enhanced by original and lively figures.

In subsequent sections, the book's approach to thrombophilia seems redundant because this topic is described in two different chapters. Furthermore, the placement of the more descriptive of these two chapters at the end of the book is inappropriate.

An extensive part of Thrombosis in Clinical Practice is dedicated to the pharmacology of, mechanism of action of, and indications for currently available and future antithrombotic agents. The chapter on currently available agents follows a traditional approach. However, it also includes an interesting head-to-head comparison of these agents and a useful assessment of the clinical benefits of different agents. The chapter on new antithrombotic agents, which is relatively up to date, clearly describes the unmet clinical needs for the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic diseases. This chapter may sometimes appear to be too enthusiastic, but in general it is not devoid of critical analysis. The author of this chapter has personal experience with the new antithrombotic agents, and this knowledge gives a personal touch to the chapter.

The chapters on the management of various thromboembolic diseases contain some inconsistencies. Most of these chapters are complete and accurate. However, readers can obtain appropriate information for only some of the thromboembolic diseases; examples are the two chapters on the prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation and on heart valves. Also, both chapters on coronary-artery revascularization focus on percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary-artery bypass grafting; they barely mention the medical reperfusion treatment of myocardial infarction. The chapters about peripheral arterial disease and stroke are well written. Surprisingly, the book does not include a chapter on the treatment of venous thromboembolism, but it does contain one chapter on the management of venous thromboembolism during pregnancy and one chapter on thromboembolic disease in children. Both chapters are written by authors with remarkable experience in these fields.

In conclusion, Thrombosis in Clinical Practice is well written and includes much up-to-date information. Despite some inconsistencies and overlapping content among chapters, it focuses on issues that are not addressed in other books on the same topic.

Giancarlo Agnelli, M.D.
University of Perugia, Perugia 06100, Italy
agnellig@unipg.it