Review of the book entitled Psicofármacos: consulta rápida (Psychopharma: a quick guide)

BOOK REVIEW

Review of the book entitled Psicofármacos: consulta rápida (Psychopharma: a quick guide)

Reseña del libro Psicofármacos: consulta rápida

Dirceu Zorzetto Filho

Professor, Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Curitiba, PR, Brazil

^{Correspondence}

PSICOFÁRMACOS: CONSULTA RÁPIDA

Aristides Volpato Cordioli et al.

Porto Alegre, Artmed, 2005 (3ª ed.)

The launching of the 3^rd edition of Psicofármacos: consulta rápida, by Prof. Aristides Volpato Cordioli et al., represents an unusual occurrence for publications in the area of mental health: the continuity and expansion of a work of "prospecting in the collection and ordering of information," as the organizer himself would define the 1^st edition of the book. Initially with 316 pages, Psicofármacos: consulta rápida has achieved, with the help of its collaborators, twice the number of pages and the involvement of three dozen collaborators in its 3^rd edition. As emphasized in the preface of this edition, several new medications and over one hundred new commercial products have been released over the last four years, including generics. There is no need to stress the importance and the challenge involved in updating this and other information pertinent to the area.

The book maintains basically the same structure as the 2^nd edition, with sub-divisions into five sections. The first of these, "Medications: Basic Information", contains information about pharmacokinetics and how to use it, pharmacodynamics and mechanisms of action, adverse reactions and side effects, indications, contraindications, poisoning, special situations, laboratory data and precautions related to more than 130 psychotropic medications. It reaches its objective of keeping up-to-date with new product releases, new applications of already known drugs as well as their pharmacological interactions. The second section, "Pharmacological Treatments: Algorithms," proposes a sequence of procedures and alternatives for the use of psychopharma in the treatment of major depression and dysthymia, bipolar spectrum mood disorders, schizophrenia, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, social phobia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and insomnia. It also includes a chapter about the use of psychopharma during pregnancy and breastfeeding and another on electroconvulsive therapy. The third section, "Side Effects and How to Handle Them," deals with one of the most important conditions of clinical practice, determinant on many occasions: the efficiency of the adopted treatment. "Medication Interactions", the fourth section of the book, has considerably more information on the mechanisms of drug-to-drug interaction, focusing on potential interactions and, whenever possible, guiding the reader on the adjustments necessary to ensure the patient's improvement. The last section, "Psychopharma in Physical Diseases and Related Problems," discusses the indications and counter-indications of the use of psychopharma to treat the 70 or so conditions characterized as clinical comorbidity.

The opening pages of the book include colored images of the different sales presentations of the medications, making it easy for professionals and patients to identify them.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  15 Sept 2005
• Date of issue
  Apr 2005