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The Desktop Guide to Complementary and Alternative Medicine: An Evidence-Based Approach

Ernst E, ed. 444 pages. London: Harcourt Pub Ltd (Mosby); 2001. $34.95. ISBN 0723432074. Order phone 800-633-6699. Field of medicine: Multidisciplinary. Format: Paperback book includes a complete CD-ROM for rapid search capability and links to MEDLINE. Audience: Primary care physicians and general internists. Purpose: To summarize the available information on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Content: The guide includes diagnostic methods, therapies, herbal and nonherbal medicines, and conditions for which CAM might be used. A general topics section with essays on the use of CAM in various countries and legal, ethical, safety, and economic issues is included. Ten diagnostic techniques unique to CAM are discussed, including bioresonance and kinesiology. The section on CAM therapies excludes medicines but includes such well-known techniques as acupuncture, biofeedback, and homeopathy. Multiple therapies without sufficient evidence of effectiveness are listed in tables. The medications section excludes vitamins and minerals in favor of herbals and nonherbal supplements. Tables list supplements without evidence of effectiveness and those with possible interactions with heart drugs, anticoagulants, antidiabetic drugs, and oral contraceptives. The section on conditions includes those seen in primary care for which CAM is popular. All the sections are extensively referenced to international published literature. Highlights: Two features are particularly valuable: the broad scope of the various aspects of CAM covered and the extensive referencing and critical evaluations of the available literature. The listings of the conditions for which CAM is commonly used serve as an internal cross-index to the listings of the various therapies and medications. Limitations: The list of useful Web sites for herbal medications does not include the Complete German Commission E Monographs, Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines (home.mdconsult.com/about/book/IM.html), a compilation of 380 monographs with cross-references of each herb by ailment, body system, and interactions (also available in hardcover through the American Botanical Council). Many hard choices were made in an attempt to hold down both the size and price of this desktop guide. Related reading: Encyclopedia of Complementary Health Practice (Springer, 1999) and the Health Reference Series Alternative Medicine Sourcebook (Omnigraphics, Inc., 1999) are popular references. Reviewer: Roger P. Smith, PhD, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire.