BOOK REVIEW

Pdf version

Zailinawati AH. Book Review: Occupational Medicine Case Series. Malaysian Family Physician. 2008(3(1):69

This book is a collection of occupational medicine cases presented during the continuous professional development program of the Society of Occupational and Environmental Medicine of Malaysia over the past 4 years. The cases ranges from common problems in general practice such as low back ache, asthma, hypercholesterolemia, Parkinson’s disease with psychiatric illness, to work-related injury such as; rotator cuff tear, mercury poisoning, chemical burns, and pesticide and organic solvent toxicity.

This book is useful for the undergraduates, postgraduates in family medicine and occupational medicine, as well the practising general practitioners. The cases presented are interesting, well discussed and answers are concise and cover all the essential details.

Even though the cases are ‘occupational-health’ orientated, there are many useful tips that family physicians can pick up. The authors gave good pointers on occupational history taking, pre-employment examination, occupational accidents, differentiation between work-related asthma and occupational asthma, and how to deal with employees and employers. There is an emphasis on good documentation in medical record.

I found the case discussion on heat stress interesting, and wonder if such a case may reach a wider readership if it is published in an indexed medical journal. There are adequate references for readers who wish to dwell more into occupational medicine, however, it will be better if they are mentioned following each case rather leaving all to the end. The quality of the imaging and binding are of reasonable standard.

Reviewed by:
Dr Zailinawati Abu Hassan,
Family Physician, Klinik Keluarga, Kuala Lumpur.
drzailina@yahoo.com