Comprehensive Adolescent Health Care, 2d Edition. - Review - book reviews

Journal of Family Practice, Dec, 1998 by Anna M. Georgiopoulos

Comprehensive Adolescent Health Care, Second Edition. Stanford B. Friedman, Martin Fisher, S. Kenneth Schonberg, and Elizabeth M. Alderman, eds. Mosby-Year Book, Inc, St Louis, Mo, 1998. 1349 pp. ISBN 0-8151-3386-3. $150.

Comprehensive Adolescent Health Care offers an accessible approach to the overall health care of teen-aged patients. This book provides up-to-date, well-organized information on disorders common in adolescents, such as urinary tract infection and headache. It also features excellent coverage of serious medical problems, such as lupus, sickle cell disease, and leukemia. Abnormalities such as proteinuria and hematuria are discussed in conveniently short chapters that help guide initial evaluation. A chapter on laboratory testing in adolescents offers advice on selecting tests for screening or for special situations, and highlights laboratory values that may differ from adult or childhood norms.

This book provides frank discussions of subjects not often addressed elsewhere, including the legal and financial concerns that arise because of teen-agers' inconsistent compliance with medical care. While such topics as school failure and learning disorders are expected in the section on education, issues surrounding "gifted" teen-agers, school-based health care, psychoeducational testing, and recommended reading for adolescents are also discussed. Practical tips for dealing with teen-agers are provided. Many of these tips could be helpful when counseling parents, including ways to handle allowances, chores, and curfews.

Psychosocial issues receive considerable attention. Whole chapters are devoted to such diverse topics as divorce, family illness, foster care, the media, the military, cults, and adolescents with gay or lesbian parents. Risk behaviors are addressed, and sexuality, substance abuse, running away, delinquency, and violence are discussed in detail. These sections are well balanced, and excellent references suggest further reading on these topics. Likewise, interesting philosophical concerns are raised in the chapter describing the evolution of adolescent behavior and in discussions of the history of adolescence and cross-cultural views of adolescence.

There is much new material in this second edition of Comprehensive Adolescent Health Care, including chapters on psychiatric problems and medical emergencies prevalent in adolescents. Problems that are difficult to manage, including enuresis, chronic abdominal pain, and chronic fatigue syndrome, are insightfully examined. The text highlights important issues in ophthalmology and otolaryngology, along with surgical conditions often encountered in teen-agers. Orthopedics and sports medicine are well covered, and a dentistry chapter includes useful information on orthodontics, dental trauma, and the effects of bulimia.

Excellent writing and editing have made unusually smooth transitions between chapters for a text of this size. Finding information quickly on a topic of interest is also easy, making this reference book quite useful for clinical practice. Well-designed figures and tables add to the text by providing differential diagnoses and algorithms for evaluation of complex problems. Color plates enhance the descriptions of dermatologic and gynecologic disorders.

Comprehensive Adolescent Health Care is a definitive guide to state-of-the-art health care for teen-agers. This essential resource is an important addition to the family physician's library, and it is highly recommended for anyone providing primary care or mental health services to adolescent patients.

Anna M. Georgiopoulos
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minnesota