Community Pharmacy: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

Pharmacy students and pharmacists need to be able to identify common conditions, to distinguish them from other, less common ones, to recommend appropriate medications or to suggest referral to a doctor. To do this accurately, they need to understand which conditions are most likely to present in the pharmacy, to have an understanding of epidemiological data and signs and symptoms, and to be able to make a simple 'differential diagnosis' in the pharmacy.

This new textbook provides a comprehensive, clearly structured and well-illustrated guide to differential diagnosis of symptoms that are commonly seen by the community pharmacist. Organised mainly by body system, each chapter begins with an overview of the system and a brief guide to history taking; then each symptom or condition is examined under the following headings: background, prevalence, aetiology, arriving at a differential diagnosis, questions to ask the patient, conditions to eliminate. The book also contains some unique features, such as algorithms to aid in diagnosis, summary tables on what questions should be asked and why, and lists of further reading and useful websites.

Comprehensive - covers all the most common conditions and gives the evidence to back-up OTC (over-the-counter) recommendations

Well-structured presentation including some features unique to this book:

Prevalence/epidemiology section for each condition that puts the presenting symptom into the primary care context

Arriving at a differential diagnosis - what questions to ask to narrow down the possible diagnoses

Primers for differential diagnosis - schematic representations of how to arrive at a diagnosis for certain conditions

Evidence base for OTC medication - to help the reader understand what does and does not work from an evidence-based perspective

Practical prescribing summary tables that cover key issues to be aware of when recommending certain products

Hints and tips boxes that give practical advice on how to use products - for example, how to administer eye drops

Self-assessment sections, including MCQs, review questions and case studies

Full-colour layout with colour pictures of important conditions

"Having looked through this book several times, I am very excited about what it has to offer in terms of information and guidance with regards to OTC prescribing. Being a pre-reg myself, I find one of the most difficult things when presented with a complaint is being able to ask the correct questions in the right way to extract the most relevant information from the patient. Believe me, I have used many other books on the same subject as this one and now I am able to have this book on my shelf, I do think that the others will become somewhat redundant...the way that Paul Rutter has set out and guided us through the information and diagnostic process, the sheer ease of use of this book is what sets it in a class of its own." Chris Barnes - Editor, Future Pharmacist, July 2004
essential aid for all pharmacy undergrads, pre-reg students and established pharmacists. This text is well organised by body system and each section opens with an "aide memoire" on the relevant A&P. It includes in practical detail the common conditions which frequently present and how to diagnose and differentiate these from other similar and sometimes more sinister conditions...layout includes flow charts for diagnosis with lots of user friendly text boxes and recommendations on 1st and 2nd line drug therapy options. This contributes to its ease of use in quickly referencing a condition or OTC medicine. There are also great symptom illustrations which help clarify what we need to look out for. At the end of each section is a practical Q&A component which clarifies our understanding.
This text is a great accompaniment to the BNF - indeed it may well become the community pharmacists' 2nd bible!" 2nd Year Pharmacy Student, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, May 2004
is one of the most comprehensive books on responding to symptoms in the pharmacy that I have found. It does not however just cover illnesses and conditions that pharmacists will be presented with, this book includes so much more...very useful and informative in my community practice units...not just of use to undergraduates, but will also be indispensable to both pre-reg's and pharmacists. This is due to its ease of use and the logical thought process to follow in identifying and treating patients within the community setting." 3rd Year Pharmacy Student, University of Portsmouth, July 2004