DuPont HL, Steffen R; eds. 370 pages. BC Decker; 1997. $125.00. ISBN 1550090372.

Field of medicine: Infectious diseases, internal medicine, and primary care.

Format: Hardcover book.

Audience: A complete reading of this book will be useful for the specialist in infectious diseases. Primary care physicians will find it a good resource in counseling and evaluating patients who travel.

Purpose: To prevent disease and provide optimal medical care for the traveling public and to define the boundaries of the new and expanding field of travel medicine.

Content: The textbook reviews every aspect of health as it relates to travel. The 34 chapters cover the prevention and treatment of travel-associated illnesses and diseases as well as issues about repatriation and outbreak investigation. The book contains answers to practical questions, such as "Will my patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease require supplemental oxygen during his airplane flight?" and "What items should be included in a basic travel medical kit?" Many primary care practitioners will find the chapter titled "Diagnostic and Management Approaches in Returning Travelers" useful.

Highlights: The book's highlights include a useful sample patient-intake form for a travel medicine evaluation and chapters on gender- and age-specific topics such as pregnancy, nursing, and physical handicaps,. There are also several useful summary tables for the treatment and prophylaxis of malaria.

Limitations: Although sufficiently detailed to serve as a useful reference for a travel medicine clinic, the book will not take the place of an infectious disease textbook. Because the index does not include specific countries or regions, the physician will not be able to simply look up a geographic area and find specific recommendations about endemic diseases or vaccinations. The format of the Table of contents make it somewhat difficult to scan.

Context: Textbook of Travel Medicine deals with a subject that overlaps both general internal medicine and infectious diseases. Travel medicine is included in infectious diseases textbooks but is usually relegated to a chapter or a few pages. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention periodically publish Health Information for International Travel, but subjects such as motion sickness and the pregnant traveler receive significantly less attention than they do in this textbook.

Reviewer: Joan Bowes Ritter, MD, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.

Commentary: This is a comprehensive guide to the prevention and treatment of diseases of the traveling public. It is detailed enough to be a useful reference for specialists in travel medicine. The increased frequency of travel for business and pleasure makes it a good resource for the primary care practitioner. The broad scope of the book helps bring into focus the field of travel medicine. Subsequent editions will be necessary because of the changing patterns of infectious disease and the constant movement of populations.