Media Type: Textbook Color atlas and review book

Synopsis: Following in the footsteps of the The Wills Eye Manual, this text, entitled Uveitis , is part of the Color Atlas & Synopsis of Clinical Ophthalmology series which was developed at the Wills Eye Institute. Its goal is to provide a brief overview of the major aspects ocular inflammatory diseases to ophthalmologists and trainees. Due to the standard format used throughout the book, users can easily navigate the text to find needed information. A basic description of the work up and management of a variety of inflammatory conditions is included along with high quality, color photographs.

Target Audience: Comprehensive ophthalmologists, ophthalmology residents, and retina, cornea and uveitis fellows.

Review: Dr Sunir J. Garg is a faculty member at the Wills Eye Institute and assistant professor of ophthalmology at Thomas Jefferson University. Dr Garg and his co-editors assembled an international group of specialists and put together a book that provides a brief overview of the diagnosis and management of ocular inflammatory conditions. The book is a valuable resource for any physician involved in the care of patients with such conditions.

The book is divided into 14 chapters. The book starts with a summary of the immune system, followed by an overview of the anatomic classification of uveitis based on the Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature (SUN) criteria. Further chapters are then organized based on anatomic location of inflammation (eg, sclera, anterior segment, vitreous) or based on categories of disease (eg, collagen vascular diseases, AIDS- related eye diseases). The last chapter focuses on the treatment of ocular inflammation.

Chapters are further sub-divided into similarly ordered sections which facilitates a quick review of each subject. Each section begins with the etiology and epidemiology of disease followed by its symptoms, signs, differential diagnosis, diagnostic evaluation, treatment and prognosis. Each section also has one or more representative color photographs to illustrate typical ocular disease manifestations. Furthermore, information on systemic manifestations of disease is included in both the text and illustrations. The information in this book is arranged so that physicians can easily access the needed material, and then proceed with the appropriate work up and treatment of disease.

Criticisms of the book are limited. Due to its format as a review book, details on the finer points of uveitis diagnosis and management are limited. For example, in the scleritis section, potential treatments of disease are listed as oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDS), sub-conjunctival triamcinolone, oral prednisone, and immunosuppressive. A slightly more detailed step-ladder approach versus a list of options would have been beneficial. Furthermore, controversies of uveitis are not mentioned. In the treatment of scleritis, for example, the use of sub-conjunctival triamcinolone is controversial due to the theoretical concern of a scleral melt. Such controversies could have been briefly mentioned. Strengths of the book include its simple organization which make finding information easy and its high quality photographs.

In summary, this book provides a quick review of ocular inflammatory conditions and given its relatively compact size and weight, is a good resource to have in an office or emergency room.