Jennifer Jackson-Cole, University of Sierra Leone

An excellent book. I don't know if I would have survived through Clinical chemistry without it. The concepts are easy to understand and it will really help if you read it more often.

Posted 27th Aug 2008

Amanda Jewison, Brighton and Sussex Medical School

If you are like me, and the thought of starting work as a junior doctor in a year's time induces fear and panic deep inside you, this book is fantastic. It explains what results of biochemical investigations signify and more importantly, what to do with them. There are lists of causes for abnormal results and the pathophysiology behind them, including clear diagrams and easy-to-read text. With chapters such as sodium & water balance, acid-base disorders and assessment of renal function, this book is perfect for medical students on medicine or surgery attachments, especially at the beginning of the clinical phase. It has an attractive layout and is small enough to carry round with you for quick reference.

Posted 20th Aug 2008

David Miller, University of Glasgow

FBC’s, U&E’s, LFT’s, TFT’s, CK, GTT, CRP, ESR, HbA1C……Routine tests, perhaps, but are you confident enough to know when to order them, how the are performed, the physiology behind them, how to interpret them, how to treat the disorders they reflect? Clinical chemistry is bread and butter on the wards for all clinical staff and students but sometimes we all have to pause and think through the raised bicarbonate, raised carbon dioxide and low pH in the acidotic COPD patient before us. Clinical Chemistry Made Easy is a handy pocket sized guide to help direct your decision as to what to tests to order and then how to apply the results to implementing the best therapy. It is well laid out in a step by step format with plenty of diagrams and illustrations. So next time the consultant quizzes you on a teenagers gamma-glutamyl transferase, aminotransferases, bilirubin and prothrombin time acute rocketing following a drinking session - you can confidently advise enquires into paracetamol overdose are merited.

Posted 1st Jul 2008