Grading Key★★★★★ = outstanding; ★★★★ = excellent; ★★★ = good;★★ = fair; ★ = poor.

Book Review

© 2005 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research

Pain Management for Primary Care Clinicians, edited byArthur G. Lipman, 372 pp, with illus, $70, 7272 WisconsinAve, Bethesda, MD 20814, American Society of Health-Sys-tem Pharmacists (telephone: 301-657-4383), 2004, ISBN 1-58528-102-6

Type and Scope of Book: A multiauthored text on pain man-agement for primary care physicians.Contents: This well-written text provides a general overviewof pain medicine. It strives to provide busy primary careclinicians with useful information for the care of patients withacute, chronic, or cancer pain. The material will also facilitatereferrals to and collaboration with pain specialists. The bookappropriately emphasizes the biopsychosocial model of painand the team approach required for successful treatment. Indi-vidual chapters address the unique needs of pediatric andgeriatric patients. The book focuses primarily on pharmaco-logical treatment of pain. Injection therapy, interventionalpain medicine, and acupuncture are not covered.�Strengths: The emphasis on brevity will be attractive to read-ers struggling to keep up in their busy practices. The chapter onarthritis provides useful treatment algorithms and is quite good,as is the concluding chapter on evaluating clinical studies.�Deficiencies: The book necessarily lacks comprehensiveness.Several common pain problems encountered by primary careclinicians are omitted, such as herpes zoster and diabeticneuropathy. Recent controversies surrounding OxyContin orthe cardiovascular side effects of cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitorsare not discussed.Recommended Readership: The book is intended for general-ists involved in primary care, including internists, family medi-cine physicians, advanced practice nurses, and pharmacists.Overall Grading: ����

David P. Martin, MD, PhD, Department of Anesthesiology,Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn