Tropical medicine

• The distance for substances to enter cells is short in single-celled organisms, but much larger in multicellular organisms due to a higher surface area to volume ratio
• Multicellular organisms require specialised exchange surfaces for efficient gas exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen due to their higher surface area to volume ratio
• The Oxford Handbook of Tropical Medicine provides comprehensive information on viruses such as COVID-19, HIV, arboviruses, and Ebola
• The handbook offers practical, evidence-based advice on diagnosis, clinical features, and management of various tropical diseases
• It incorporates updated guidelines, including the latest WHO guidelines on HIV, TB, and rabies
• The fifth edition of the Oxford Handbook of Tropical Medicine is edited by Robert Davidson, Andrew Brent, Anna Seale, and Lucille Blumberg
• The handbook covers a wide range of topics related to tropical medicine, including the management of various diseases such as malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, and more
• The handbook also addresses health emergencies in humanitarian crises, obstetric emergencies, healthcare-associated infections, antimicrobial prescribing, and antimicrobial resistance
• Updates in the field of Tropical Medicine since the last edition include the emergence of epidemic infectious diseases like Ebola, Zika, and COVID-19
• Reasons for justifying a new edition of OHTM:

  • Continuing problem of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis
  • Speciality of Tropical Medicine encompasses more than infectious diseases
  • Non-communicable diseases cause a massive burden of human suffering
  • Attention devoted to important topics like inherited, endocrine, nutritional, and psychiatric diseases, trauma, and obstetrics
• The future of a hard copy book like OHTM:

  • Average gestation period of 9 months from proof to printing
  • Dynamic changes in the acquisition of new knowledge essential for disease treatment
  • Surge in important new knowledge about SARS CoV-2 virus variants
  • Consideration of electronic publication with continual updating
• Editorial team and contributors of OHTM:

  • Editorial team includes Andrew Brent, Anna Seale, Robert Davidson, and Lucille Blumberg
  • 59 listed contributors to the new edition, with 30 new authors
  • 34 contributors based in Western countries, most with overseas links
  • 21 authors from African countries, 4 from Asia
  • Authorship of a chapter in OHTM acknowledges a lineage of writers over 5 editions
• Learning Tropical Medicine:

  • Best learned by living and working in a tropical country
  • Importance of learning from patients and experienced local doctors
  • OHTM provides vital information on clinical features, drug doses, vaccine regimens, etc.
  • OHTM's strength lies in immediate access to important facts
• Preface of OHTM:

  • Evolution of editions to provide a practical, inexpensive handbook for clinicians in tropical diseases
  • Focus on tropical diseases evolving, with non-communicable diseases becoming major public health challenges
  • Book aims to be a useful resource for healthcare professionals in low-resource settings
• Acknowledgements for OHTM:

  • Thanks to Professor David Warrell for writing the foreword
  • Acknowledgment of Michael Eddleston's initial vision for the book
  • Thanks to expert authors for their time and experience in writing and updating sections
• Symbols and abbreviations in OHTM:

  • Includes symbols like %, ~, i, d, +ve, -ve
  • Abbreviations for medical terms, diseases, treatments, and diagnostic tests
• CSF: cerebrospinal fluid
• CT: computed tomography
• CVS: cardiovascular system
• CXR: chest X-ray
• D&V: diarrhoea and vomiting
• d4T: stavudine
• DC: direct current
• DCL: disseminated cutaneous leishmaniasis
• DDAVP: desmopressin
• ddI: didanosine
• DDT: dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane
• DEC: diethylcarbamazine
• DEET: diethyltoluamide
• DENV: dengue virus
• DF: dengue fever
• DHF: dengue haemorrhagic fever
• DI: diabetes insipidus
• DIC: disseminated intravascular coagulation
• DILI: drug-induced liver injury
• DILS: diffuse inflammatory lymphocytosis syndrome
• DIP: distal interphalangeal
• DKA: diabetic keto-acidosis
• DM: diabetes mellitus
• DMARD: disease-modifying antirheumatic drug