Practical and technical pharmacology

Mental Health Nursing,  Mar 2006  

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Books Practical and technical pharmacology How drugs work Hugh McGavock (2005) Radcliffe Publishing ISBN: 1 85775 691 6 Paperback, 168 pages £21.95

There are practical books about pharmacology for healthcare professionals; there are technical books about pharmacology for healthcare professionals. However, there are very few books on pharmacology that try to combine the two. Hugh McGavock's book is one of the few.

There are 25 chapters divided into three sections. The first nine chapters focus on how drugs work and deal with matters such as drug absorption, distribution, action, metabolism, excretion and adverse effects.

Some of the information in these chapters is not for the faint hearted: by page 17 the reader is introduced to phase I hydroxylation by cytochrome P450 metabolism. Nonetheless, the author succeeds in making this important topic palatable by placing it in the context of how the body inactivates toxins.

Chapters 10 to 20 deal with drugs and the central nervous system and what is known (and importantly, not known) about their action.

There is a brave attempt to examine the drugs of addiction and the drugs used in psychiatry (including a short chapter on the drug treatment of Alzheimer's disease).

However, despite the highly specialised and complex nature of these topics, opportunities to scrutinise some of the current controversies regarding the pharmacology of these drugs are missed, for example, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

The final five chapters consider drug topics of special importance, including antibacterial action and adverse drug interactions and reactions.

The strong points of this book are its readability and clear presentation of information in the form of diagrams, information boxes and key points. Those wishing to develop their knowledge of prescribing practice could profitably read this text.

Copyright Community Psychiatric Nurses Association Mar 2006
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