DOI: 10.1097/OPX.0b013e3181580d4d
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Issn Print: 1040-5488
Publication Date: 2007/10/01
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Excerpt
Penny A. Asbell and Michael A. Lemp, New York, Thieme; 2006. $139.95.
Two of the most well known names in the field of dry eye disease have put together this remarkable book on the diagnosis and treatment of one of the most common diseases encountered in caring for patients and their eyes. It is a slim volume at just over 200 pages and consequently not too onerous to pick up and carry around. Within these 200 pages are eighteen chapters, each penned by a group of one to three experts who have helped contribute to our contemporary understanding of this complex disease.
Each chapter begins with a bulleted listing of “key points” to help the reader quickly focus in on the most salient issues. The chapters are subdivided into meaningful sections that assist in finding the desired information. And there is a wealth of information reviewed in each chapter. The information is enhanced by the inclusion of numerous tables and figures, with some chapters including several descriptive color photographs. Its organization generally allows the reader rapid access to information on the performance of clinical diagnostic tests and treatment options, in both cases covering the old standbys as well as more novel approaches. It discusses dry eye disease in the context of lid disease, contact lens wear, refractive surgery, and systemic disease. Overall it is an excellent resource for students and seasoned clinicians that provides a thorough review of current understandings of dry eye disease diagnosis and treatment options through the eyes of some highly respected experts.
The book begins with a two chapters reviewing the epidemiology of dry eye disease and its pathogenesis. The next three chapters are devoted to the diagnosis of dry eye using questionnaires, in-office diagnostic tests, and an interesting summary of a number of potentially useful newer tests that have yet to find their way into most clinics. You will then find a chapter on the diagnosis and management of meibomian gland disease and following that, four chapters on treatments for dry eye disease covering tear replacement strategies, modulation of inflammation and immunity, complementary and alternative medicine approaches, and mucin stimulation and hormonal treatments. The next chapters are devoted to dry eye disease in the context of contact lens wear and refractive surgery, the diagnosis and treatment of severe dry eye disease, and a description of surgical approaches including the use of punctal plugs as well as more invasive approaches that are used in the management of severe lid and ocular surface disorders. A chapter on dry eye in the context of systemic issues provides a fairly detailed guide to Sjogren’s Syndrome and aqueous deficient dry eye, and brief discussions of sex hormones, graft-versus-host disease, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, and pseudo-pemphigoid. The final three chapters are aimed at passing along lessons learned from clinical trials in dry eye disease, keeping current on medical information and drug development for dry eye disease, and providing a peek at what the future might hold.
The book is far more detailed than a straightforward clinical “guide” and accordingly I think it will find its use more in the context of a usefully thorough and informed reference on dry eye disease from its milder forms through its most severe. It is not a simple step-by-step guide to take you from the moment the dry eye patient sits down in your chair to when they leave your office with a diagnosis and treatment plan. That is not to say that such information is not in the book. It is.
