Clinical Manual of Psychopharmacology in the Medically Ill

Front Cover
Stephen J. Ferrando, James L. Levenson, James A. Owen
American Psychiatric Publishing, May 20, 2010 - Medical - 640 pages

A comprehensive yet practical guide to the prescription of psychotropic medications in patients with medical illness, Clinical Manual of Psychopharmacology in the Medically Ill is designed to be useful to clinicians practicing in a broad range of specialties, from the psychosomatic medicine specialist caring for a delirious patient with cancer to the general medical practitioner prescribing an antidepressant to a diabetic patient who recently had a myocardial infarction. This manual Provides useful psychotropic prescribing protocols that can be employed by primary care physicians, psychiatrists, and other medical professionals. Reviews fundamental principles of psychotropic drug prescribing across medical specialties. Educates clinicians regarding the growing evidence base supporting the safety and efficacy of psychopharmacological treatments for a diverse range of psychiatric problems in medically ill patients. Provides clinically relevant information concerning psychopharmacology in the medically ill, including pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles, drug-drug interactions, and organ system disease-specific issues.

Clinical Manual of Psychopharmacology in the Medically Ill is divided into two sections. The first supplies fundamental background information for prescribing psychotropics across medical disease states, including discussion of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics, drug-drug interaction principles, major systemic adverse effects of psychotropic drugs, and alternate routes of psychotropic drug administration. The second section addresses psychopharmacological treatment in specific organ system diseases, such as renal and cardiovascular disease, as well as other relevant subspecialty areas, such as critical care, organ transplantation, pain, and substance use disorders. Authored by experts in the field, chapters contain the following: Key differential diagnostic considerations, including adverse neuropsychiatric side effects of disease-specific medications Disease-specific pharmacokinetic principles in drug prescribing, including interactions between psychotropic drugs and disease-specific drugs Useful tables summarizing information on adverse neuropsychiatric side effects of disease-specific medications, adverse disease-specific side effects of psychotropic drugs, and drug-drug interactions Extensive referencing of source material to allow readers to expand their knowledge in specific areas

This manual, beyond serving as a clinical guide, should become a mainstay of curricula in general psychiatric residency programs, psychosomatic medicine fellowships, and nonpsychiatric residency training programs that prepare physicians to provide safe and effective psychopharmacological treatment for patients with medical illness.

About the author (2010)

Stephen J. Ferrando, M.D., is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Public Health and Vice Chair for Psychosomatic Medicine and Departmental Operations at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College, Department of Psychiatry, in New York, New York.

James L. Levenson, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry, Medicine, and Surgery and Vice-Chair of Psychiatry for Clinical Services at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond, Virginia.

James A. Owen, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and of Pharmacology and Toxicology at Queen's University, and Director of the Psychopharmacology Lab, Providence Care Mental Health Services, in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

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