[e-drug] 34rd edition of Martindale

["E-Drug" <e-drug@healthnet.org>]

E-DRUG: 34rd edition of Martindale
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[Although an expensive publication, a new edition of Martindale is probably worth mentioning on E-drug. WB]

MARTINDALE : COMPLETE DRUG REFERENCE, (34TH ED.) 
edited by Sean C. Sweetman 
Hardback 2754 pp. 22x28 2004 
euros 436,77

Martindale's Complete Drug Reference provides reliable, unbiased and independently evaluated information on drugs and medicines used throughout the worldno other source has this breadth and depth of coverage.
In addition to encyclopedic information on drugs used clinically, it also includes veterinary and investigational drugs, other compounds used in medicine, pharmaceutical excipients, herbal medicines, toxic substances, and more.

Martindale The Complete Drug Reference includes: 

Encyclopaedic facts about drugs and medicines
5,300 drug monographs 
110,000 preparations 
37,500 references 
9,500 manufacturers

Synopses of disease treatments

Enables identification of medicines, the local equivalent and the manufacturer

Includes herbal medicines
200 monographs 
5,000 preparations

The book is arranged in three main sections plus a comprehensive general index: 

Chapters containing monographs on drugs and ancillary substances and disease treatment reviews 
Proprietary and non-proprietary preparations 
Manufacturers' names and contact details 

NEW for the thirty-fourth edition
Every entry thoroughly re-evaluated 
Over 400 new drugs 
Coverage of proprietary preparations expanded to 32 countries, now includes Argentina, Chile, Greece, India and Malaysia

Features of the CD-ROMs search interface include: 

Flexible search functions or browsable contents list 
Hyperlinks between related documents 
Hyperlinks to relevant internet sites 
On-screen help
The information about drugs and diseases is arranged into chapters that bring together drugs with similar uses or actions plus a supplemetary list of miscellaneous drugs, herbals, and toxic substances. In addition, the electronic version includes an archive of abbreviated monographs for substances that are no longer in use nor of general interest and which have been deleted from the printed edition.

Drug monographs 
Monographs are divided into sections covering different aspects of the properties and actions of the substance. These would typically include Nomenclature, Adverse Effects, Treatment of Adverse Effects, Precautions, Interactions, Pharmacokinetics, and Uses and Administration (in that order). Each section usually starts with a summary of the relevant information for that section followed by referenced reviews and abstracts that expand on or add to this information. Lists of single and multi-ingredient proprietary and non-proprietary preparations are given at the end of each monograph and, in the electronic version, these are linked to the preparations records. 

Disease treatment reviews 
Disease treatment reviews now number over 600 and cover diseases from Acne to Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. They aim to provide a concise overview of clinical practice. They are intended to provide the reader with some helpful context to the uses described in the drug monographs, giving a clearer idea of how valuable drug treatment is in general, and the relative contribution of particular drug entities. In addition, they provide a more succinct way to summarise disease-based treatment guidelines, recommendations, and comparative studies. 

Preparations 
It includes details of preparations from 28 countries. The information provided includes the proprietary name, manufacturer or distributor, country, active ingredients with cross-references to the drug monographs, and a summary of the indications as given by the manufacturer.

Directory of manufacturers 
The names of manufacturers and distributors are abbreviated. The full names are listed alphabetically in the directory of manufacturers with their full address, if available. In addition, the telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address, and website in each country (where available) is provided on some electronic versions. 

General index 
This exhaustive index includes entries for drugs (aproved names, synonyms, and chemical names), preparations, pharmacological and therapeutic groups, and clinical used (disease treatment reviews).