Lecture Notes: Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics provides all the necessary information, within one short volume, to achieve a thorough understanding of how drugs work, their interaction with the body in health and disease, and how to use these drugs appropriately in clinical situations.

Presented in an easy-to-use format, this eighth edition builds on the clinical relevance for which the title has become well-known, and features an up-to-date review of drug use across all major clinical disciplines, together with an overview of contemporary medicines regulation and drug development.

Key features include:

A section devoted to the practical aspects of prescribingClinical scenarios and accompanying questions to contextualise informationEnd-of-chapter summary boxesNumerous figures and tables which help distil the information for revision purposes

Whether you need to develop or refresh your knowledge of pharmacology,Lecture Notes: Clinical Pharmacology and Therpeutics presents 'need to know' information for those involved in prescribing drugs.

Gerard A. McKay: Consultant Physician and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer, Glasgow Royal Infirmary

John L. Reid: Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Glasgow

Matthew R. Walters: Professor of Clinical Pharmacology and Honorary Consultant Physician, Division of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow

Contributors, iv

Preface, vi

Acknowledgements, vii

Part 1 Principles of Clinical Pharmacology

1 Pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics, 3

2 Clinical trials and drug development, 12

Part 2 Aspects of Therapeutics

3 Drugs and gastrointestinal disease, 21

4 Management of coronary artery disease and its complications, 33

5 Primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, 58

6 Drugs used to treat respiratory disease, 78

7 Drugs used to treat neurological disease, 89

8 Treatment of psychiatric disorders, 108

9 Antimicrobial therapy, 124

10 HIV and antiretroviral treatment, 148

11 Travel medicine and tropical disease, 160

12 Drugs and endocrine disease, 171

13 Drugs and the reproductive system, 190

14 Drugs and the urological system, 199

15 Cancer therapeutics, 205

16 Immunopharmacology, 217

17 Corticosteroids, 225

18 Drugs and the blood including anticoagulants and thrombolytic drugs, 229

19 Drugs and inflammatory joint disease, 244

20 Anaesthesia and the relief of pain, 254

Part 3 Practical Aspects of Prescribing

21 Clinical pharmacokinetics: dosage individualisation, 267

22 Influence of renal and hepatic disease on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, 273

23 Prescribing at extremes of age, 278

24 Drugs in pregnant and breastfeeding women, 282

25 Pharmacoeconomics: the economic evaluation of new drugs, 290

26 Poisoning and drug overdose, 297

27 Drugs you may need in a hurry, 313

28 Prescribing and its pitfalls, 318

Index, 326