100 Cases in Psychiatry

By Barry Wright, Subodh Dave, Nisha Dogra. Hodder Arnold. 2010. £20.99 (pb). 278pp. ISBN: 9780340986011

1. Rui Zheng
2. 1. Senior house officers (SHOs) in liaison psychiatry and doctors working in any specialty are likely to meet on a regular basis patients whose presentation will tax their psychiatric knowledge. 100 Cases in Psychiatry is aimed at doctors across all disciplines. As the title implies, the book consists of 100 examples of common clinical scenarios that practitioners may come across in various settings. Each scenario is set out on a single page, along with two or three questions to guide the reader’s thinking. The examples cover a broad range of psychiatry, focusing especially on more commonly encountered situations but including those presentations it would be risky to miss. The stories are general enough to allow for pattern recognition but they are also idiosyncratic enough to feel real and interesting. The answers are to be found on the following page and manage to convey a lot of useful information in a concise format.
      So who should buy this book? Clearly, SHOs in accident and emergency, and indeed any doctor who fears they may run into a psychiatric situation in which they may feel at a loss as to how to proceed. Medical students might also find it a useful adjunct to their textbooks. The depth of the information and the more straightforward nature of many of the cases are probably not sufficient for psychiatric trainees preparing for examinations. However, the book would probably provide a valuable quick reference for new psychiatric SHOs facing their first on-calls. Finally, it may be a useful reminder for all psychiatrists of areas they do not usually cover but which they may sometimes encounter on call.