Eular Textbook on Rheumatic Diseases

This book is based on the eular on-line course on rheumatic diseases and it would constitute a good reading material for anyone intending to do the course. It covers 1437 pages and is divided into seven sections: introductory aspects of rheumatic disease, inflammatory arthropathies, connective tissue diseases and vasculitis, cartilage and bone disease, regional and generalized pain syndromes, miscellaneous and evaluation and management. Each section is further subdivided into 3-11 chapters, making 50 chapters in total. The first 4 chapters (120 pages) cover basic science (immunology, neuroendocrine immunology, molecular and cell biology and genetics of the rheumatic diseases) and the remainder of the book deals with clinical topics. The last section includes a rather valuable chapter on critical appraisal of evidence, which is an absolute necessity for every practicing physician in the contemporary world of evidence based medicine. Each chapter begins with a list of learning objectives and ends with a list of summary points.

The book is excellent on the clinical aspects and the material is evidence-based and includes plenty of in-text references, although the reference list for these references is not included in the book.

I only have a couple of minor criticisms of this book, which, I hope, get addressed in the next edition. Firstly, although the book is based on the modules of the online course, there are some omissions from the original modules. In the on-line course each module has one or two addendums denoted ‘’in depth discussion’’ that are not included in the textbook. Secondly, the book does not list all the references and only selects up to 10 references and the reader is directed to the website for the full list of references which can be a nuisance to someone wanting to know the reference there and then. Lastly, I found the basic science section, particularly immunology, to be far from sufficient for the intended audience, mostly rheumatology trainees, internists, family physicians and scientists.

Overall, the book would provide an excellent and valuable reading material for anyone dealing with rheumatic disorders.