Clinical Epidemiology: A Basic Science for Clinical Medicine

I might have guessed that a book dedicated to "H.L. Mencken, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Douglas Adams, and the Emperor's New Clothes" would be fun to read. It was! Readers will sense the authors' enthusiasm for their subject on each page, from the preface to the final chapter. The authors prepared this book for "users" rather than "doers" of clinical research. Physicians and others who wish to recognize key clinical epidemiologic features of the diagnosis and management of patients will benefit from readingClinical Epidemiology. Those who wish to conduct actual research studies will need to look elsewhere for a detailed discussion of clinical epidemiologic methodology. In this review, I will mention some strengths and limitations of the book and recommend it to particular audiences. The book's primary strengths are the clear and practical explanations for an array of epidemiologic concepts ranging from sensitivity and specificity to "zero-time shift" and "inception