Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

Antimicrobial agents are essential for the treatment of life-threatening infections and for managing the burden of minor infections in the community. In addition, they play a key role in organ and bone marrow transplantation, cancer chemotherapy, artificial joint and heart valve surgery. Unlike other classes of medicines, they are vulnerable to resistance from mutations in target microorganisms, and their adverse effects may extend to other patients (increased risk of cross-infection). As a consequence, there is a constant requirement for new agents, as well as practices that ensure the continued effective prescribing of licensed agents.

The fully revised and updated seventh edition of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy is an essential guide to the principles of antimicrobial chemotherapy, the problem of resistance and its control through policies, antimicrobial stewardship and surveillance. The book provides an aid to informed, rational prescribing for common bacterial, fungal, parasitic and viral infections.

Divided in five parts, the book cover issues specific to both the developed and developing world. Part 1 'General property of antimicrobial agents' discusses mechanisms of action and resistance to antibacterial, antifungal antiprotozoal, antiviral, and antiviral agents. Part 2 'Resistance to antimicrobial agents' provides guidance about the problem of resistance, mechanisms of acquired resistance and genetics of resistance. Part 3 'General principles of usage of antimicrobial agents' analyses the use of the laboratory, general principles of the treatment of infection, dosing in special groups (extremes of age, pregnancy, obesity), safe prescribing, prophylaxis and the role of policies in antimicrobial stewardship. Part 4 'Therapeutic use of antimicrobial agents' provides advice about the treatment of common infections which are described by anatomical. There are also chapters on the management of mycobacterial disease, viral infections, HIV/AIDS and parasitic infections. The final part of the book analyses the development and marketing of antimicrobial drugs.

This seventh edition of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy continues to be a valuable resource for undergraduates and graduates requiring a thorough grounding in the scientific basis and clinical application of these drugs.

Peter Davey, Lead Clinician for Clinical Quality Improvement Quality Safety and Informatics Research Group, School of Medicine, University of Dundee, UK,Mark H. Wilcox,Consultant, Clinical Director of Microbiology and Pathology, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; and Professor of MedicalMicrobiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds, UK,Will Irving,Professor and Honorary Consultant in Virology, University of Nottingham and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, UK,Guy Thwaites,Director, Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, The Wellcome Trust MajorOverseas Research Programme, Viet Nam; Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK

Peter Davey has over thirty years experience of research focused on the outcomes of antimicrobial chemotherapy and the relationships between prescribing and resistance. He trained as an Infectious Diseases Physician in Birmingham UK and at the Tufts New England Medical Centre in Boston. He was the first Director of the University of Dundee's Health Informatics Centre from 2003-6. He is past President of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research and of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. He is Surveillance and Stewardship Secretary of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

Mark Wilcox is a Consultant and Clinical Director of Microbiology and Pathology at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. His is also Professor of Medical Microbiology, University of Leeds, UK

Will Irving qualified in Medicine from Cambridge, and completed a PhD in Immunology, before specializing in Virology .Will's main interest is in viral hepatitis. He chairs the Department of Health Advisory Group on Hepatitis, and is co-chair of HCV Research UK (a national cohort of patients with hepatitis C virus infection). Will is also a keen bridge player, and avid Leeds Rhinos and Utd fan.

Guy Thomas qualified from Cambridge University and the United Medical and Dental schools of Guy's and St Thomas' and trained in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology in Brighton, the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) in Vietnam, Imperial College London, and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London. Guy held Wellcome Trust Training and Intermediate Fellowships to study tuberculosis; and is a founder and Chairman of the UK Clinical Infection Research Group. Between 2011 and 2013 he was a Reader in Infectious Diseases at King's College London and Honorary Consultant in Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology at Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation trust, before returning to Vietnam in 2013 to take over as Director of OUCRU.