C L I N I C A L A N D E X P E R I M E N T A L

OPTOMETRY
Book reviews
Clin Exp Optom 2009; 92: 4: 403–405 DOI:10.1111/j.1444-0938.2008.00334.x cxo_334 403..405

for producing a sturdy handbook with

over 250 colour photographs and illustra-
tions with minimal text to enable practitio-
ners to tailor-make their explanations for
individual patients.
The book has five sections covering the
anatomy of the eye and vision disorders,
spectacle lenses, abnormal anterior and
posterior eye conditions, contact lenses,
and binocular vision.
Although it does not aim to cover all
clinical entities, it would have been worth- cxo_387 403..405

The Optometrist’s while including images of conjunctivitis

Practitioner-Patient and corneal infiltrates—the latter being Environmental and
Manual commonly encountered in many practices Occupational Optometry
with a contact lens bias.
The information presented is current
Anthony J Phillips and reasonably accurate, although the Gordon H Carson
Philadelphia: Butterworth Heinemann colour vision page should state that Series editors:
Elsevier, 2008 missing or abnormal green cones, rather Sandip Doshi and William Harvey
133 pages, RRP $87.00 than red cones, are more often the cause Edinburgh: Butterworth Heinemann/
Reviewed by KA-YEE LIAN, Camberwell, of colour vision deficiencies. Elsevier, 2008
Australia This unique manual is highly recom- 127 pages, RRP $58.00
mended for optometrists who value the Reviewed by BARRY L COLE,
importance of keeping their patients Department of Optometry and Vision
informed. It will save them time spent Sciences, The University of Melbourne
Communication is very important in clini- looking through various books for appro-
cal practice and too often it can fail: priate pictures or frequently sketching dia-
patients can so easily misunderstand what grams. This is one book that will not
is said, become confused and anxious, or collect dust on the shelf. This is a compact paperback in the series
not be satisfied with or be convinced by Eye Essentials, of which 11 have been
the explanations and advice given. Many published. The books in the series are
patients want to be fully informed about intended to be indispensable reference
the condition they have, be it a refractive sources for students, graduates prepar-
error, a motility disorder or an eye disease, ing for their registration examinations
and have a clear understanding of the and practitioners ‘keen to polish their
management options. clinical skills’. Regrettably, this book is
This book is a very good aid to improve dispensable.
communication with patients, ensuring Its author is a clinical development
patient compliance with treatment and manager at Dollond and Aitchison in the
building patient loyalty. There is no doubt United Kingdom and an examiner for the
that any optometrist who buys it will use it UK College of Optometrists. His book
frequently. has nine chapters covering visual perfor-
It was compiled by Anthony Phillips, an mance, visual standards and vision screen-
Australian optometrist who specialises in ing, ocular injuries and eye protection,
contact lenses in his general practice and lighting, visual display units, sunglasses
in hospital clinics. He recognised the need and sports eyewear, and colour vision.

© 2009 The Authors Clinical and Experimental Optometry 92.4 July 2009
Journal compilation © 2009 Optometrists Association Australia 403
Book reviews

This is a lot of ground to cover in a short professionals. This book is a comprehen-

book of just over 100 pages, yet the sive guide for optometrists, ophthalmic
author’s style is discursive. In the lighting nurses and orthoptists and should set the
chapter of just nine pages, it takes him 4.5 standards for their shared care of
pages to describe how 80-year-old Gwen patients with glaucoma. Ophthalmolo-
needs local lighting from an angle-poise gists too should gain a better understand-
lamp to supplement her two 40 W ceiling ing of what these professionals have to
lights. It is also superficial: it lacks an ana- offer in the management of patients.
lytical structure and is short on explana- Shared Care Glaucoma contains 25 chap-
tions. The bibliography is short and has ters grouped in four sections. The first
mostly secondary sources. At times the cxo_389 404..406
section provides insight into the epidemi-
writing is vague. What would you make of ology, genetics and pathophysiology of
the sentence ‘A task group has explored Shared Care Glaucoma: glaucoma, followed by eight chapters
the hazards posed by exposure to oph- detailing the labyrinth of clinical proce-
thalmic equipment. This is part of work
A clinical text for dures available for the diagnosis and moni-
done by the International Commission on ophthalmic allied toring of the disease. Section 2 outlines
Non-Ionising Radiation Protection’ or the professionals both the importance and the difficulties of
sentence ‘Clinicians should note that only detecting change in the visual fields and
a small number of users will suffer from disc morphology of patients having glau-
health related problems following use of Amar Alwitry coma, concluding with sobering advice
display screen equipment’? It is sometimes Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, 2008 that there is no ideal tool for monitoring
wrong: the symbols for luminous flux and 264 pages, RRP $$110.00 the disease. Section 3 deals with the man-
intensity are reversed and the quantities Reviewed by: Dr DAVID COCKBURN, agement of patients with glaucoma. The
are not defined or explained. The Inverse Hampton, Victoria, Australia final section is devoted to describing the
square law is wrongly stated and reflective problems specific to various forms of glau-
glare is called disability glare. coma: normal tension, steroid induced and
The book is copiously illustrated in secondary glaucomas and finally, the angle
colour but the illustrations are mostly It is almost an oxymoron to claim that a closure glaucomas. The topics are all well
decorative rather than informative or textbook is so well written that it could be explained and accompanied by mostly
explanatory, suggesting that the publisher read simply for entertainment rather than good diagrams and photographs.
may have sourced illustrations simply to for its educational content, yet this is such The writing style is informal yet crisp,
enliven the presentation. We have three a book. This is also a book for modern making reading a pleasant change from
pictures of road traffic signals to illustrate times. Fifty years ago, the ophthalmologist the stiff style too often adopted by authors
colour coding, people playing squash to author would have been drummed out of of textbooks. Most topics have a short
illustrate that squash can cause eye injuries his profession for publishing a book on introduction that asks ‘Why should I read
and a picture of two happy skiers to sharing care of glaucoma with optom- this chapter?’ This unusual approach
accompany the section on the need for etrists. How times have changed. works well because it challenges readers to
eye protection when skiing. There is even As the title implies, the book is review what they already know about the
a picture of a 40 W incandescent lamp intended for all ophthalmic practitioners topic and to recognise any personal defi-
illustrating the story of 80-year-old Gwen to help them work together in caring for ciencies before starting the chapter. At the
and her need for higher luminance. patients with glaucoma. The need for conclusion of the chapters, you may find a
I cannot recommend the book; a better ophthalmology to share the workload of short section headed ‘What we’re not sure
choice would be Rachel North’s Work and managing glaucoma is partly due to the about’.
the Eye (Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann increasing pool of elderly people who are Each section has its own introduction
2001). most at risk of developing glaucoma and and either a summary or conclusion,
to a greater awareness of this enigmatic allowing readers to skip the bulk of the
condition. The scope of services provided topic if they are already comfortable in
by ophthalmology has also increased, that area. The book provides ample and
adding more complex diagnostic and up-to-date references to didactic state-
therapeutic procedures to its professional ments and well-balanced discussions of
domain. It seems logical that the more areas of contention.
routine management of chronic eye A table is attached to the Introduction
disease should be delegated to other that lists 59 abbreviations with their full
competent, albeit less intensely-trained meanings. While this is a great idea that

Clinical and Experimental Optometry 92.4 July 2009 © 2009 The Authors
404 Journal compilation © 2009 Optometrists Association Australia