Bailey & Scott’s Diagnostic Microbiology, 13^thEdn

The 13th edition of Bailey & Scott’s Diagnostic Microbiology is a comprehensive textbook of clinical microbiology that will serve as an excellent resource for students, technologists, and practicing clinical microbiologists. Each chapter follows a consistent format, starting with objectives and including figures, tables, and a short set of pertinent references at the end of each chapter. The new editor, Dr Patricia M. Tille, is the program director of the Department of Medical Laboratory Science of South Dakota State University in Brookings. Her preface effectively lays out the new material in this edition, setting the tone for what to expect and emphasizing that many changes have been made based on the comments of past reviewers. Tille and her contributors have done a terrific job in trying to meet the needs of readers and reviewers alike. In terms of how it is organized, the book thoroughly covers all of clinical microbiology using the traditional breakdown of chapters into various organism groups (parts III-VIs); however, it also includes a part VII that provides information grouped by organ systems. Some textbooks use either of these groupings but not both; because this book is targeted to students, technologists, and practicing microbiologists, it is advantageous to all readers that information is available both ways. Again, the editor and contributors have done a strong job of trying to meet the needs of many different types of readers. The graphics are excellent—beautiful figures, pictures, and graphs provide a visual depiction of the information contained in the text. Many new graphics have been included in this edition; strong graphics from previous editions are also included. One exception to the excellent quality graphics is the series of microscopic slides of Nocardia spp presented in the chapter on aerobic actinomycetes; the book could have provided much better examples of the Gram and modified acid-fast bacillus (AFB) stains. Case studies are presented in most chapters and are an excellent new feature of this edition. These studies include questions at the end, which is always a helpful tool for learners at all levels. These questions are also useful for competency testing in clinical microbiology laboratories and for teaching medical students and residents during lab rounds. They add a great deal of information and help to complete the contents of the chapters. The taxonomy presented in the book is up to date. The tables that detail all types of specimens and how to process them are informative. The inclusion of chapters on lab safety and lab management is helpful; also, placing the table of contents in the front binder is ingenious because it provides easy look-up of chapters for those in a hurry while giving enough information to be complete. The glossary at the end is extremely thorough and provides definitions of terms used in the text. The index is extensive and complete, allowing for easy look-up of topics. Despite its strong points, the book has certain drawbacks. Although the enhanced chapter on molecular techniques is well written, there is an insufficient amount of discussion about use of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization–time of flight (MALDI-TOF) for identification of many organisms. This technique is mentioned only briefly in chapter 7 and again briefly in the mycology chapter on hyaline molds. Many articles have been published about MALDITOF; these should have been introduced and discussed. This edition of the book, like previous editions, places too much emphasis on biochemicals for identification of organisms. This is particularly the case for organisms such as the actinomycetes and Mycobacterium spp, for which biochemical testing methods need to be de-emphasized and molecular methods and mass spectrophotometry discussed at greater length. To be fair to the authors, they comment in the chapter on mycobacteria that a combination of molecular and phenotypic identification will be necessary for complete identification. However, this point should be emphasized throughout the text, with references given to provide further information for readers. Dr Tille explains in the preface that an attempt was made to reduce the size of chapters and to break down topics into smaller segments. However, the book now contains too many subdivisions of chapters on topics such as the nonfermenter substances. Many rarely isolated and not necessarily clinically relevant organisms are discussed in the space of an entire chapter. In contrast, the chapter on aerobic atinomycetes, especially Nocardia spp, does not discuss these important entities at sufficient length. Likewise, Clostridium difficile is given only a small section in the chapter on anaerobes. Also, the authors should have provided some guidance on algorithms that can be used in the lab that are not entirely based on enzyme immunoassays. In the next edition, I suggest inclusion of a reference to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) documents in the chapter on mycology antifungal susceptibility, the chapter on mycoplasma, and other areas in which the topics for which these documents would be helpful are discussed. These sources are valuable; readers need to be made aware of them. Despite its few shortcomings, this edition of the classic textbook for clinical microbiologists helps to maintain the well-reputed names of Bailey and Scott and provides a meaningful addition to the library of the clinical microbiologist.

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