2005 Physicians' Desk Reference 
Physicians have turned to PDR® for the latest word on prescription drugs for 59 years! Today, PDR is considered the standard prescription drug reference and can be found in virtually every physician's office, hospital and pharmacy in the United States. In fact, nine out of ten doctors consider PDR their most important reference source. The 59th edition is more than 3,000 pages—our most comprehensive edition ever!
These critical new drugs are included in the 2005 edition:
Cialis (tadalafil), a new selective inhibitor of cyclic guanosine monophosphate-specific phosphodiesterase type 5 indicated for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.
Crestor (rosuvastatin calcium), a new HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor indicated as an adjunct to diet in the treatment of primary hypercholesterolemia, mixed dyslipidemia, and elevated triglyceride levels, or as an adjunct to other lipid-lowering therapies (or if these are unavailable) for treatment of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.
Levitra (vardenafil HCl), a new selective inhibitor of cyclic guanosine monophosphate-specific phosphodiesterase type 5 indicated for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.
Lexiva (fosamprenavir calcium), a new protease inhibitor indicated in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV infection in adults.
Namenda (memantine HCl), the first NMDA receptor antagonist indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of the Alzheimer's type.
Raptiva (efalizumab), a new recombinant humanized IgG1 kappa isotype monoclonal antibody indicated for the treatment of adults with chronic moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy.
Symbyax (olanzapine and fluoxetine HCI), a new combination of 2 psychotropic agents for the treatment of depressive episodes associated with bipolar disorder.
You'll find the most complete data on over 4,000 drugs by brand and generic name (both in the same convenient index), manufacturer, and product category. Your 2005 PDR provides usage information and warnings, drug interactions, plus more than 2,000 full-size, full-color photos cross-referenced to the product information.
You will also find:
>Phonetic spelling for most listings
>A key to controlled substances
>FDA use-in-pregnancy ratings
>Contraindications
>All other FDA-required information
>Clinical pharmacology
>Adverse reactions
>Pediatric use
>Dosages
On average, over 70% of the drugs found in PDR have prescribing information that has been updated from that found in the previous years' edition. This means that each year thousands of changes are made to drugs. Among these changes are:
>Interactions with other drugs
>Side Effects
>Recommended Dosages
>Contraindications
>Black box warnings
>How supplied methods
FREE PDR ELECTRONIC LIBRARY ON CD-ROM INCLUDED WITH THE 2005 PDR*!
The retail edition of the 2005 PDR includes a free PDR Electronic Library on CD-ROM. This valuable CD-ROM includes the full-text information of the 2005 Physicians Desk Reference, PDR For Nonprescription Drugs and Dietary Supplements and the PDR For Ophthalmic Medicines. As an added bonus, the PDR on CD-ROM also includes a Drug Interactions module that allows the user to check multi-drug regimens for potentially dangerous interactions. That's over $280 worth of print information on one CD-ROM.
The 2005 PDR also includes important information on how authorized prescribers (including U.S.-based MDs, DOs, Dentists, NPs, PAs, Nurse Midwives, Nurse Anesthetists, and Clinical Nurse Specialists in full-time patient practice and medical students and residents) can access:
>mobilePDR, PDR's abbreviated drug information database for PDR applications
>drug information on PDR.net
*Due to the importance of having current drug information, the PDR Electronic Library has a two year useful life. The software and data on this CD will expire on 12/31/06.
For absolutely accurate information, you need the 2005 PDR!
Reviews
In past reviews I noted the difficulty in finding certain sections -- for example, "Drug Interactions." I mentioned that boldface headings would be helpful. And indeed I see that for at least the last couple of years, this has indeed been done. Bravo!! -- a very welcome improvement. (I have been slow to notice this change. My apologies!)
But other problems remain. For example, side effects in most cases are divided between two or more different sections of each article. And various important things are still hard to find. How often have you wanted to find "half-lives" of a medication and perhaps its metabolites, and how often have you actually found them?? They are there, but they're buried. Something as important as this should certainly be highlighted in some way.
The "Foreword" explains that the PDR is constrained in its content: various aspects are required to be "same in language and emphasis" as the approved labeling for the products (including such things as use of boldface). But look -- the boldface was indeed added where mentioned above. I imagine this means it was also done on the product-labeling, probably in response to many voices that were raised. Perhaps the publisher could add its voice to further the efforts along such lines.
There are some seeming flaws that clearly aren't the fault of the publisher and are probably unavoidable. For example, despite the fact that seemingly anything and everything is mentioned as a possible side effect for every medication, common side effects sometimes are not mentioned at all. This reflects mainly failures of the medical literature, not a failure of this publisher, because if a side effect isn't mentioned prominently in the literature, understandably it might not find its way into the PDR. Secondly, oftentimes some major uses for a medication are not mentioned, but this reflects the absence of official approval for those uses.
Some caveats for consumers: The listed dosage ranges for any given medication are sometimes too limited. Lower or higher dosages may be right for some people. And also, do beware of those endless lists of possible side effects. Remember that these aren't necessarily things that will happen; they only MIGHT happen. (Many of them rarely if ever are caused by the medications.) And sometimes the lists fail to include things that DO happen! If you are convinced that a medication has done something to you and it's not mentioned in the PDR, you still could very well be right. But, don't assume that something IS happening just because it's mentioned on that endless list!
The improvements in this important reference are much appreciated. And there is clear room for further improvement. Bureaucracies do not necessarily move quickly or easily, but hopefully additional progress can be made. And if indeed the publisher and its fellow parties have listened to voices such as ours, we are very grateful.