Book excerpt: For decades, health care practitioners have relied on Middleton’s Allergy as their go-to reference for comprehensive information on allergic disorders. Now Middleton’s Allergy Essentials, by Drs. Robyn E. O'Hehir, Stephen T. Holgate, and Aziz Sheikh, offers a concise resource that’s both easily accessible and highly authoritative. Perfect for clinicians in primary and secondary care settings, this practical volume covers what is most useful in your daily practice, with a strong emphasis on disease diagnosis and management. A practical approach to evaluation, differential diagnosis, and treatment of allergic disorders, focused specifically on what the non-specialist needs to know for everyday practice. Each chapter begins with a handy summary of key concepts to help you quickly identify important information. Coverage of today’s hot topics includes asthma, drug allergies, food allergies and gastrointestinal disorders, anaphylaxis, atopic dermatitis, and allergic contact dermatitis. Concise sections on mechanisms are included where relevant, keeping you up to date with this rapidly evolving field. Authored by the same internationally recognized experts that produce Middleton’s Allergy, the definitive text in the field. Ideal for physicians, residents, general and family practitioners, nurse practitioners, primary care doctors, hospitalists, general internists – anyone who is called upon to make effective diagnostic and treatment decisions regarding allergic disorders.