Top 3 Differentials in Radiology: A Case Review

Excellent book which covers the essentials for the FRCR 2B exam. Structured on a system based approach providing a comprehensive review of the essential and aunt minnie cases. would definitely recommend.

First of, I am writing this as a radiology registrar in the UK from a perspective of using this book in preparation for the final part B FRCR exam. The title and the picture quality is what drove me to buy this book as I was able to look through a colleague's copy. First, the picture quality is great. The images are absolutely pristine printed on excellent glossy good quality paper so well done to the publisher for this. I find that the Thieme series are great for picture quality. Content is also pretty good with lots of cases. The only problem is when you start reading through properly, you will find that in about 30-40% of the book, the top 3 list isn't what you would give for the imaging appearance in question. Don't get me wrong, I think it's useful to have these lists in the back of your mind and to be fair the text gives you explanation as to why it isn't the diagnosis. In an exam situation though, if you spurt out these top 3 you might get a slap and sent home packing. Overall, use with a bit of common sense, it is a useful addition to the preparatory books for the 2B.

Good

I think this book would be extremely useful to residents in their final years of training in preparation for board or fellowship exams. The images are clear the text succinct and to the point.

Original book. But no online access :( It will make you think the right way.

This is absolutely a brilliantly composed case book. The strengths of this book lie in below features. 1) "Key image finding" written on top of the answer page is a brilliant idea. This is because this forces you to organize this newly gained knowledge by thinking "ok the 3 differential dxs for 'bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy' is xyz". The key image finding's 1-4 word phrase summarizes the finding for you. Even other Radcases do not do this and I think this is a VERY helpful feature. 2) Most of the times the 3 ddxs are valid and ones you should know. Many times text books list a laundry list of ddx which you'll never see or dare put in your report in fear of being laughed at since you really never should have too many ddx on your impression and also because some ddx are way too rare. But this book really hones down on the top 3. Descriptions/explanations about each of 3 ddx are very good as well. 3) The "Pearl" section really summarizes what key things you should learn about the cases. Now, the caution and how this book can improve. 1) Caution: This book only has 25 cases in each section (ie chest, GI, peds, neuro, etc...). This means this book lists what you MUST know. But, by no means is this your final source of review. 2) Unlike most other Radcase series books, this book has the answer sheet where you can see it-facing the image page. This is not really a big deal. But, it'd just be better if you had to flip the pages for the answers. 3) Because the answer page doesn't have images from the image page, there are no arrows to point to the findings. When you are learning, things should be pointed out rather than leaving the reader guessing what findings are. Many times findings are obvious. But, many times they are not. As a newbie it's not so easy to sort them out.

Great informative book coming for a radiologist

I purchased this to study for oral boards this year and after reading through a few sections, it seems like a great oral boards prep book: High quality images, quick concise review of the diagnosis and the top 3 differential diagnoses, and even references for more info. I noticed that nobody had reviewed it yet, so I figured it would be a good idea to let fellow rad residents know that it was good. It has a good number of cases (25) in each section that is examined and also includes a section for Aunt Minnie's. It's also much cheaper than buying the entire Case Review series that most people use. Definitely good bang for your buck. Grab it and go shoot some 72s!

The title of this review says everything, I really mean it. I've purchased almost every single book intended for board exams preparation, including Case Review Series, Teaching Files and Aunt Minnie's Atlas. I'm confident to say that this book surpasses all the above (though they all are pretty good too). The idea behind the book is great: in our day-to-day work, we don't have only one answer for each problem, all we have are findings and the most probable diagnosis behind them. That's the truly innovating idea behind this book. To say that it serves only for board review would be unfair as it provides an excellent source of knowledge for starters and experienced radiologists seeking for a memory refresh as well. The only downside: the book isn't hardcover, making it less durable.