Athlete's foot and fungally infected toenails
BMJ 2001; 322 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.322.7297.1306/a (Published 26 May 2001) Cite this as: BMJ 2001;322:1306
Authors should use familiar drug names
- Arabella Melville (Arabella_Melville@port35.freeserve.co.uk), freelance consultant and writer
- Porthmadog, Gwynedd LL49 9AN
- Department of Health Sciences and Clinical Evaluation, University of York, York YO10 5DD
- Podiatry Department, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff CF1 3NS
- Clinical Evidence, BMJ Publishing Group, London WC1H 9JR
EDITOR—The review of effectiveness of treatments for athlete's foot seemed perfectly timed1: my shopping list for that Saturday morning included a fungicide to control the infection under my toes. I read it eagerly but ended up none the wiser because the names used for the drug groups were unfamiliar to me. I consulted my copy of the British National Formulary,2 confident that the mystery would be solved. No luck: the terminology in the review wasn't used there.
OK, I thought, I'll ask the pharmacist. But when he looked at the term I'd carefully copied from my BMJ his first assumption was that I'd …
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