Preface

The 25th edition of Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Pediatrics (CDTP) features practical, up-to-date, well-referenced information on the care of children from birth through infancy and adolescence. CDTP emphasizes the clinical aspects of pediatric care while also covering important underlying principles. CDTP provides a guide to diagnosis, understanding, and treatment of the medical problems of all pediatric patients in an easy-to-use and readable format.

Like all Lange medical books, CDTP provides a concise, yet comprehensive source of current information. Students will find CDTP an authoritative introduction to pediatrics and an excellent source for reference and review. CDTP provides excellent coverage of The Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) curriculum used in pediatric clerkships. Residents in pediatrics (and other specialties) will appreciate the detailed descriptions of diseases as well as diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Pediatricians, family practitioners, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other health care providers who work with infants, children, and adolescents will find CDTP a useful reference on management of pediatric medicine.

Forty-six chapters cover a wide range of topics, including neonatal medicine, child development and behavior, emergency and critical care medicine, and diagnosis and treatment of specific disorders according to major problems, etiologies, and organ systems. A wealth of tables and figures provides quick access to important information, such as acute and critical care procedures in the delivery room, the office, the emergency room, and in-hospital critical care units; anti-infective agents; drug dosages; immunization schedules; differential diagnosis; and developmental disorders.

The 25th edition of CDTP has been revised comprehensively by the editors and contributing authors. A major effort involved further streamlining the contents of the book by condensing text into tables, eliminating wordy text, and updating references. New references and up-to-date and useful Web sites have been added, facilitating the reader to consult original material and to go beyond the confines of the textbook. As editors and practicing pediatricians, we have tried to ensure that each chapter reflects the needs and realities of day-to-day practice.

3 Child Development & Behavior

5 Adolescent Substance Abuse

7 Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Disorders & Psychosocial Aspects of Pediatrics

9 Ambulatory & Office Pediatrics

10 Immunization

15 Skin

17 Oral Medicine & Dentistry

19 Respiratory Tract & Mediastinum

21 Gastrointestinal Tract

22 Liver & Pancreas

23 Fluid, Electrolyte, & Acid–Base Disorders & Therapy

25 Neurologic & Muscular Disorders

32 Pain Management & Pediatric Palliative & End-of-Life Care

33 Immunodeficiency

35 Diabetes Mellitus

36 Inborn Errors of Metabolism

37 Genetics & Dysmorphology

41 Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

42 Infections: Bacterial & Spirochetal

43 Infections: Parasitic & Mycotic

46 Chemistry & Hematology Reference Intervals

All chapters have been revised, with new authors added in several cases, reflecting the substantially updated material in each of their areas of pediatric medicine and ensuring conciseness and readability. Especially important are updates to the chapters on immunizations, endocrinology, neurologic and muscular disorders, and adolescent substance abuse. The chapter on HIV includes current guidelines for prevention and treatment of HIV, and updates information on the new antiretroviral therapies. The chapter on immunizations contains the most recently published recommendations, discusses the contraindications and precautions relevant to special populations, and includes the new vaccines licensed since the last edition of this book. All laboratory tables in Chapter 46 Chemistry and Hematology Reference Intervals, including Reference Ranges and Reference Intervals, have been updated. Nineteen new authors have contributed to these revisions.

The editors would like to thank Bonnie Savone for her assistance in helping to manage the flow of manuscripts and materials among the chapter authors, editors, and publishers. The editors also would like to thank Robin Pence, RN, at Children's Hospital Colorado, who produced the cover photograph of Christina Suh, MD, and children.