Neonatology: A Practical Approach to Neonatal Diseases

This new textbook wants to offer to neonatologists and pediatricians a modern and complete view of the various problems and aspects of neonatology, currently one of the most complex and advanced fields of pediatrics.

The first chapters will be dedicated to the epidemiology of neonatal mortality and morbidity and to the conditions responsible for neonatal risk. A section will be devoted to organizational problems of hospitals and home services for efficient modern neonatal and infant care.

Particular attention will be paid to neonatal care, medico-legal questions, examination of newborns and current availability of laboratory facilities and instrumentation for identification of perinatal abnormalities. Neonatal nutritional problems will also be examined, outlining current knowledge of the needs of sick and healthy babies. Conditions jeopardizing fetal health such as diabetes, maternal drug abuse and smoking will be discussed. New advances in neonatal pharmacology will be extensively examined.

Various diseases of the neonate involving lungs, heart, gastrointestinal tract, blood, immune system, endocrine system and kidneys will be also expounded in special chapters. Fetal and neonatal infections will be extensively discussed. Fetal and neonatal neurological abnormalities will be discussed by highly specialized authors. There will be chapters on neonatal ophthalmology, dermatology and orthopedics.

Each chapter has beeb written by a well recognized international expert in his or her field. As the opinion leader in their field, the Author is responsible for giving the most up-to-date information in terms of what is known, what is still being researched, and what has become evidence based medicine. Underlying causes and mechanisms of neonatal diseases will be presented in an immediate form. The use of summaries, tables, and accurately selected guidelines or recommendations that will accompany the text will supply quick references and instant solutions to the concerned neonatologists during their daily practice.

Neonatology is a science in rapid evolution, and updated information is crucial for the correct and successful care of newborns and fetuses suffering from severe disorders, who until a few decades ago had no chance of survival.

Written in a clear and easy-to-follow way by the most renowned experts in the field, this new textbook wants to offer to neonatologists and pediatricians a modern and complete view of the various problems and aspects of neonatology, currently one of the most complex and advanced fields of pediatrics. The volume contains comprehensive, clear and up-to-date descriptions of the current knowledge of neonatal diseases and of their pathophysiology and treatment, and provides a selection of other relevant information with an evidence-based approach. Figures and diagrams are used to improve understanding of complex problems, and references have been chosen to enable in-depth evaluation of clinical problems. The text pays particular attention to the various diagnostic and/or therapeutic procedures for which reliable guidelines are not yet available. The use of summaries, tables, and accurately selected guidelines or recommendations that will accompany the text will supply quick references and instant solutions to the concerned specialists during their daily practice.

This book aims to provide the scientific community with the state of the art on neonatal care in order to avoid as much as possible, or at least limit, the tragic disabilities due to prematurity, abnormal delivery, and diseases affecting these patients. Expert pediatricians, neonatologists, obstetricians, anaesthesiologists, training doctors in these areas, as well as all child caregivers will find it this volume a fundamental tool for their activity, thanks to the schematic and practical information it offers and to the indications of clinical solutions.