Case Studies in Pediatric Infectious Diseases

This book features 121 case studies intended to provide an approach to the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric infectious diseases. There are three sections: the first discusses the principles of diagnosing infections, using epidemiology, microbiology, and clinical medicine, while also discussing the principles of treatment; the second, constituting the core of the book, consists of case studies. A brief case scenario, designed to challenge the reader to work out the answer, is followed by a discussion of the case. The third section contains tables and lists about infectious agents and their epidemiology.

Features 121 case studies to provide an approach to the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric infectious diseases

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Russell Steele, MD(Ochsner Clinic Foundation)
Description:This collection of 121 clinical case exercises supplemented with abundant photographs and figures provides a unique format for reviewing the diagnosis and management of both common and uncommon pediatric infectious diseases. The cases are presented as unknowns and the diagnosis is revealed after an extensive discussion of the differential diagnosis.
Purpose:Although the preface suggests that the "purpose of this book is to provide the pediatric practitioner with an approach to the diagnosis and management of patients suspected of suffering from an infection," it is clearly more suited to teaching medical students and residents clinical pediatric infectious diseases. For practitioners who teach such physicians in training and don't have a similar resource, this is a worthy contribution. However, from the standpoint of providing pediatric practitioners with a useful book for diagnosing and managing infectious diseases, I don't think this format is of much benefit over standard texts and the American Academy of Pediatrics' Red Book.
Audience:These cases are interesting and would be most appreciated by students, residents, and infectious disease fellows. Primary care physicians would also be interested in some of these cases, but are unlikely to read them a second time unless they are used for teaching.
Features:The cases represent a wide range of infections, but omit many of the more common diseases seen in everyday practice. Some of the infections described are rarely seen in the United States and other developed countries, so are primarily of interest to infectious disease specialists. Some cases are presented in a very challenging fashion, such as rat bite fever, while others are quite obvious, such as infant botulism, croup, and meningitis. Many of the photos have poor resolution and the nonprofessional figures detract from the overall quality of this contribution.
Assessment:This is not a book for pediatric practitioners unless they teach students and residents on a regular basis. It might be more suitable in the libraries or on the teaching conference tables of physicians for when they have some down time, as they will find many of these cases entertaining and instructive and most can be read in just a minute or two. It will not take the place of infectious disease texts (Feigin, et al., Textbook of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, 5th edition (Elsevier, 2003), and Long et al., Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, 2nd edition (Elsevier, 2003), etc.), the infectious disease section of pediatric textbooks, and certainly not the Red Book.

Frank E. Berkowitz was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in 1972, where he later trained in pediatrics and microbiology. After pursuing further studies in pediatric infectious diseases and epidemiology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, he practiced pediatrics for several years in South Africa and later in Atlanta, where he studied epidemiology at Emory University. He has published and lectured on a wide variety of infectious diseases and has received several teaching awards. Dr Berkowitz currently practices general pediatrics and infectious diseases in Atlanta, where he is Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine.