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Manual of Newborn Care: A. Santhosh Kumar (ed)
Article in The Indian Journal of Pediatrics · January 2012
DOI: 10.1007/s12098-011-0523-9
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Indian J Pediatr (January 2012) 79(1):134
DOI 10.1007/s12098-011-0523-9
BOOK REVIEW
Manual of Newborn Care: A. Santhosh Kumar (ed)
Published by Paras Medical Publisher, Hyderabad, India, ISBN: 978-81-8191-350-0,
Second Edition: 2011
Ramesh Agarwal
Received: 23 June 2011 / Accepted: 23 June 2011 / Published online: 8 July 2011
# Dr. K C Chaudhuri Foundation 2011
Neonatology has been one of the older subspecialties of common drugs used in neonates. The index is detailed and
Pediatrics in India. Besides the fact that newborn health is helps locate the intended text.
key to child survival, the longer lifespan of neonatology in The author has presented the information in such a
the country has stimulated academicians to come up with a manner that the user would find it handy whether he wants
variety of teaching learning resources. to be guided in a clinical situation related to sick neonate or
The second edition of the Manual of Newborn Care is an learn information related to a specific disease condition.
impressive attempt by Dr A Santhosh Kumar. He rightly The algorithms are helpful and provide a ready reference
claims in the preface that there are plenty of books that are to clinicians. The language is easy and flows well and
heavy on “ponderous prose” but lack in content that helps a makes the book pleasant reading. The clinical ‘tips’ are
clinician to manage a baby. This manual which is handy nice.
and concise, but still very comprehensive one covers a As it is true for any book, there are some issues which
range of issues related to neonatal care. The outstanding may need improvement. The book can use more evidence
and most remarkable feature of the manual is high quality base to make recommendation for clinical practice e.g. it is
illustrations covering a variety of conditions that actually perhaps not required to give antibiotics in all asphyxiated
reflects the meticulous work and extensive clinical engage- babies, newer classification and thresholds for ROP
ment of the author. The multicolored printing adds to the treatment must be included. The limits of pulse oximetry
charm of the book. should not be as low as 80%. In setting up of NICU, I think
The manual has five sections, which includes basic 6 bedded ICU for a hospital with 5000 deliveries per year
issues such as resuscitation, syndromic approach to com- would be too small. Handwashing steps have omitted one
mon clinical presentations to neonatal ICUs, core topics step. In procedure section there is undue emphasis on
such as asphyxia, sepsis, additional topics related to outdated and potential harmful procedures (femoral veni-
conditions that one does encounter in neonatal practice, puncture), while missing out important day to day
and perinatal issues. The perinatal section deals with procedures (IV line insertion and fixation). All in all, this
maternal and environmental factors that can influence fetus is a useful resource and I would recommend the book to
and neonates. The manual provides a useful section on postgraduates and clinicians caring for neonates.
R. Agarwal (*)
Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, WHO CC for
Training and Research & ICMR Centre for Advanced Research in
Newborn Health, Newborn Health Knowledge Centre (NHKC),
All India Institute of Medical Sciences,
New Delhi 110029, India
e-mail: [email protected]
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