Infectious Diseases of Children.

Abstract

Book reviews Infectious Diseases of Children by Saul Krugman MD and Robert Ward MD 5th edn pp x+494 illustrated £9.70 Saint Louis: C VMosby 1973 London: Henry Kimpton This is the 5th edition in fifteen years of a standard textbook by two American professors of paediatrics. Two other authors contribute the chapter on tuberculosis. The thirty-three chapters cover the infectious diseases including gonorrheea and syphilis and there are chapters on tetanus, neonatal infection, immunization, differential diagnosis of the exanthemata, and two on acute respiratory disease. Pathology, clinical signs and treatment are very fully covered and although the text is condensed and dogmatic it is easy to read and up to date. Full references follow each chapter. The viruses and the diseases they cause are very well described, especially in the chapters on enteroviruses, encephalitis and respiratory infections. The illustrations are not quite as good as the text but apart from that faults are few. There is little about the adverse effects of hexachlorophane and perhaps too much about tuberculosis. This is a good example of the best type of American textbook and the cost is reasonable for the quality of the information it contains.