Merenstein and Gardner's Handbook of Neonatal Intensive Care, 8th Edition
Doody's Expert Review
Review Questionnaire
Editor: Gardner, Sandra L., Carter, Brian S., Enzman Hines, Mary, Hernandez, Jacinto A.,
Doody's Expert Review Score: 97
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Reviewer: Jay Goldsmith, MD (Tulane University School of Medicine)
This is the eighth edition of a now classic interdisciplinary book on neonatal intensive care. Written mostly at the level of the advanced practice nurse, the goal is to bring a team approach to neonatal intensive care. Although a softcover and less expensive than the major neonatal textbooks, it is also more detailed than the standard handbooks. This in-between approach is unique and the book fills a crucial role in the coordination of all healthcare providers working in the modern NICU. The previous edition was published in 2011.
The goal is to provide a comprehensive review of neonatal disease and support, emphasizing a family-centered approach. It is clearly and concisely written and is pragmatic rather than overly scientific or theoretical.
Nurses and advanced practice nurses are the major audience, but residents and neonatal fellows could learn a great deal by reading this book carefully. Sections such as those on heat balance and physiological monitoring, which are often taken for granted in well-established intensive care units, are discussed in detail and with a clarity not found in other standard textbooks or handbooks. The editors and their contributors are, for the most part, well-known experts in this field.
The book is divided into six units. Following a brief chapter on evidence-based clinical practice, the book presents standard neonatal issues and diseases, but with a strong nursing perspective. Excellent chapters cover skin-to-skin care and breast feeding the infant with special needs. Clear and easy-to-understand charts and graphs appear throughout. The book has now grown to nearly 1,000 pages and references are online.
This is a unique neonatology book that bridges the gap between the standard hardcover textbooks such as Fanaroff and Martin's Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine: Diseases of the Fetus and Infant, 10th edition, Martin et al. (Elsevier, 2015), and the handbooks such as Manual of Neonatal Care, 7th edition, Cloherty et al. (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2012), or Neonatology: Management, Procedures, On-Call Problems, Diseases, and Drugs, 7th edition, Gomella et al. (McGraw-Hill, 2013). The family-centered approach is also compelling. Dr. Merenstein, who passed away several years ago, would be proud to see that his concept of the team approach to neonatal care has been continued in such wonderful fashion.
Range Question Score
1-10 Are the author's objectives met? 10
1-10 Rate the worthiness of those objectives. 10
1-5 Is this written at an appropriate level? 5
1-5 Is there significant duplication? (1=significant, 5=insignificant) 5
1-5 Are there significant omissions? (1=significant, 5=insignificant) 4
1-5 Rate the authority of the authors. 5
1-5 Are there sufficient illustrations? 5
1-5 Rate the pedagogic value of the illustrations. 5
1-5 Rate the print quality of the illustrations. 5
1-5 Are there sufficient references? 3
1-5 Rate the currency of the references. 5
1-5 Rate the pertinence of the references. 5
1-5 Rate the helpfulness of the index. 5
1-5 If important in this specialty, rate the physical appearance of the book 5
1-10 Is this a worthwhile contribution to the field? 10
1-10 If this is a 2nd or later edition, is this new edition needed? 10
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