Clinical Guide to Paediatrics

Clinical Guide to Paediatrics enables rapid reference to the common paediatric conditions, symptoms, and practical concerns seen in day-to-day practice. Focused on making differential diagnoses in acute settings, this concise resource offers step-by-step guidance on clinical decision-making, investigations, and interventions. Medical students and junior doctors are provided with a clear and up-to-date evidence base supported by numerous diagnostic algorithms, diagrams, tables and bullet points throughout.  

Organised into systems-based sections, the guide covers paediatric history taking, examination techniques, pharmacology, safeguarding, and a range of different diagnoses for presenting complaints in cardiology, infection and immunology, neurology, gastroenterology, accidents and poisoning, and more. Succinct chapters are logically structured to allow easy access to important concepts, key clinical details, and plans of investigation. Designed to complement the doctor-patient interaction in clinical practice, this valuable guide:  

• Covers the most common presenting complaints encountered in acute paediatrics 
• Provides evidence-based information on symptoms, disorders, and issues faced in paediatric medicine 
• Addresses topics from the perspective of presenting complaints to provide a unique, highly practical approach to the subject 
• Includes access to a companion website containing images and clinical photos, audio podcasts, clinical case studies, and self-assessment exercises 

Clinical Guide to Paediatrics is essential reading for medical students, junior doctors, nurses and specialist trainees working on paediatric wards or emergency departments. 

Rachel Varughese, Specialist Registrar in Paediatrics, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK. 

Anna Mathew, Consultant Paediatrician, Chair of MRCPCH Clinical Examinations, Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK. 

Series Editor: Christian Fielder Camm is a Cardiology Specialist Registrar, Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, UK. 

List of Contributors

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Box Icons

About the Companion Website

How to Use This Book

1.1 Wheeze

1.2 Stridor

1.3 Difficulty in Breathing

2.1 Cyanosis

2.2 Circulatory Collapse

2.3 Syncope

2.4 Chest Pain

2.5 Palpitations

3.1 Fever

3.2 Fever in the Returning Traveller

3.3 Lymphadenopathy

4.1 Bruising

4.2 Pallor

5.1 Abdominal Pain

5.2 Abdominal Mass

5.3 Vomiting

5.4 Diarrhoea

5.5 Jaundice

5.6 Faltering Growth

6.1 Haematuria

6.2 Oedema

6.3 Scrotal Swelling

7.1 Hypoglycaemia

7.2 Hyperglycaemia

8.1 Headache

8.2 Suspected Seizures

8.3 Acute Hemiparesis

8.4 Acute Lower-Limb Weakness

8.5 Delirium and Agitation

8.6 Decreased Level of Consciousness

8.7 Dizziness

9.1 Urticaria

9.2 Non-blanching Rash

9.3 Other Childhood Rashes

10.1 Limp

10.2 Swollen Joint

11.1 Neonatal Jaundice

11.2 The Unsettled Baby

11.3 Breastfeeding Advice

12.1 The A to E Assessment

12.2 Assessment of Consciousness

12.3 Tips for Fluid Prescribing

12.4 Childhood Immunisations

12.5 Safeguarding

13.1 Sepsis Management

13.2 Anaphylaxis Management

13.3 Acute Asthma Management

13.4 Prolonged Seizure Management

13.5 Raised Intracranial Pressure Management

Guidelines

Index