There is increasing interest in both the clinical and scientific aspects of drug therapy in paediatric patients. This text book by the American Pharmaceutical Association is aimed at the North American market.

It is a reference book aimed at paediatric pharmacists. It covers a wide range of the problems associated with paediatric drug therapy, with chapters on the administration of drugs, fetal toxicity, drugs in breast milk, and both poisoning and drug toxicity, and also specific clinical areas, for example chemotherapy. There did not appear to be any order in the chapters. It would seem more appropriate to put chapter 13 on neonatal doses after chapter 3 on drugs in breast milk than after a chapter on chemotherapy.

There are several chapters with information on the dosage of medicines and it is of interest that these are divided into three separate chapters, one for neonates, one for infants/children and adolescents and one specifically for intravenous drugs. Despite having a chapter specifically on intravenous drugs, the chapters on drug dosing on both neonates and infants/children and adolescents contains details on the doses required for intravenous administration. This makes the book far more difficult to use. The dosage guidance is far less user friendly than publications such as Medicines for Children or the Neonatal Formulary.

It is for this reason I would not therefore recommend Paediatric Pharmacy departments to buy a copy of the book.