Handbook of Pediatric Cardiovascular Drugs

This handbook of drugs used in pediatric cardiac care will satisfy the need for a quick reference source of common drug therapy. There are no major texts available in the field of pediatric cardiology that exclusively provide therapeutic drug information. Several sources are available that present drug information for cardiology, but these place no emphasis on pediatric care and are written for general cardiac specialists.

The treatment of pediatric patients with congenital or acquired cardiac disease remains an important challenge for physicians in charge of these patients. The challenge to practitioners is complex given that most drugs used in this field are either unlicensed or off-label and that the patient population is a heterogeneous group not only in pathologies but also in size, weight and metabolism. Currently, doctors must rely on the available pharmacological knowledge, the rare clinical trials and case series and most of all on the international cumulative clinical experience.

The Handbook of Pediatric Cardiovascular Drugs provides the health care practitioner with general clinical and practical guidelines regarding the use of pediatric cardiovascular drugs. It reviews basic pediatric cardiovascular principles and satisfies the need for a pocket reference handbook tailored to meet the daily challenges of practitioners caring for pediatric cardiac patients.

This handbook is not intended to provide an extensive review of all cardiovascular medications, but compiles the necessary information required to assist the practitioner involved in the care of pediatric patients with heart disease in their day-to-day practice. Consequently, it will be helpful for physicans, fellows, residents, pharmacists, and nurses in the multiple disciplines of anesthesia, pediatrics, critical care, cardiology, cardiac surgery and cardiac intensive care.