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book review

Indian Pediatr 2014;51: 851

Book Reviews

 

Cerebral Palsy and Early Stimulation

KN Vykuntaraju

Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers
(P) Ltd; New Delhi: 2014.

Pages: 219; Price: 395/-

 

Cerebral palsy (CP), being a chronic morbidity, requires lifelong follow-up with a multidisciplinary team of experts comprising of pediatric neurologist, occupational- and physiotherapist, speech therapist, ophthalmologist, audiologist, nutritionist and social worker. A book that comprehensively covers all aspects of CP, particularly relevant to Indian scenario, is lacking. This book extensively covers all aspects of cerebral palsy, including history, etiopathogenesis, diagnostics, therapeutics, prognostics and advocacy.

The section on management details the multidisciplinary management that should be ideally followed in CP. The treatment scope and goals described with each modality of rehabilitation is very impressive. In the section of physical therapy, general as well as disease-specific therapy catering to various types of CP has been detailed. Few illustrations depicting important positions and postures, which parents of CP children should and should not follow, would further enhance the quality of the book. A separate section on management of spasticity and other tone-related problems has major practice implications. The scope of botulinum toxin as well as various other drugs has been adequately discussed. The management aspect of various comorbidities in CP has also been discussed in depth. These descriptions are very useful as they mention the latest consensus guidelines with the level of evidence. The author has also incorporated family-focussed intervention which is very important as family plays the pivotal role in the holistic management of a patient with CP.

This book has the capacity to reach a wide audience that includes practising pediatricians, faculty who teach developmental pediatrics and pediatric residents, eventually helping a child with CP to lead a better life.

Sheffali Gulati
Professor, Department of Pediatrics, AllMS,
New Delhi, India.
Email: [email protected]
 


Clinical Neurophysiology, 3rd Ed.

UK Mishra

Elsevier; New Delhi,

Pages: 423; Price: Not mentioned.

The 3rd edition of this book contains three sections which include 14 chapters that comprehensively cover the topics of nerve conduction, electromyography and evoked potential. The book also discusses transcranial magnetic stimulation, which is currently being used by large number of researchers in Clinical Neurophysiology, Psychiatry and Physiology. The chapters on repetitive nerve stimulation and single fiber electromyography have been authoritatively written. The chapter on evoked responses is well written and these include a write up on monitoring during spinal cord surgery.

The authors have covered entire spectrum of electro-diagnosis used in Neurophysiology. The book has enormous reference value and must for those practicing clinical neurophysiology. The book truly represents the subject and is very helpful for neurophysiologists, technicians and researchers in the field. Over the years, the book has become more user-friendly. It is useful not only for clinical purpose but also for basic scientists working in Physiology. The chapters and supporting material in the book are well organized, up-to-date and conform to international recommendations. The book has ample clinical illustrations and line diagrams. It not only focuses on diagnostics but allows readers to get full glimpses of prognostic implications. The authors have intelligently touched the area of evoked potential in pediatric age group, which is a difficult practice.

There are some limitations. This book uses abbreviation heavily, even in titles. Surprisingly, the list of abbreviations is not included. The chapter on Autonomic Function Tests is the weakest part of the book.

Overall, the authors have done a good job and the 3rd Edition has shown consistency. At the end of each chapter, the authors have given a box containing learning points, which are helpful from pedagogic point of view.

KK Deepak
Department of Physiology,
All India Institute of Medical Sciences,
New Delhi, India.
Email: [email protected]


 

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