Nursing the Highly Dependent Child or Infant: A Manual of Care provides an accessible and clinical guide to the caring for the acutely ill child. It provides guidance on the specific nursing skills required to care for children and infants who require a ‘‘step up’’ level of care from those on the general paediatric ward or a ‘‘step down’’ level of care on discharge from neonatal or paediatric critical care facilities. Chapters follow a general systems approach, covering themes such as respiratory care, renal care and cardiac care as well as covering specialities such as neuro-trauma, burns and transportation of the acutely ill infant or child. Other areas explored include pain and sedation, monitoring and meeting the nutritional needs of the highly dependent child or infant. Each chapter provides an overview of the anatomy & physiology, guidance on assessment and monitoring, and outlines effective nursing care and management guidance. Case studies are provided throughout as well as information on common drug infusions, feeding guidelines and APLS/NALS algorithms.
