Pocket book of hospital care for children
Guidelines for the management of common childhood illnesses, 2nd ed.
Overview
This is the second edition of the World Health Organization (WHO) Pocket book
of hospital care for children, which was first published in 2005. It is a compilation of the updated WHO guidelines for the management of common childhood
illnesses at the first-referral level in low-resource countries. It presents relevant,
up-to-date, evidence-based clinical guidelines that can be used by clinicians
in their daily work in hospitals with basic laboratory facilities and inexpensive
medicines.
The guidelines focus on inpatient management of children who are
severely ill with conditions that are major causes of childhood mortality, such
as neonatal illness, pneumonia, diarrhoea, fever (mainly malaria, meningitis
and septicaemia), severe acute malnutrition and HIV/AIDS. It also includes
guidance on common surgical problems, appropriate supportive care and
monitoring of patients on the ward.
The Pocket book is part of a series of tools for improving the quality of care
for severely ill children and is consistent with the Integrated Management of
Childhood Illness (IMCI) guidelines for outpatient management of sick children. It is for use by doctors, senior nurses and other senior health workers
who are responsible for the care of young children at the first referral level in
developing countries.