Author Description

Looking after children with life-limiting conditions is very difficult for both parents and health care professionals. This second edition of Paediatric Palliative Medicine is full of easily-accessible, detailed information, and covers all aspects of the care of children with life-limiting illnesses. It is designed to equip clinicians with the knowledge, and its evidence base, to improve clinical care. Using the bestselling Oxford Specialist Handbook format to deliver practical and concise information, this handbook facilitates bedside delivery of effective palliative medicine to children. It includes a quick reference drug formulary and detailed information on medical conditions and symptom control. There are also specific management plans to guide professionals, whether the child is in their own home, in a hospital, or a hospice. Many children with long term conditions have symptoms which need management, and the principles of palliative care for children need to be known by all who are involved in their care. The unique significance of this handbook is its capacity to guide professionals who have not trained or had experience of caring for the dying child, as well as for students and trainees interested in paediatric palliative care. Children's palliative medicine encompasses symptom control but is not limited to it. This handbook also provides a wealth of information on the philosophy and models that support delivery of palliative medicine to children, as well as the learning and coping skills required in palliative care. Fully updated with an expanded formulary and a new chapter on the intensive care unit, this new edition continues to be the authoritative reference tool in paediatric palliative care.