Congenital and Perinatal Infections

Although information about the natural history, management, and outcome of intrauterine and perinatally acquired infections is readily available, the busy clinician requires methods for quickly and easily determining the diagnosis of these infections, especially in a time of ever changing advances in diagnostic technology and the emergence of new infectious agents. In Congenital and Perinatal Infection: A Concise Guide to Diagnosis, a distinguished panel of pediatric and infectious disease specialists present in an easily accessible format all the information needed to diagnose a wide variety of infections in both the pregnant woman and the neonate. Organized by specific infection or related infections, the book provides pertinent information about the epidemiology of each infection in the pregnant woman and her neonate, as well as the risk of transmission to the fetus or neonate, the spectrum of clinical disease, and a recommended approach to the diagnosis of the infection in not only the mother, but also her neonate. The emphasis is on understanding what tests to order and how to interpret the results, with the approach to diagnosis in each chapter encompassing both the pregnant woman and her neonate. The book covers a wide range of micro-organisms that are both common and uncommon causes of congenital and perinatal infections, including the herpes simplex virus, HIV, toxoplasmosis, syphilis, CMV, tuberculosis, malaria, dengue, lymphocytic choriomeningtis virus, and parvovirus.

Up to date and user friendly, Congenital and Perinatal Infection: A Concise Guide to Diagnosis offers the busy clinician caring for pregnant women and/or their infants a practical guide to determining infection risks and which assays are the most appropriate to use for their diagnosis.