Acid-Base Physiology: Studies in Neonates, Infants and Young Children

Abstract

Dr. Kildeberg, in this remarkable book, sets two major goals: (1) to survey the relevant literature of clinical acid-base physiology, and (2) to summarize his original observations of the acid-base status of blood and urine in representative pediatric acid-base disorders. These latter include the several varieties of neonatal acidosis (including the acid-base disorder in the respiratory distress syndrome, and the later nonrespiratory acidosis in the nonthriving premature infant); protracted vomiting (preoperative and postoperative studies in 45 patients with hypertrophic pyloric stenosis); and diarrhea (70 patients with acute infantile gastroenteritis). The reader will find major emphasis, both in the literature review and in the new observations, on pathophysiology and homeostatic mechanisms, rather than on conceptual, chemical and methodological aspects, or on diagnostic or therapeutic applications. The material is treated critically and in depth, by an obviously incisive mind. Representative areas admirably developed by Dr. Kildeberg include the major importance of the