Volpe’s Neurology of the Newborn, 7th Edition

By: Joseph J. Volpe, MD; Terrie E. Inder, MB, ChB, MD

ISBN: 9780443105135

Publication Date: April 30, 2024

Reviewer: Jay P. Goldsmith, MD (Tulane University School of Medicine)

Description

This book continues to represent the “gold standard” in neonatal neurology. This edition is released six years after the previous edition in 2018 and continues the precedent set in the last edition of having a lead associate editor and five other associate editors assist Dr. Volpe in this project. The text continues to evolve with 41 contributors, five new chapters and an excellent eBook with ten excellent and instructive videos.  Dr. Volpe wrote the first five editions of this iconic text solo, and this seventh edition continues to add new insights from the internationally known editors and contributors that Dr. Volpe has recruited to this collaboration.

Purpose

The original purpose of this text 43 years ago was to pioneer a “new frontier” in neonatal medicine and give neonatal neurology a prime place in the practice of neonatology. Now that this book has achieved that goal, it serves as the subspecialties’ most trusted reference. Despite the explosion of new knowledge in this area, the book attempts to appeal to a broad range of readers including researchers, clinicians, and trainees. Approximately 1,000 figures, a website which includes the full reference list of 17,000 references, hyperlinks to PubMed, and 10 very instructional videos add to the value of this text.

Audience

According to Dr. Volpe, the text is intended for a “broad audience, from the most highly specialized neonatal physicians to those with a broader, more general perspective.” It may serve as a starting point for researchers with well referenced chapters on human brain development and fetal neurology. The clinical chapters including seizures, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, intracranial hemorrhage, and metabolic encephalopathies combine the latest research in pathophysiology with practical clinical aspects of the disease. The editors have attempted to bring the latest science into clinical perspective which can be applied at the bedside. The book is comprehensive and goes deep into pathology and pathophysiology at appropriate times. It meets the need of a broad array of readers but does not give simplistic answers to controversial questions. The editors and contributors are internationally known experts in the field of neonatal neurology.

Features

The book is divided into 14 units comprising 43 chapters. The initial units are on human brain development and fetal neurology. Subsequent units review the neurologic evaluation and then include nine units on various pathologies of the neonatal nervous system including hypoxia-ischemia, hemorrhage, seizures, and degenerative disorders. The final two chapters cover drugs and include a new unit on the challenge of neurologic care in low resource settings. Many new contributors had been added to the book to bring their unique training and research to areas associated with neonatal neurology such as neuroradiology, metabolism and genetics, and pathology.

Website Features

The website associated with the text is similar to other Elsevier websites. It allows search of references with hyperlinks to PubMed and allows bookmarking, zooming in on images, and note creation. The website also has a full list of references. A special feature is the video section with 10 videos demonstrating aspects of neurologic evaluation, behavioral observations, and various pathologies.

Assessment

This edition of the book reaffirms and cements its place as the pre-eminent reference in the field. It continues to improve with new contributors, more in-depth coverage of many topics, updates of the latest research, and several new topics. It is the gold standard in this field and a “must-have” for every neonatal care provider. As noted in a previous review of the sixth edition, this text continues to find its way into many courtrooms where the etiology of perinatal brain injury is being adjudicated.

©Doody’s Review Service, 2024, Jay P. Goldsmith, MD (Tulane University School of Medicine), Doody’s Score: 100 – 5 Stars!

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