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Children's Nutrition Research Center Baylor College of Medicine 1100 Bates Street Houston, TX 77030-2600 E-mail: wheird{at}bcm.tmc.edu
This multiauthored, almost 450-page book includes 39 chapters written by 61 individuals from both developed and developing countries and ranging from academic physicians to practicing nutritionists or dietitians. As with all multiauthored texts, the quality of these 39 chapters varies considerably. Some are very good and others are not. Furthermore, some chapters provide considerable detail (eg, detailed instructions for inserting a percutaneous gastrostomy feeding tube), whereas others are quite general.
A major problem is that the title of the book is misleading. It is not a text on infant nutrition but rather a text on pediatric nutrition. Few of the chapters deal specifically with the nutritional problems of infants. Only one chapter concerns any of the many nutritional problems of preterm infants, and it focuses on protein requirements and the use of parenteral amino acids in preterm neonates.
Another problem with the book is that the chapters are not organized in a meaningful way. For example, there are 2 chapters on parenteral nutrition, which follow one another: "Parenteral Nutrition in Infants" (chapter 9) and "Home Parenteral Nutrition" (chapter 10). However, other aspects of parenteral nutrition are covered in other chapters: "Trace Element Requirements in Artificial Support" (chapter 12) and "Protein Requirements and the Use of Parenteral Amino Acids in the Pre-term Neonate" (chapter 13).
The reasons for the selection of topics to be covered are also not clear. There is a separate chapter on magnesium but no chapter on the equally or more important nutrients calcium and phosphorus. Trace element requirements in artificial support are discussed in one chapter and vitamin supplementation in developing countries is discussed in another, but there is no chapter dealing with more general aspects of trace minerals and vitamins. The nutritional management or nutritional aspects of several specific disease states (eg, critical illness, disabilities, Munchausen's syndrome by proxy, small-bowel transplantation, gastrointestinal resection, HIV and AIDS, liver disease, diabetes mellitus, Crohn's disease, cystic fibrosis, and inborn errors of metabolism) are covered, but nutritional aspects of other disease states (eg, prematurity and conditions associated with prematurity) are not.
Overall, readers whose specific interests are thoroughly covered in the book will be pleased; however, readers with an interest in one of the many topics that are not covered or are not covered thoroughly will likely be disappointed, particularly those with an interest in infant nutrition, because few chapters deal specifically with this nutritional issue. However, some topics that are not usually covered in a general textbook are covered in this book in the following chapters: "Use and Abuse of Centile Curves for BMI" (chapter 5), "Behavioural Aspects of Feeding Disorders" (chapter 6), "Nutritional Antioxidants: Modulation in Malnutrition and Requirements" (chapter 17), "Nutritional Abnormalities Due to Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy" (chapter 26), and "The Role of Colonic Fermentation in Infants" (chapter 39).
In summary, this poorly organized text has many very good chapters. Both the novice and the experienced academician or nutritional investigator are likely to find something of interest in the text, if they look hard enough. However, most of the topics included in this book are covered more completely and in more detail in other texts or monographs. Thus, considering the price of the book, I cannot recommend it highly for inclusion in either institutional or personal libraries.