A Handbook of Neurological Investigations in Children

Mary D. King, John Stephenson

• Publisher: Mac Keith Press
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN:
  9781898683698
• eBook ISBN:
  9781898683698
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Neurology

Neurological disorders in children are common: families want to know what is wrong, why it happened, and whether it will happen again. Management and treatment depend on establishing the diagnosis, which usually requires investigations, but the number of possible neurological investigations is now very large indeed, and uncritical investigations may be seriously misleading and often costly.This book, based on the authors' vast combined personal experience, gives practical guidance on how to target any specific condition with the minimum of tests. Part 1 is a brief distillation of advice on clinical history and examination, introducing the problems that beset those who deal with neurological disorders in childhood. Part 2 outlines the investigations available to solve these diagnostic problems. Part 3 takes a problem-oriented approach to the most appropriate investigations in the various clinical scenarios that may present to the practitioner: the starting point is the patient's presentation, not the diagnosis.Throughout, vignettes of real cases help to illustrate the use of the tests in different clinical situations.The authors co-wrote the hugely popular Handbook of Neurological Investigations ('the Blue Book') 20 years ago. This new book, while closely following the highly successful approach of the earlier title, is thoroughly up to date, with fresh material, new case vignettes, and additional investigations covered.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Authors
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Philosophy of tests
• Clinical vignette
• Further reading
• Chapter 1.1 History Highlights
• Chapter 1.2 Examination Essentials
• 2.1.6 Alarming spasms
• Chapter 2.3 Electromyography and Nerve Conduction Studies
• Chapter 2.4 Evoked Potentials
• Chapter 2.5 Structural Imaging
• Chapter 2.6 Functional Imaging
• Chapter 2.7 Cerebrospinal Fluid
• Chapter 2.8 Cardiac Tests and Autonomic Function
• Chapter 2.9 Microscopic Examinations: Cells and Biopsies
• Chapter 2.10 Microbiology
• Chapter 2.11 Haematology
• Chapter 2.12 Immunology
• Chapter 2.13 Genetic Investigations
• Chapter 2.14 Biochemistry
• Chapter 2.15 Antiepileptic Drug Monitoring
• Chapter 3.1 Neonatal Seizures
• Chapter 3.2 Abnormal Neonatal Neurology
• Chapter 3.3 Delayed Development
• Chapter 3.4 Floppy Infant
• Chapter 3.5 Abnormal Head Size
• Chapter 3.6 Wobbly-eyed Baby
• Chapter 3.8 Peculiar Gait
• Chapter 3.9 Learning Disability/ Mental Retardation
• Further reading
• Chapter 3.10 Speech and Language Disorders
• Chapter 3.11 ‘Psychiatric’ Disorders
• Chapter 3.12 Epileptic Seizures and Epilepsy
• Chapter 3.13 Febrile Seizures
• Chapter 3.16 Acquired Neurological Deficits
• Chapter 3.17 Acute Encephalopathy
• Chapter 3.18 Headache
• Chapter 3.19 Weakness and Fatigue
• Chapter 3.20 Ataxia
• Chapter 3.21 Movement Disorders
• Chapter 3.22 Progressive Loss of Skills and Dementia
• Appendix 1 Predictive Value of Investigation Results
• Appendix 2 Some Normal Values
• Appendix 3 List of Clinical Vignettes
• Index