Medical Library

The First Year of Life was the first series of ABC articles commissioned and published weekly by the BMJ and later collected and
published as a book. This new fifth edition is called ABC of the First Year to identify it with the ABC series. The ABC series is
continuing to tackle new subjects in all branches of medicine and surgery: 46 series have been published and 43 books are still in
print. The first edition of The First Year of Life was printed in black and white and some colour was introduced in the last edition.
The majority of the pages in this new edition are in colour and nearly 100 new photographs have been added. Each chapter has
been thoroughly revised with considerable changes in the chapters on prenatal assessment, infants of low birthweight, breathing
difficulties in the newborn, and diarrhoea. The charts for developmental review have incorporated the latest recommendations of
the Department of Health. New sections have been added on the infant of low birthweight at home, advice on travelling abroad
with an infant, and paediatric HIV infection.
The book was written for family doctors, GP vocational trainees, medical students, midwives, and nurses. It has become the
standard textbook for several undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The emphasis has been on the practical aspects of
management, based on clinical experience, but theory is introduced where it is essential for understanding the basis of
management. No previous experience of paediatrics is assumed.
I welcome Dr Roslyn Thomas who has joined me as co-author of this edition. I wish to thank the staff of the BMJ, and
especially Alex Stibbe who has acted as midwife for the fifth edition of the book, and my wife who has constantly supported me
and encouraged me to write.
For ease of reading and simplicity a single pronoun has been used for both feminine and masculine subjects; a specific gender
is not implied.

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Interventional cardiology is the subspecialty of cardiology that deals specifically with the catheter- based treatment of heart diseases. The field includes the diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease, vascular disease and acquired structural heart disease.

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Download ABC of Conflict and Disaster 

 Disasters are commonly divided into “natural” and “man made,” but such distinctions are generally artificial. All disasters are fundamentally human made, a function of where and how people choose or are forced to live. The trigger may be a natural phenomenon such as an earthquake, but its impact is governed by the prior vulnerability of the affected community.

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Poverty is the single most important factor in determining vulnerability: poor countries have weak infrastructure, and poor people cannot afford to move to safer places. Whatever the disaster, the main threat to health often comes from the mass movement of people away from the scene and into inadequate temporary facilities.

 An adequate response requires planning and coordination at national and international levels. Famine, like other “natural disasters,” leads to the mass movement of people. It is a cause or consequence of other humanitarian crises including complex emergencies—where conflict compounds humanitarian needs and responses.

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The free Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) Initiative was launched by the Government of India on the 1st
April 2004 in the six high prevalent states (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Nagaland
and Manipur) in eight Government hospitals. As in November 2008, there are now 191 ART centres in the
country providing comprehensive ART services to the eligible people. In a country with 2.3 million infected
with HIV, currently about 1,80,000 people have been enrolled for ART.
The nurses are the first point of contact of the HIV infected in a hospital setting or any setting with
in-patient facility. The nurses need to be equipped with adequate knowledge on HIV/AIDS and all the aspects
including prevention, treatment, care and support. This will not only enable them to protect themselves from
getting infected with HIV but also help in reducing stigma and discrimination against people infected with
HIV and encourage nurses to provide quality care and support services to the PLHAs. In a resource limited
setting where there is a dearth of qualified professionals to conduct quality counseling it has become
increasingly important to train the nurses in the art of quality counseling for long term sustainability.
The Indian Nursing Council in coordination with the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) has
put in unprecedented efforts in bringing up these two modules for training of nurses in HIV/AIDS. These
two modules “Facilitators’ Guide” and the “Nurses’ Manual” have been prepared including all the aspects
of the HIV/AIDS prevention (Primary and secondary), treatment, care and support of the PLHAs. All
relevant guidelines from the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) have been incorporated in these
modules.
The modules will equip the nurses to provide standardized and quality counseling, care and support
services to the people infected with HIV. The nurses form the backbone of our health system and empowering
them with knowledge on HIV/AIDS will also help in reducing the stigma and discrimination and help in
improving the quality of the PLHAs

 History
As in all clinical medicine, an accurate history and examination
are essential for correct diagnosis and treatment. Most ocular
conditions can be diagnosed with a good history and simple
examination techniques. Conversely, the failure to take a history
and perform a simple examination can lead to conditions being
missed that pose a threat to sight, or even to life.
The history may give many clues to the diagnosis. Visual
symptoms are particularly important.
The rate of onset of visual symptoms gives an indication of
the cause. A sudden deterioration in vision tends to be vascular
in origin, whereas a gradual onset suggests a cause such as
cataract. The loss of visual field may be characteristic, such as
the central field loss of macular degeneration. Symptoms such
as flashing lights may indicate traction on the retina and
impending retinal detachment. Difficulties with work, reading,
watching television, and managing in the house should be
identified. It is particularly important to assess the effect of the
visual disability on the patient’s lifestyle, especially as conditions
such as cataracts can, with modern techniques, be operated on
at an early stage.
The patient should also be asked exactly what is worrying
them, as visual symptoms often cause great anxiety. Appropriate
reassurance then can be given.