Foreword

Having started my training in pediatrics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and then continuing my training and practice at other major academic medical centers, I came to appreciate the premier care that patients receive when knowledge and dedication come together. When I was a young trainee at CHOP, a welcomed resource to inpatient care was a series of resident handouts. These were prepared by senior residents and passed along from one year to the next, each senior class updating and improving on the work of their predecessors. Twenty-five years after leaving CHOP, I had the privilege to return in a leadership role for the Department of Pediatrics. Among the many welcomed surprises since my return, I was delighted to see the valued handouts that had served me so well as a trainee have been developed into The Philadelphia Guide: Inpatient Pediatrics. The practical information that guided me back then is now available in this concise and well-organized book. It provides effective management of the lion's share of patients admitted to the hospital and is a reliable source for efficient and fact-filled teaching on rounds.

Increasingly, patient care is evidence-based, often operationalized through clinical pathways. These pathways may be informed by national committees with broad representation and multidisciplinary input, or from similar local efforts, institutional experience, and application of the literature. It is in this spirit that this book was created. The authors and editors have assembled the second edition of The Philadelphia Guide: Inpatient Pediatrics to carry on the tradition of learning, improving, and then sharing knowledge that I first encountered as a resident at CHOP. I am especially proud that the authors, from all across the country, all share a connection to CHOP. They are trainees, young faculty, and more senior leaders in their fields who enjoy carrying on the practice of life-long learning and advancement of knowledge. I am confident that this book will serve as an important guide to diagnostic and therapeutic decisions in the pediatric inpatient setting and a valuable tool for all of us involved in delivering care to children and adolescents.

Joseph W. St. Geme, III, MD

Physician-In-Chief

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Chairman, Department of Pediatrics

Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania