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McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Samford University, Birmingham, AL
Published Online, March 20, 2007. www.theannals.com, DOI 10.1345/aph.1H698
Format and System Requirements: Neonatal Formulary is a soft-covered guide that would fit into a lab jacket pocket. The text is designed to be updated periodically via a Web site that contains updates and links to other useful information.
Purpose: The text, dubbed the NNF5, is designed to provide compact, accurate, and referenced advice on the prescribing of drugs and their safe and accurate administration during pregnancy, labor, and the first year of life.
Content: The information is presented in 3 parts. Part 1 is labeled "Drug Prescribing and Drug Administration" (28 pages). It contains 12 chapters presenting general information on drug storage, drug licensing, and drug prescribing within the UK. While the text reflects practice within the UK, medical treatment is becoming more consistent worldwide, and the text reflects this international use of drugs.
Part 2 consists of drug monographs (242 pages). Each monograph is presented on one page and divided into use, pharmacology, treatment, drug interactions or other administration information, supply and administration, and references. Some broader categories (ie, blood, eye drops, ointments) are presented on more than one text page. The monographs also contain a symbol in the margin of the page indicating that more drug information is available from the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and the Cochrane Database of Methodology Reviews. Summaries of all of the Cochrane reviews that relate to the drug monograph can be accessed from the formulary Web site. In a similar manner, an additional symbol is used for those vaccine monographs issued by the Department of Health in the UK.
Part 3, "Maternal Medication and Its Effect on the Baby," (14 pages) contains brief notes on additional drugs and groups of drugs that are often taken by mothers during pregnancy, labor, or the puerperium.
The index follows, which includes US and UK drug synonyms.
Usability: A busy practitioner can easily locate information within the monographs. The size of the text does lend itself to a pocket reference.
Highlights: The text provides a useful and brief discussion of each drug and its use within the neonate population. Ample references promote further study. A Web site is listed to give the most recent information that has come forward since publication of the text.
Limitations: The primary limitation of the formulary guide is that it is written primarily for use within the UK. However, this limitation should not reduce its use and utility within the US.
Comparison with Other Related Books or Products: There are many reference texts for drug use in pediatrics and maternal health. This book contains both of these disciplines and would be an excellent alternative.
Reviewer's Summary: NNF5 is a valuable reference for all pediatric and neonatal practitioners that should be available in each neonatal nursing unit. It is a valuable text in itself and can also aid in the more extensive review of drug issues involving neonates.
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