Elsevier Publishes 20th Edition of The Harriet Lane Handbook

PHILADELPHIA, July 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

The first handbook written "by residents, for residents" and reviewed by faculty at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced the availability of the 20th edition of The Harriet Lane Handbook, the first medical reference book on pediatric diagnosis and therapy written by pediatric residents with guidance from faculty advisers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Since 1951, the handbook has been the go-to reference for point-of-care clinical information on the treatment of pediatric patients.

Since the first edition published, medical students, residents, physicians, nurses and other clinicians have relied on the Handbook for fast, accurate information on pediatric diagnosis and treatment. The Handbook is published every three years, with the chief residents as editors. For the 20th edition, the editors are Drs. Brandon Engorn and Jamie Flerlage. Residents review existing chapters and write updates.

The 20th edition will offer updated pediatric drug dosing recommendations, the latest vaccination guidelines, and other updates including:

• Thoroughly updated Pediatric Formulary drug information providing the standard of pediatric care from the leading pediatric hospital in the world, written by Carlton K.K. Lee, Pharm.D., M.P.H., who has written this section of the Handbook for more than 23 years

• Updated content that includes parameters for pediatric and neonatal septic shock, guidelines for acute management of severe traumatic brain injury, a convenient table detailing common genetic tests, a significantly extended collection of radiologic images, expanded mental health coverage, and more

• Easily accessible information with reformatted sections designed make the book easier to use in print, online or via mobile device

• Purchasers of the print book will now receive access to The Harriet Lane Handbook both online and offline as an enhanced eBook on the newly re-launched ExpertConsult.com. The eBook offers special content, including additional figures, tables, references, and supplementary content through an Android® device, iPhone®, iPad®, PC, or Mac®. Periodic drug updates will be made to the eBook to provide the most current treatment options. Customers can also share notes and insights with other Expert Consult users. To download a free sample chapter to your Expert Consult library, click here.

Additionally, each new version indicates what has been changed, modified or revised since the last edition.

"While the Harriet Lane Handbook is steeped in tradition, it remains an authoritative, current and accurate reference for pediatric residents and practitioners worldwide," said Linda Belfus, Senior Vice President of Content, Elsevier Clinical Solutions. "The fact that it is based on actual experiences and evidence from pediatricians in training make it the most unique, essential and definitive pediatric medicine resource available today."

In an effort to build on the Harriet Lane Handbook's global impact on pediatric education and practice, The Department of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins and Elsevier are developing a program to support pediatric education in developing countries. Although still in planning stages, this initiative will use a portion of proceeds from each copy of the Harriet Lane Handbook sold at the annual American Association of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition to fund donated copies to disadvantaged programs around the world.

For more information or to purchase the 20^th edition of The Harriet Lane Handbook, go to http://www.elsevierhealth.com.

About Harriet Lane and The Harriet Lane Handbook 

Harriet Lane was the niece of James Buchanan, the 15^th president of the United States. Since President Buchanan never married, Harriet served as First Lady during his presidency until she married. Harriet and her husband lost their two young sons to complications from rheumatic fever. After Harriet Lane's death in 1903, her estate donated a generous sum to endow a home for invalid children at Johns Hopkins. Since that time, the hospital's pediatric residency program has been referred to as the Harriet Lane Program. In the 1950s, residents would compile a notebook of information from their own learning experiences and those of their junior colleagues, which became The Harriet Lane Handbook.

About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals, empowering them to make better decisions, deliver better care, and sometimes make groundbreaking discoveries that advance the boundaries of knowledge and human progress. Elsevier provides web-based, digital solutions - among them ScienceDirect, Scopus, Elsevier Research Intelligence and ClinicalKey - and publishes nearly 2,200 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and over 25,000 book titles, including a number of iconic reference works.

The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading provider of professional information solutions in the Science, Medical, Legal and Risk and Business sectors, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact
Christopher Capot
Director, Corporate Relations
Elsevier
+1-212-633-3164
c.capot@elsevier.com

SOURCE Elsevier