Harriet Lane Handbook: A Manual for Pediatric House Officers

Rating:
Summary: Any physician in a pediatric field needs this book!
Review: I first used the Harriet Lane Handbook during my pediatric rotation in my 3rd year of med school in 1981 (?10th edition), & I still use it (16th edition) in my busy pediatric surgical practice. It is especially useful for med students, pediatric residents, other residents (eg, surgical) when rotating through pediatric services, & practicing pediatricians & other pediatric specialists.

The section I use most frequently is the formulary of drug doses. Physicians treating adults generally memorize the one dose of each drug to give, but kids come in many different sizes, so the handbook is indispensible for drug dosing indexed to body weight. My second most used section is the one with all the growth charts, primarily to check for failure-to-thrive. The other section I use a good bit is the one analyzing baby (& older kid) enteral formulas to help guide nutritional therapy.

My only problem with the Handbook is that it has grown in size with each edition. It used to fit conveniently in a lab coat pocket, & it traveled all over the hospital with me. Now it's almost too big & heavy to carry around, so it stays on my desk (& another on my nightstand by the phone at home).

If you can't get a free copy of the Harriet Lane Handbook from some drug rep, go ahead & buy it.

Rating:
Summary: Great buy
Review: The new edition of Harriet Lane is an excellent buy. Concise, up-to-date and precise, it is an essential ward rounds and on call book for all pediatricians.
However, I would suggest two improvements to the publishers:
Better binding (considering how often the book is used) and a slightly darker print-the current one looks faded already, though the font is very user-friendly.
Dr Sajeev

Rating:
Summary: Essential pocket reference
Review: This book is so often seen on the pediatric ward that it hardly needs a review. I've been instructing residents for 20 years and can't think of one who hasn't used this book from time to time. Indeed, we joke that you can tell how old a pediatrician is by the color of his (her) Harriet Lane.

I must say that in the past I've had reservations about this book. The drug doses were very often conservative, and the formulary (which is the most frequently used part of it) was rather limited. If you ignore the resuscitation drugs, there are those that would find the Lexmark formulary more useful, especially since it includes much of the information that is in the PDR, such as dosage forms.

The present edition remedies the formulary, happily. Each of the sections is evenly well written, and consise, and the material is useful for the day-to-day work of the pediatric resident. Really, Harriet is indispensable, since it includes all the tables of lab values and growth curves that one uses every day. The present edition is so well written that I can hardly imagine future editions that could be improved in any substantial way. This book hardly needs my endorsement. Nonetheless, I heartily recommend it to any house officer who has a rotation on a pediatric ward.