Red Book 2018: Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases

Extending an 8-decade tradition of excellence, Red Book® provides the most reliable and clinically useful information on the manifestations, etiology, epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of more than 200 childhood infectious diseases.

The 31st edition provides evidence-based guidance to practicing clinicians on pediatric infections and vaccinations based on the recommendations of the committee as well as the combined expertise of the CDC, the FDA, and hundreds physician contributors.

New in Red Book 2018:

• All chapters were assessed for relevance given the dynamic environment in pediatric medicine today and every chapter has been modified since the last edition
• 3 new chapters added (Chikungunya, Coagulase-Negative Staphylococcal Infections, and Zika).
• Standardized approaches to disease prevention through immunizations, antimicrobial prophylaxis, and infection-control practices have been updated throughout
• Recommendations for the use of doxycycline have been liberalized.
• References to evidence-based policy recommendations have been recommended
• Appropriate chapters have been updated to be consistent with 2018 AAP and CDC vaccine recommendations, CDC recommendations for immunization of health care personnel, and drug recommendations from 2018 Nelson's Pediatric Antimicrobial Therapy.

Red Book® is an indispensable reference for pediatricians and pediatric infectious disease specialists and is useful for family medicine and emergency medicine physicians as well. Public health and school health professionals, medical residents, and students also will find it a high-yield source of pediatric infectious disease and vaccine information.

David W. Kimberlin, MD, FAAP is the Principal Investigator for the Collaborative Antiviral Study Group (CASG), an international network of pediatric academic medical centers that evaluates antiviral therapeutics in rare diseases with a large unmet medical need, including neonatal herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections, congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease, congenital Zika infection, neonatal and infantile influenza infection, and neonatal enteroviral sepsis syndrome. Studies conducted by the CASG have led to new drug indications and label changes for acyclovir, valganciclovir, and oseltamivir, and non-CASG studies conducted by Dr. Kimberlin also have led to label changes for valacyclovir.
 
Dr. Kimberlin is Editor of the 2018 AAP Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases (Red Book). He also was Editor of the 2015 edition, and was an Associate Editor of the 2012 and 2009 editions. Dr. Kimberlin is a Past-President of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS), which is the world's largest organization of professionals dedicated to the treatment, control, and eradication of infectious diseases affecting children. He also serves as Vice Chair for Clinical and Translational Research in the UAB Department of Pediatrics, where he holds the Sergio Stagno Endowed Chair in Pediatric Infectious Diseases and is Co-Director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases.

Sarah S. Long, MD, FAAP is Section Chief of Infectious Diseases at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Long is also Professor of Pediatrics at Drexel University College of Medicine. Dr. Long is an associate editor of The Journal of Pediatrics and is the chief editor of the textbook Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. She has received numerous teaching awards, the Distinguished Service Award of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, the Clinical Teacher Award of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the Award for Lifetime Contribution to Infectious Diseases Education by the Section on Infectious Diseases of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Long completed her medical degree at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, and her residency and fellowship at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. She is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric infectious disease, and her principal areas of research are vaccine-preventable diseases and management of common infectious diseases in children. She sits on advisory committees for the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Michael T. Brady MD, FAAP is Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University and Associate Medical Director at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Dr. Brady was on the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases from 2005 until 2014 (Chair from 2010 to 2014). Dr. Brady was an Associate Editor of the 2015 Red Book. Dr. Brady received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. His pediatric residency was completed at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. His pediatric infectious diseases fellowship was at the Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Brady’s special interests include HIV infection, healthcare-associated infections, perinatal infections and vaccine-preventable infections. He is currently a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors – Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mary Anne Jackson, MD, FAAP: Following residency at Cincinnati Children’s and fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern, Dr. Jackson has been a faculty member at Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City since 1984 where she is Division Director of Infectious Diseases. She has won numerous teaching awards and was honored in 2012 as the outstanding graduate at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. A fellow of the AAP, the Infectious Disease Society of America and the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society, she has also been elected to the American Pediatric Society, the Society of Pediatric Research and the Academic Pediatric Association. She has been a member of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases since 2009, and is an Associate Editor of Red Book™ 2015. She has authored over 150 peer reviewed publications focusing on strategies to reduce the incidence of hospital acquired infection, judicious use of antibiotics, prevention of antibiotic resistant infection and vaccine implementation and education.