ACoRN: Acute Care of at-Risk Newborns: A Resource and Learning Tool for Health Care Professionals

by Jill E. Boulton (Editor), Kevin Coughlin (Editor), Debra O'Flaherty (Editor), Alfonso Solimano (Editor)

Overview

The Acute Care of at-Risk Newborns (ACoRN) program trains health care providers to stabilize that most challenging and enigmatic of medical patients: the unwell newborn.

Early assessment, intervention, and management of at-risk or unstable infants can be critical for their survival and long-term health. Clinical care standards and educational programs to address these requirements are needed. ­The ACoRN program provides a unique, prioritized, and systematic approach to newborn stabilization for health care professionals with any degree of experience. ACoRN-trained providers learn to gather information, prioritize, intervene appropriately, and deliver high-quality care to at-risk and unwell newborns in any setting.

Because research and practice have advanced dramatically in recent years, the need for a new ACoRN text, the program's centrepiece, became essential. Hence the development of this new edition, which reflects current guidelines and evidence-based best practices.

ACoRN teaches the concepts and skills required to stabilize unwell newborns through system-based algorithms ('Sequences'), each with its own chapter:

- Respiratory
- Fluid and Glucose
- Cardiovascular
- Jaundice
- Neurology
- Thermoregulation
- Surgical Conditions
- Infection

Each chapter includes educational objectives, key concepts, learning points, and at least one case scenario with questions and answers to reinforce content and learnings. Chapters describing newborn transition, the ACoRN process, supportive care, and safe transport round out the systems-based core.

This book is written for any health professional who may be required to participate in the stabilization of sick or preterm babies within their scope of practice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780197525227
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/09/2021
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	472
Product dimensions:	10.90(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

The Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) has worked to improve the health of children and youth since 1922. Backed by the expertise of more than 3,000 paediatricians, the CPS makes sure that parents and professionals have the best possible information about child and youth health and well-being. The CPS is also involved in advocacy, research and education for health care providers.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Transition
Chapter 2. The ACoRN Process
Chapter 3. Respiratory
Chapter 4. Cardiovascular
Chapter 5. Neurology
Chapter 6. Surgical Conditions
Chapter 7. Fluid and Glucose
Chapter 8. Jaundice
Chapter 9. Thermoregulation
Chapter 10. Infection
Chapter 11. Transport
Chapter 12. Support

Appendix A: Procedures
Appendix B: Interpretation of Investigations
Appendix C: Medications

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Jay P. Goldsmith, MD (Tulane University School of Medicine)
Description: This is the second edition (last published in 2005) of an educational manual developed by an expert group of neonatal care providers and educators under the auspices of the Canadian Paediactric Society. ACoRN stands for Acute Care of At Risk Newborns and is taught to novices in the field with hands-on simulation workshops. The book is fairly basic and can be used by anyone wishing to learn about post-resuscitation care of the at-risk newborn.
Purpose: This book is intended as the foundation for an education course for novice neonatal providers at all levels. It takes a systematic approach to the identification and management of sick neonates post-resuscitation. This is a worthy objective and is well met by this easily understood text.
Audience: The audience is any novice neonatal provider, including nurses, medical students, and residents rotating in the NICU. It is written at a basic level and easily understood with lots of tables and illustrations. Each chapter has a list of key objectives and skills, which should be mastered by the student by the end of the teaching session. The editors are three well-known expert neonatologists and one nurse. There are also many other contributors and reviewers of this educational program.
Features: This 400+ page book is divided into 12 chapters. The chapters cover the basic aspects of high-risk neonatal care including transitional care, respiratory and cardiovascular management, infections, fluids, and glucose, as well as transport and family support. There are three appendixes on procedures, interpretation of investigations, and medications. Each chapter starts with key concepts, educational objectives, and skills to be mastered. There is a multiple choice test at the end of each chapter with an answer key for students to test their knowledge. A bibliography is also included with each chapter. The second edition has been updated with a new section on jaundice and updated sections on neurology and therapeutic hypothermia and presurgical stabilization.
Assessment: This is a fairly unique educational text that complements the neonatal resuscitation program (NRP) textbook. It is much more comprehensive than the S.T.A.B.L.E. course and is intended for more in-depth education of the NICU trainee. It certainly can be used to train new neonatal providers in the U.S. as well as Canada.

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