This Textbook of Pediatric HIV Care has evolved and grown considerably from its much shorter predecessor, the Handbook of Pediatric HIV Care, which was first published in 1999. This definitive new textbook provides a comprehensive clinical reference to the current state of and recommendations for pediatric HIV care. Fully referenced, completely updated and illustrated in depth, it is hoped this will become the standard reference for clinicians and other health-care professionals throughout the world. A much shorter companion volume, summarizing essential clinical information and guidelines, will also be produced which will be more suited for the clinician's pocket and for use in the busy hospital setting.

While we have focused on the management of pediatric HIV disease, we believe that effective management requires a solid understanding of the basic and applied virology, immunology, and pathophysiology of the disease, so that the practitioner can thoughtfully and rationally apply the management information supplied in the other chapters. This textbook therefore gives in-depth coverage to the science behind the disease and uses this standpoint to illuminate and explain clinical management.

The HIV epidemic changes quickly. The authors of the individual chapters have attempted to include a significant amount of new information, including new basic science findings, new information concerning the pathogenesis of the disease and the opportunistic infections that affect children with HIV, descriptions of recently approved drugs and recently developed drugs that may be close to approval, both for HIV and for HIV-related opportunistic infections, new information concerning the management of children infected with HIV, and information concerning the social welfare of children infected with HIV.