Stefano Guandalini - Textbook of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition: A Comprehensive Guide to Practice

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We are delighted to present the second edition of the Textbook of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition to you all. We were overwhelmed by the interest shown by the readers in the first edition, reflected in many thousand downloads of the chapters.

In the meantime, during the past 5 years or so, a huge amount of research has been published in the field of gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition, resulting in a new understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of childhood gastrointestinal and liver disorders that has helped to develop newer diagnostics, therapies, and guidelines. It was time to compile the new relevant information in an updated second edition.

Thus, our authors and the editors have worked hard to put together the most useful and up-to-date practical information and present it in the revised chapters.

Furthermore, new authors have been included who are the opinion leaders in their subjects, maintaining and enhancing the international inclusive approach that uniquely keeps characterizing our book.

This edition, like the first one, maintains the practical and ready reference approach for all our readers: trainees, allied healthcare professionals, and established senior practitioners in the field of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, nutrition, and transplantation, maintaining the very vision that the late Dr. Branski originally had and that inspired us.

We are humbly confident that we have succeeded in delivering that in this edition as well.

Lastly, we would like to thank the publisher for the enthusiasm and trust in our leadership to help deliver the second edition despite the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

We, as editors, are grateful to all the authors for their work and their trust in our role. All of them have carefully and thoroughly reviewed and updated the information by including latest published evidence to enrich the learning experience of the readers and allow them to deliver the best care to all our patients, from babies to young adults.

I take this opportunity to thank my colleagues who contributed to the second edition of this book for their attention to detail and punctuality.

I would like to thank my wife Anita, who has been behind everything that I have done well in life, and our two boys, Atin and Ashish, for their love and support.

Anil Dhawan

Its hard to believe 5 years have already gone by since the first edition of this textbook appeared. Besides the original inspiration by the late David Branski, without whose input this book would have never seen the light, I want to acknowledge here not only again all those whom I thanked for the first edition, from my illustrious mentors to the colleagues in ESPGHAN and NASPGHAN and the broader world of my beloved creature FISPGHAN, but also my partners and friends new and old at the University of Chicago, who praised this enterprise.

Last but not least, I am sincerely thankful to the unwavering love and support from my wife Greta both during the long years of work and now on my retirement, even more demanding!

Stefano Guandalini