Neonatal/Perinatology

A multicomponent meningococcal B (4CMenB) vaccine induces an immune response in healthy infants and can be given safely with other routine vaccines, according to a European multisite, randomized study. Read why study results suggest that 4CMenB can be incorporated into various immunization schedules.

Children younger than 1 year and children on Medicaid are the most likely to suffer serious injuries because of physical abuse, according to an analysis of data from a US database. The study was the first to provide estimates on the number of US children hospitalized as a result of serious injuries from physical abuse. Learn what data identified poverty as a major risk factor for abusive injuries.

Stretching infant formula by dilution or reduced feedings exposes babies to serious developmental risks, yet it can be a monthly temptation for families receiving supplemental nutrition assistance. Find out how families forced to resort to formula stretching can be better identified and what other options can be offered to them.

A new prospective study confirms previous suggestions that in very low-birth-weight newborns exposed to treatment with ranitidine for gastric acid suppression, the rate of infections is significantly higher, as are the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis, length of hospital stay, and fatal outcome.

Minimal access surgery is the fastest-growing area of surgical innovation, and children certainly benefit from procedures previously associated with more invasive approaches.

Proton pump inhibitors often are prescribed to treat infants with symptoms suspected as gastroesophageal reflux disease, but these acid-suppressing drugs are not safe for infants younger than 12 months.

In a case of unintended consequences gone right, the benefit of vaccinating infants against rotavirus does more than protect them against a serious illness with a high hospitalization rate. It also helps prevent the disease in older children and adults who have not received the vaccine, according to a recent study. What were the ?secrets and surprises? uncovered after introduction of the new vaccine?

A meta-analysis of 18 case-controlled studies on the relationship between breastfeeding and risk of sudden infant death syndrome revealed that breastfeeding of any duration is protective, especially if the breastfeeding is exclusive.

Preterm birth exerts a huge influence on infant mortality, and because less than half of preterm births are linked to spontaneous labor, it's important to consider the possible effect of obstetric intervention on the preterm birth rate.

The US Food and Drug Administration has ordered a safety labeling change for RotaTeq oral solution.

Parents don?t always understand what is meant by ?firm? when talking about bedding intended to reduce the risk of SIDS, and they worry that their infants may be uncomfortable, according to new research. Find out what misunderstandings are likely to occur and how you can counter them.

Here?s welcome news for nervous parents and the pediatricians who have to deal with urinary tract infections (UTI) in infants: New guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics do not recommend routine use of voiding cystourethrography after the first UTI in febrile infants and children aged 2 to 24 months. Read more for information on when the test is indicated as well as other changes in UTI diagnosis and management.

Two new asthma studies include some practical advice that pediatricians can share with parents. One concerns mold in the home, which can lead to asthma development. Another study offers advice on using air cleaners to control asthma symptoms.

Although evidence shows that breastfeeding prevents childhood obesity and reduces a mother's risk for breast and ovarian cancers, many hospitals in the United States fail to support breastfeeding.

Although drug regimens such as the protease inhibitor lopinavir-ritonavir may have lowered the HIV transmission rates in newborns to less than 1%, a study finds that postnatal treatment with the combination was more likely to cause adrenal dysfunction in newborns when compared with a zidovudine-based treatment. Read about the nuances of the study and the researchers? recommendations.

Children as young as 9 months who are at high risk for invasive meningococcal disease should receive quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine, according to a new recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Administering hydroxycarbamide to very young children with sickle-cell anemia reduces common but serious adverse effects, particularly pain and dactylitis, and results in lower rates of acute chest syndrome, hospital admissions, and transfusions. Hydroxycarbamide also improves laboratory parameters.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning parents and health care providers against feeding the thickening agent SimplyThick to premature babies. The agency has received 15 reports of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) involving infants born before 37 weeks who ingested the product in breast milk or formula.

A healthy 9-month-old boy is brought to the clinic by his mother, who is concerned about multiple golden-brown "bumps" on his trunk, head, arms and legs that developed soon after birth.

More widespread use of electronic medical records (EMRs) could lead to a substantial reduction in infant mortality rates in the United States, according to researchers from the University of Virginia and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A study of Danish children who underwent inguinal hernia repair with anesthesia as infants found no difference in their academic performance as adolescents compared with a general population sample of their peers.

In an ongoing effort to establish clinical evidence for the effects of anesthesia and sedative agents on infants and children undergoing surgical, medical, or diagnostic procedures, the FDA?s Anesthetic and Life Support Drugs Advisory Committee recently convened a panel of experts to consider the available data, develop a research agenda, and discuss how to communicate risk/benefit information to clinicians and parents.

Children as young as 9 months can now be immunized for the prevention of meningococcal disease.

Investigators examined the extent to which introduction of solid foods to infants younger than 4 months is associated with increased risk of obesity at 3 years.

Evidence does not support the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) to treat symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in infants, and placebo-controlled evidence is lacking in children and adolescents, according to researchers of a systematic review. Their findings appear online in Pediatrics.

Use of pacifiers does not interfere with breastfeeding up to age 4 months, according to a systematic Cochrane review.

Recognizing infants at risk of neonatal hypoglycemia and instituting early measures to prevent and treat low glucose concentrations are the subject of a clinical report published in the March issue of Pediatrics.

Putting infants to sleep in the prone position reduces cerebral oxygenation, which may help to explain why this sleeping position is associated with an increase in the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), say Australian researchers.

Although inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) has proved effective in improving oxygenation in late preterm infants, studies of its efficacy in infants born at or before 34 weeks have produced variable and contradictory findings. Now a systematic review of findings from 22 trials of iNO use in 3,461 early preterm infants concludes that the evidence does not support routine use of iNO to treat these infants. The review, which appears in Pediatrics, examined 14 randomized, controlled trials (RCTs), 7 follow-up studies, and 1 observation study.

A controversial new analysis suggests that introduction of solid foods before 6 months of age may reduce the risk of allergies and iron deficiency anemia compared with exclusive breastfeeding. The researchers suggest that weaning should occur as early 4 months.