News

The so-called “Step-by-Step” algorithm, a sequential approach to identifying young febrile infants at low risk for invasive bacterial infection (IBI) on the basis of clinical and laboratory parameters, is more accurate than the classic Rochester criteria or the more recently developed “Lab-score,” a new study shows.

Investigators examine whether thumb-sucking and nail-biting are all that bad.

Young children with asthma who take acetaminophen to alleviate pain or fever are no more likely than those who take ibuprofen for this purpose to experience asthma complications, a randomized, double-blind trial showed.

A bioethicist discusses the history of newborn screenings and the serious reasons behind the need for informed consent.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently furthered the discussion of the mind-numbing, myriad issues around the use of opioids in children.

Patch testing is a standard part of the diagnostic regimen for ACD. However, patch testing in patients with AD represents a conundrum for clinicians.

One candidate favors reducing the government’s role in healthcare, the other increasing it. One candidate offers broad-brush proposals, the other detailed policy briefs. One candidate has spent years working on children’s welfare, the other has no public track record on it.

Among the stressors that can have a significant negative impact on the quality of life of children are skin diseases, particularly those that affect physical appearance such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and acne.

Domestic water hardness and chlorine have been suggested as important risk factors for atopic dermatitis (AD). One recent study by researchers from Kings College London, United Kingdom, explored the potential associations between domestic water calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and chlorine concentrations in home water systems, damage to the skin's natural barrier, and incidences of AD in infancy.

Although pediatric atopic dermatitis and acne have some similarities among children with skin of color and lighter-skinned children, there are important differences when these common skin conditions affect darker skin types.

Brainstorming with others on our medical team, we sought to bridge the gap between hospital and MH for our pediatric patients.

For Contemporary Pediatrics, Dr Bobby Lazzara explains key findings from a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Immunology. The study examined whether changes in the skin's microbiome were responsible for atopic dermatitis remission that occurs as children age.

Ongoing lab tests and assessments are important in the management of pediatric celiac patients, according to newly released guidelines.

Opioids are known for their powerful pharmacokinetics for pain relief, but are now well recognized for their overuse and abuse through prescriptions provided by healthcare providers. This has created a medical oxymoron: well-meaning pain management as a valued, caring practice for successful recovery from both medical problems and surgical procedures, juxtaposed by the alarming growth of opioids' prescriptive footprint.

Egg allergies are no longer a contraindication for influenza vaccination, but intranasal mists won’t be an alternative for the shot during this year’s flu season, either, according to new recommendations released by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

New research examines the effects of behavioral, psychostimulant, and combined treatments on homework issues among children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Recent data has revealed the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), also known as the “nasal spray” vaccine, to be grossly ineffective, leading to the ACIP’s decision not to recommend its usage. As such, healthcare providers must be judicious in their choice of influenza vaccine with their patients.

For Contemporary Pediatrics, Dr Bobby Lazzara explains key findings from a study published in Pediatrics. The study examined footage of parents putting their child down to sleep to discover if they are following safe sleep messages.

Opioid abuse rates have reached epidemic proportions, doubling since the 1990s, and-despite the documented success of medication-assisted therapies in treating opioid addiction-less than half of teens with opioid abuse disorders receive such treatment.

A new study claims that about a third of pediatric readmissions could be prevented, and not many of them are tied to underlying chronic conditions.

Pediatricians may not recognize the growing problem of opioid abuse in their communities. As a result, physicians need to carefully examine their prescribing practices.

From 2006 to 2012, patients aged younger than 18 years made more than 21,928 visits to emergency departments (EDs) for poisoning by prescription opioids, such as methadone, codeine, meperidine, or morphine.

A new study demonstrated that in children with an apparent urinary tract infection, the proportion with pyuria varied significantly depending on the uropathogen associated with the infection.

Investigators identified 4 distinct fecal microbiota profiles in infants hospitalized with bronchiolitis and found that 1 of those profiles-dominated by Bacteroides-was associated with a higher likelihood of bronchiolitis than the others.

Investigators used a food frequency questionnaire to assess how often 3003 pregnant women drank artificially sweetened or sugar-sweetened beverages during their second or third trimesters. They then analyzed how this data correlated with the body mass index of these mothers’ babies at age 1 year.

About one-quarter of children who recently have been hospitalized live in food insecure households, which suggests that hospitalization presents a potential opportunity to identify these youngsters and help their families access nutrition assistance.

A father brings his 12-year-old son to the clinic for evaluation of a skin eruption that has been on the back of the boy’s neck for a year, but which just began to extend behind his ear. The rash is asymptomatic, and the otherwise healthy patient is annoyed that he has to spend a beautiful morning in a physician’s office.

In my practice, we are seeing patients and their families being increasingly interested in gaining a competitive edge with regard to athletics.One of the consequences of this is that our young athletes are running themselves down-pushing to be the best-at the cost of wear and tear on their bodies. Repetitive stress, fatigue, and poor technique lead to children suffering overuse injuries and put kids at risk for traumatic injury.

With the introduction of point-of-care (POC) molecular assays, pediatricians can diagnosis influenza A and B during the office visit with sensitivity and specificity comparable to reference assays.

A recent study in preterm infants found that exposure to midazolam, a commonly used sedative in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), was associated with macro- and microstructural alterations in hippocampal development and poorer outcomes consistent with hippocampal dysmaturation.