News

A recent study found that chest wall rigidity may be partially responsible for some of the deaths related to the intravenous injection of illicit fentanyl.

The mother of a 4-year-old boy, whose family recently emigrated from Haiti, brings him to the pediatric mobile clinic for evaluation of a rash that had begun 11 days earlier as an eruption of vesicular, pruritic papules on the bilateral lower extremities and had spread to the buttocks and medial thighs with sparing of the face. The skin eruption was followed by desquamation of the skin on his palms and soles.

In the throes of an opioid epidemic, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided in August 2015 to expand the indications for OxyContin, an extended-release form of the narcotic oxycodone, to children aged 11 years and older. The decision sparked outrage in those who fear the move might fuel increasing opioid addiction among young Americans.

Opioid use is now a significant problem for the pediatrician and the families served in pediatric practices. Whereas patients with a prior history of drug use, misuse, or suspicions of drug misuse have long been studied, monitored, screened, and treated for adverse outcomes, opioid-naïve patients with legitimate medical reasons for opioid prescriptions may represent a greater risk for opioid complications.

As problems with opioid use and abuse in the United States increasingly emerge to create what is being called a public health epidemic, clinicians are facing the great challenge of trying to provide optimal pain management for their patients while being mindful of the potential deleterious effects of the highly addictive opioids.

A look at the major discoveries and milestones in the opioid epidemic occurring in the United States.

Time and ability may put a damper on a pediatrician’s ability to assess a patient’s risk of a gun-related injury, even though most say prevention of firearm injuries is a priority.

For Contemporary Pediatrics, Dr Bobby Lazzara explains key findings from a study published in Pediatrics. The study looked at whether adolescents who engage in the nonmedical use of opioid medications are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors.

Roughly 20% of trials involving pediatric participants are discontinued early, and another 30% go unpublished after completion, according to a new report.

For Contemporary Pediatrics, Dr Bobby Lazzara explains key findings from a study published in Pediatrics. The study looked at whether children and adolescents who engage in nonmedical use of opioid medications are increasing their future risk of heroin use.

Many of today’s practicing PNPs grew up during the “difficult and rebellious” adolescent years when teenagers were trying alcohol, marijuana, drag racing, and attempting to access birth control. In retrospect, that adolescent lifestyle was simplistic in comparison to the complex, tumultuous adolescent life of today.

While late preterm infants may seem as though they’ve escaped the obstacles earlier preemies face, a new study reveals that later preterm infants who seem on part with their peers even at age 2 may have problems with reading and math by preschool.

Treating allergic rhinitis (AR) in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) appears to significantly improve not only AR, but also ADHD symptoms.

Despite concerns about ADHD stimulant therapy as a gateway for future drug abuse, a new study shows that teens treated with stimulants later and for shorter durations, and those treated with non-stimulant medications, have higher rates of later drug abuse than their peers who have used stimulant therapy longer.

A new report shatters earliest estimates that just 0.25% of teens have diabetes, placing that figure closer to 1% plus an estimated 17.7% with prediabetes.

Although new research hints that early motor delays could be a telltale sign that early cognitive intervention is needed, the authors of a new study stop short of making a clinical recommendation.

Here are 5 steps to assist pediatric care providers with the assessment of dyslexia in children and referral of these patients to the appropriate specialists.

By being vigilant to signs of dyslexia, dispelling the myths, and helping to coordinate care, pediatricians can help children with dyslexia enjoy success in school and in daily life.

Asking teenagers how often they have consumed alcohol in the past year provides a simple screen for those at risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD), a study in 1193 adolescents in rural Pennsylvania showed.

A study among low-income women receiving prenatal income support in the Canadian province of Manitoba found that this unique benefit-provided with no conditions-results in positive birth outcomes.

Although phototherapy is an established and valuable treatment for infants with neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, some investigations have raised concerns that the treatment is associated with cancer.

A new antibody eases treatment of severe hemophilia A.

I was reading the causes of mortality and morbidity in children and noticed that beyond age 2 years, many of the most likely serious harms to children, especially death, are considered “accidents.” I began wondering about all those situations that we so readily call “accidents.”

Key members of a House of Representatives health subcommittee say they are determined to push out legislation intended to pay for better care coordination under Medicaid for children with complex medical conditions. However, key questions are who will do that coordination and how the money will flow.

The parents of a 4-year-old boy who lives in eastern Maryland near the Pennsylvania line are worried about an expanding rash on his back, which started as a small red bump a week ago following a summer picnic. The boy has had a low-grade fever and has not been acting like himself for a few days.

During a routine office visit for mild acute nasal congestion and possible diminished hearing, an isolated, small, pearl-like mass was noted just posterior to the umbo of the left tympanic membrane of a 5-year-old girl.

My clinic is restructuring its physician compensation model, which has led to much consternation among my colleagues.

Sexting is the act of sending or receiving sexually explicit or sexually suggestive photos, messages, or videos digitally by text, e-mail, or instant messaging from a smartphone or computer device. It is more common among teenagers than one might think.

Historically, the care of children with Down syndrome was often managed through specialty services, with the pediatrician/family physician serving a secondary role. Shifts in the healthcare environment have altered this model, with today’s primary care physicians taking on a greater role in care coordination.

I found myself in the trenches of the war on obesity in 2000 when I began working as a general pediatrician at a local community clinic in Southern California. I immediately became aware of the day-to-day barriers that my patients were facing and I began to take on the responsibility of making sure that the children I was seeing would not only survive, but also thrive.