ACL injuries increasing among youngsters
May 1st 2014The number of children with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries is growing, largely because more kids are participating in sports, more intensive sports training is beginning at an earlier age, and because of increased awareness and greater imaging ability, according to a new clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Surviving the challenges of healthcare reform
May 1st 2014Pediatric practice requires that parent and physician navigate what has become a complex matrix of rules and regulations set in our path by insurance companies and the government. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), these obstacles have never been more complicated.
Still too much codeine prescribed for kids
April 24th 2014In spite of national and worldwide recommendations, codeine prescriptions for children presenting to an emergency department (ED) with cough or an upper respiratory infection (URI) have not declined, according to a cross-sectional analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Teens who tan indoors at risk of eating disorders?
April 17th 2014A new study finds that adolescents who report tanning indoors are more likely to engage in unhealthy weight loss practices, suggesting an underlying body image problem may put this group at increased risk of eating disorders. Surprisingly, males may be at higher risk than females.
Joining forces to tackle neonatal encephalopathy
April 10th 2014Obstetricians, gynecologists, and pediatricians joined forces to issue a new task force report on identifying the causes of newborn brain injuries. In doing so, they hope to unearth prevention strategies for neonatal encephalopathy, cerebral palsy, and other neurologic problems.
ASD prevalence in kids continues to increase
April 3rd 2014As of 2010, 1 in every 68 children aged 8 years had autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This is up from 1 in 88 in 2008; 1 in 110 in 2006; and it’s up 123% from 2002 when 1 in every 150 children aged 8 years was diagnosed with ASD.
Will the real vitamin D figures please stand up?
April 3rd 2014Using guidelines issued by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), about 1 in every 10 US children is at risk of vitamin D inadequacy and about 1 in 20 is at risk of deficiency, according to a new report. These figures are drastically lower than previous estimates.
Short-course treatment for outpatient pneumonia-how long should it be?
April 1st 2014Are 3, 5, or 10 days of antibiotics best? Israeli investigators set out to answer this question in a group of children aged 6 to 59 months with radiologically confirmed community-acquired alveolar pneumonia (CAAP) that did not require admission.
Tobacco smoke exposure tied to readmission in asthmatics
April 1st 2014Detectable serum and salivary cotinine-a biomarker of tobacco exposure-is common among children admitted for asthma or bronchodilator-responsive wheezing and is associated with readmission, a study in asthmatic youngsters showed. Caregiver reports of secondhand smoke exposure do not appear to be significant predictors of hospital readmissions, however.
Sexuality talk gets short shrift at teen health maintenance visits
April 1st 2014Audio recordings of 253 annual health maintenance visits of adolescent patients showed that in one-third of such visits, sexuality issues including sexual activity, dating, or sexual identity were not mentioned. Even in the visits that included some sexual content, the duration of the talk was brief-an average of 36 seconds.