Monovalent rotavirus vaccine elevates intussusception risk
March 1st 2014A comparison of the risk of intussusception after receipt of monovalent versus pentavalent rotavirus vaccine or versus historical background rates of intussusception found that the monovalent vaccine significantly increases that risk.
Office-based parent training reduces disruptive toddler behavior
March 1st 2014Participation in parent training groups can effectively improve parenting practices and behavior in young children with disruptive behaviors, a randomized trial conducted at 11 diverse pediatric practices around Boston demonstrated.
Report card grades states on motor vehicle safety laws for children
March 1st 2014The number of states with good booster seat laws has risen from 0 in 1989 to 31 plus the District of Columbia, according to Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (AHAS). However, no state passed a new booster seat law in 2013.
Marketplace or Medicaid? What to do with kids
March 1st 2014The number of medically uninsured children between 2008 and 2012 dropped to 5.3 million, and the coverage rate rose to 92.8%, according to the US Census Bureau American Community Survey. That might be the good news, but currently 70% of uninsured children are eligible but not enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), says the Urban Institute.
Red, itchy skin lesions triggered by pregnancy
March 1st 2014You are asked to evaluate a healthy 18-year-old girl with a history of “mosquito bites” on her arms and legs that appeared after her first pregnancy 2 years ago. Although not symptomatic, the lesions become redder and more swollen intermittently, particularly when accidentally scratched or rubbed.
Self-injury: Why teens do it, how to help
March 1st 2014Pediatricians are most likely the first clinicians to discover that a teenager is engaging in self-harming behavior, and it’s their evaluation of the context and severity of the self-injury as well as their empathetic relationship with the patient that sets the stage for treatment.
Pregnancy in young girls presents unique risks
February 19th 2014Girls who become pregnant when they are aged younger than 15 years are more likely than slightly older women to have much older sexual partners, to not use contraception the first time they have sex, and to be Hispanic or black, suggesting that they may be particularly vulnerable to relationships with unequal power.
Preterm birth may increase risk for diabetes
February 19th 2014A recent study found the lower the gestational age at birth, the more elevated plasma insulin levels are, not only at birth but in early childhood, too. The finding suggests that preterm birth may be a risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Child and adolescent vaccination schedule updated
February 12th 2014The American Academy of Pediatrics, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recently approved the 2014 recommended schedules for childhood and adolescent immunizations.