VIDEO: Toxic Stress in Children: Long-term Effects and Screening Strategies
February 3rd 2014Pediatrician Andrew S. Garner, MD, PhD, describes how children's response to toxic stress stimuli in their environment alters the brain, putting them at risk for a lifetime of adverse health outcomes. Pediatricians, he says, are the natural sentinels to screen and to intervene.
Screening rule differentiates between vasovagal and cardiac syncope
February 1st 2014Screening children and adolescents who experience syncope using characteristics in the history, physical exam, and electrocardiogram (ECG) accurately identifies which patients require further evaluation for cardiac problems, a new study concluded.
Insights into racial differences in vitamin D levels
February 1st 2014Compared with whites, blacks consistently have lower levels of total vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D) and elevated levels of parathyroid hormone (considered a sensitive marker of vitamin D deficiency), often leading to a diagnosis of vitamin D deficiency.
New tool helps monitor asthma symptoms
February 1st 2014The new Asthma Symptom Tracker (AST), which rests on weekly (instead of traditional monthly) use of the Asthma Control Test (ACT), facilitates monitoring of patients’ symptoms and rapid recognition and response to warning signs of deterioration in asthma control, a new study found.
Instrument-based vision screening: Update and review
February 1st 2014Insurance companies are now beginning to compensate pediatricians for performing photoscreening, billed under Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code 99174. We applaud the efforts of the many pediatricians, pediatric ophthalmologists, and state chapters of the AAP who have aggressively petitioned insurance companies to cover this important service for our patients. -Andrew J Schuman, MD, Section Editor
Program gives children with life-limiting conditions quality of life
February 1st 2014Providing quality-of-life care for the sickest of children was a passion for pediatrician Gary Ceneviva, MD. As a critical care physician, he was troubled by what he saw. So in true pediatrician fashion, he did something about it.
The high cost of acute otitis media
January 29th 2014Researchers recently determined that acute otitis media is associated with an incremental increase in outpatient health care costs of $314 per child per year in the United States, which translates into approximately $2.88 billion in added health care expense annually.
Alternative medicine commonly used for autism
January 21st 2014About one-third of parents of children with autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders try complementary and alternative forms of medicine (CAM), and those that do tend to be wealthier and more highly educated, according to a recent study.