Vaccinating early for measles lowers seizure risk
October 23rd 2013Vaccinating children against measles when they are aged between 12 and 15 months is associated with less fever and fewer seizures during the 7 to 10 days after vaccination than is vaccinating between 16 and 23 months of age, but experts emphasize that the overall risk is low either way.
BP screening: Evidence lacking but problem grows
October 15th 2013The jury is still out on whether we should be screening asymptomatic children and adolescents for primary hypertension in an effort to prevent cardiovascular disease later in life, but we do know that being overweight and hypertension are inextricably linked and both problems seem to be growing in children.
Sports-related traumatic brain injuries soaring
October 8th 2013The number of emergency department (ED) visits for sports-related traumatic brain injuries (TBI) rose astronomically in the past decade, but the percentage of children admitted to the hospital from the ED with sports-related TBI did not, and the severity of the injuries seems to be decreasing.
Persistent solitary lesion in an 8-month-old boy
October 1st 2013The mother of a healthy 8-month-old boy pops into your office for an urgent visit seeking advice on a golden brown bump on her son’s lower back, visible since 2 months of age. This morning when he awoke, it appeared angry, red, and swollen although the swelling seems to be improving. What’s your diagnosis?
Continuity of care for NICU graduates
October 1st 2013The discharge of a preterm infant from neonatal intensive care is a developmental milestone, yet it also marks the beginning of a challenging course of medical care from a complex system of outpatient providers. This article addresses the multiple strategies and resources that exist to help pediatricians coordinate health care and optimize quality of life for these children and their families
Kids consume sugary drinks because they're available, affordable
October 1st 2013Although overweight/obese Latino adolescents and their parents generally recognize that sugar-sweetened beverages are not healthy, the teenagers still consume these drinks for a variety of reasons, mostly because they are available at home, a new study shows.
Motivational interviewing: Helping teenaged smokers to quit
October 1st 2013Although tobacco use among adolescents and young adults has declined in recent years, data show that more than 3 million high school students and 600,000 middle school students still smoke cigarettes regularly. Motivational interviewing is one intervention that pediatricians can use to help their teenaged patients quit smoking before the onset of nicotine addiction and its accompanying comorbidities.