News

Encouraging young children to serve themselves at meals is thought to develop social and motor skills, but a new study has found that when children served themselves using large-sized dinnerware they placed more food on their plates and ate more of it.

Adolescent girls who smoke or who are anxious or depressed are at higher risk for low bone mineral density in the hip and lumbar spine that could lead to osteoporosis and bone fractures as they grow older.

More than a half million US children now have lead poisoning despite progress made in eliminating lead exposure, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health care organizations are using temporary nurse practitioners and physician assistants to fill the gaps in their medical staffs associated with the nationwide physician shortage, especially in primary care, according to a survey of 2012 staffing trends.

A prescription was called into the local pharmacy for ciprofloxacin suspension (200 mg via G-tube bid [10 mg/kg/dose]). After the patient received 2 doses of the medication, the parents noticed that the G-tube was clogged off. What’s the problem here?

Most primary care practices for children are not yet ready for certification as medical homes, according to a new study that assessed practice characteristics associated with successful medical home programs.

A discussion regarding resident duty hours as we approach the 10th anniversary of resident duty hour restrictions.

IOM advises sustained federal commitment to research on schedule safety

Study offers strong evidence for using probiotics for colic

A 14-year study has confirmed that varicella vaccine is highly effective for preventing chicken pox and that it reduces the risk of herpes zoster in vaccinated children.

Teenaged birth rates among abused or neglected adolescent girls are more than double the birth rate of their peers who never experienced abuse and more than 3 times the rate for girls who were never neglected, according to a new study.

Children with obstructive sleep apnea that is left untreated are at increased risk for developing problems with behavior, learning, and adaptive functioning, according to a 5-year study.

Bone health in adulthood depends on bone density acquired during adolescence. Identifying risk factors associated with poor bone health early in adolescence can help your teenaged patients take action to maximize bone mass.

Tics commonly manifest themselves in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Stimulant medications are now a primary option for treating ADHD in children with or predisposed to tic disorders.

The Case:You are called to the emergency room to evaluate a toddler with a diffuse, itchy skin rash that erupted a week ago, the day after he received his mumps/measles/rubella vaccination.

Many pediatricians find point-of-care (POC) office lab tests advantageous because these avoid callbacks and allow pediatricians to direct care at the time of the office visit. It has been my experience that when parents are called with a lab result, there is an opportunity for ineffective or even failed communication.

The adolescent diet of fat, salt, and sugar is leading US teenagers on the path to early cardiovascular disease, according to new research from the American Heart Association.

Evidence from a new study points to norovirus as the leading cause of severe gastroenteritis in preschool-aged children.

When it comes to doing what the doctor orders, parents don’t always go along with the advice. A new poll finds that only 31% of parents follow guidance from their child’s health care provider all the time.

Pediatricians and other pediatric health care providers should first determine whether bruising or bleeding in a child is associated with a bleeding disorder before suspecting child abuse, advises the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends the adoption of electronic prescribing systems as a means to improving quality and safety in pediatric care.

Prescribing drugs solely to boost thinking and memory functions in children and adolescents who do not have neurologic disorders is not justified, says the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) in a new position paper on the use of neuroenhancing drugs in children.

Three-quarters of teenaged girls are not up-to-date on the vaccination series for human papillomavirus (HPV) because their parents have concerns about vaccine safety, according to a national survey on immunization.

Health care providers may not see a positive return on investment (ROI) after adopting electronic health record (EHR) systems, suggests a study that examined how physicians would fare financially after incorporating EHRs into their practices.

A newly identified neuropathic disease appears to cause disabling, widespread body pain in children, according to researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital.

Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) appears to show a preference for summer months, putting children at greater risk for soft-tissue infection especially during July and August.

Introducing peanuts, eggs, and cow’s milk into babies’ diets when they are aged as young as 4 months might actually prevent allergies to these foods from developing.

Nearly 90% of pediatricians approve of over-the-counter (OTC) medications as first-line treatment for minor illnesses in children and 80% will recommend OTC medications before writing a prescription for pediatric patients, says a new survey.

The beta-blocker propranolol has been shown to clear or mostly clear infant hemangiomas after 6 months of treatment, according to preliminary findings from a clinical trial presented at the meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology in Miami Beach, Florida.

Ketorolac is a good option for relieving pain in patients with sickle cell disease, but there can be a problem with how this agent is prescribed for children.