Exposure to imaging procedures may pose health risk to children
January 14th 2011Use of medical diagnostic or therapeutic imaging procedures in children requires balancing the long-term risks of ionizing radiation exposure with the necessity of making clinical decisions, according to a study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.
Aberrant Predisposition Not Political Rhetoric to Blame for Tucson Tragedy
January 14th 2011The recent murders in Arizona are horrific. That a 9-year-old girl was one of the victims magnifies the horror even more. Of course, it is natural to seek explanations for why someone would lash out like this. However, when rationalizing random acts of violence, it is important to consider the path leading up to the tragic event and be wary of current opinions propagated in the media.
What Rash Consists of These Brownish Macules?
January 13th 2011A 4-year-old boy who is new to your practice presents for a well-child visit. His parents report that he has had brownish patches on his torso and back since early infancy. The lesions have decreased in size and number as he has aged. The rash is intermittently pruritic, especially when anyone touches the individual lesions.
Assigning Blame in Medicine: Where Are We Headed?
January 10th 2011Warning: this is a column about political correctness. If you find it impossible to be judgmental in any situation, or are incapable of offering decisive opinions about anything, you are advised to go no further-your feelings will be hurt.
Toddler With Chest Pain, Trouble Breathing, Cough After Heart Surgery
January 10th 2011A 3-year-old boy with chest pain and trouble breathing that had developed over the past 24 hours was brought to the emergency department. The parents reported that his most prominent symptom was a cough. The chest pain appeared to worsen with coughing. He had undergone open atrial septal defect repair about 3 weeks before presentation.
More ammunition emerges to counter parents' vaccine concerns
January 7th 2011Even more information has emerged about the 1998 Andrew Wakefield measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) study that is important for you to communicate to parents, especially those who are concerned about their perceived risk of autism. Here are highlights of the latest reports in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) discrediting Wakefield,s work (originally published in the Lancet), which make the case that Wakefield purposely set out to skew data and present fraudulent information to support an association between vaccination and the onset of developmental and behavioral problems in British children.
FDA cautions possible risk of death with recombinant human growth hormone
January 7th 2011The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a potential risk of death for persons treated with recombinant human growth hormone. The FDA is reviewing information and will publish new recommendations when its investigation is complete.
Contemporary Pediatrics, Digital Edition, January 2011
January 1st 2011Childhood obesity : Challenging pediatricians with averting this epidemic even in their littlest patients Catalyst for change : Motivational interviewing can help parents to help their kids Dermcase : Navel battles! Puzzler : An odd case of pallor and splenomegaly Updates : Varicella vaccine, AEs with CAM use, Food allergies, Meningococcal vaccination
Advocacy groups turn national spotlight on child abuse deaths
January 1st 2011Five national groups came together in December to call attention to their assertion that little media attention is given to child abuse deaths, despite the numbers being far higher than many other issues that do make the national news.
An odd case of pallor and splenomegaly
January 1st 2011You are completing rounds as an intern one morning on the general pediatric ward when your colleague from the emergency department signs out a patient to you. She describes an 11-month-old black male who presented with a 4-day history of low-grade fever, nasal congestion, and decreased appetite, without vomiting or diarrhea.
Prevention: If not pediatricians, then who?
January 1st 2011During my medical school pediatric clerkship, I was assigned to spend one half-day per week at the office of a private pediatrician. Over time, it became clear that pediatricians must be active partners with parents in decisions regarding infant feeding and other activities if the disturbing trends of obesity are to be reversed.
Serious adverse events with complementary and alternative medicine use in children
January 1st 2011Complementary and alternative medicine - either medicinal CAM or the substitution of an unproven therapy for a conventional therapy - can lead to serious and fatal adverse events, especially when used in children, according to surveillance of one database.
New meningococcal vaccination schedule recommended by CDC advisory committee
January 1st 2011The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for the CDC recommended a booster dose of vaccine for bacterial meningitis after reviewing recent evidence showing that a single dose of vaccine provides immunity for fewer than 5 years, a much shorter duration than previously believed.
Lumbosacral hemangiomas raise risk for spinal anomalies
January 1st 2011Investigators in a new study prospectively examined 48 patients with infantile hemangiomas in the midline lumbosacral region that were at least 2.5 cm in diameter, finding that more than half the infants who underwent magnetic resonance imaging had spinal anomalies.
Caffeine is not associated with enuresis
December 29th 2010A study published online in the Journal of Pediatrics reveals that 5- to 12-year-old children who consume caffeine?almost exclusively in beverages such as soda?are not more likely than their peers who do not ingest caffeine to wet the bed. But caffeine consumption and hours of sleep are correlated, with higher levels of caffeine associated with fewer hours of sleep.
Watch for early cardiac disease in pediatric patients with renal disease caused by SLE
December 22nd 2010Pediatric patients with renal disease secondary to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have nearly twice the risk of death compared with pediatric patients with renal disease secondary to other causes.
Children's doctors don't always practice where the need is greatest
December 22nd 2010Physicians who care for children, including pediatricians and family care physicians, often locate their practices in areas where the number of child practitioners already is high and not where they are needed most.
Positional Plagiocephaly, Part 1:A Practical Guide to Evaluation
December 20th 2010One of the more common conditions pediatricians diagnose is deformity of the skull. Deformational plagiocephaly may be caused by compressive forces in utero (eg, multiple births) or by constant pressure on one portion of the newborn’s malleable skull when the infant is kept in the same supine position for prolonged periods.