News

ABC's of an office emergency Puzzler : Fever, rash, and polyarthralgia Dermcase : Hereditary, pigmented spots Ovarian masses in adolescents

Childhood obesity, glucose intolerance, and hypertension, but not hypercholesterolemia, predict premature death from endogenous causes.

Imagine that you are working in an outpatient pediatric practice one morning when a mother arrives with her 3-month-old infant who is in respiratory florid distress.

Chronic illnesses, including asthma and obesity, affect more than 25% of US children, but many children are able to overcome their conditions as time passes, according to new findings.

Finnish researchers analyzed data from a nutrition study that examined the effects of maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation on the development of type 1 diabetes.

Limited eye contact and communication abilities, cited as autism symptoms, often are not detectable in an infant's first few months but become more apparent as children reach 1 year of age.

Identifying pandemic H1N1 flu in children may not be as easy as administering rapid influenza tests, according to 2 studies.

Most of the articles were chosen for their basic interest to the general pediatrician.

Infants who had prenatal complications or who faced injuries at birth may benefit from hopping on the treadmill.

Infants diagnosed with flat head syndrome have increased chances of delayed physical and mental development, according to a new study.

Immediate auscultation continued into the 19th century until French physician Rene Theophile-Hyacinthe Laennec invented the first stethoscope.

The patient's mother says her child's brown spots have been present since the child was born.

The high-fat ketogenic diet, used to manage seizures in children with epilepsy, may have no enduring adverse events, according to new research.

Ask any pediatrician to name the viral infection responsible for the most identifiable syndrome with the most predictable seasonality, and their most likely response will be respiratory syncytial virus.

Investigators at a tertiary-care children's hospital in Seattle, Washington, designed a survey to determine what proportion of parents are concerned about medical errors during their child's hospitalization.

A previously healthy 12-year-old boy presents to an emergency department with a chief complaint of fever and rash.

Warning labels are advised for foods that may be associated with a signfiicant choking risk.

Keeping toddlers' immunization records in parental hands may help guarantee that the children do not skip any shots, according to a new study.

Ovarian masses are uncommon findings in adolescent females.

This baby boy was born with bilateral medial colobomas of the upper eyelids without tarsal plates and bilateral accessory tragi. Radiographs showed no vertebral anomalies, and no other physical abnormalities were evident.

A MOTHER ASKS: “In the past month, I’ve used a pharmacist- recommended anti-lice shampoo 4 times and my daughter still has lice. Can you call in a prescription to get rid of them?”

A 7-year-old girl presented with pain and discomfort in the left leg that was exacerbated by physical activity. She had been born with a port-wine stain on the left knee. As her mobility increased, she occasionally complained of discomfort in the left leg. Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (KTS) was diagnosed at age 3 years after an evaluation for swelling, discoloration, and pain of the left leg. Magnetic resonance angiography and venography had revealed abnormally dilated, tortuous veins in the subcutaneous tissues from the distal thigh to the posterolateral calf with involvement of the proximal anterior tibial muscle. The parents had elected for conservative management with observation.

Although at present there is no cure for type 1 diabetes mellitus, good treatments are available that can enable affected children to lead healthy, active lives. Insulin regimens should be designed to optimize metabolic control while minimizing the risk of adverse events, such as hypoglycemic episodes, which can be more serious in children. Regimens of 3 in- jections per day work well for children who cannot receive an injection at lunchtime, while multiple daily injection (MDI) regimens provide more flexibility. Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) can provide better quality of life than MDI regimens, but CSII requires a high level of motivation and carries its own risks. In all children, insulin regimens must be adjusted to accommodate the physiological changes of growth and development. Long-term follow-up is important to monitor for complications of diabetes.

A 6-year-old boy presents with tall stature (97th percentile for age), motor delays (walking at 16 months), speech delays (expressive vocabulary of 30 to 40 words with recent use of 2-word phrases), and behavioral differences (poor eye contact, lack of pointing, hyperactive behavior with hand-flapping).

A 3-month-old African American boy was referred for evaluation of poor weight gain and vomiting. The infant had been evaluated by his primary care physician 15 times within the past 6 weeks; he had no change in symptoms despite various treatments.

I appreciated Dr Kirk Barber's excellent illustration of a branchial cleft sinus ("Dermclinic," CONSULTANT FOR PEDIATRICIANS, November 2009, page 389).

Selective IgA deficiency (SIGAD) is the most common immunodeficiency disorder; it affects about 1 in 200 to 900 persons. Most affected children are asymptomatic.