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While they may be a part of American culture, a simple handshake or thumbs up may offend some of your patients and their parents. That’s one of the take-home messages of a talk presented by anthropologists Geri-Ann Galanti, PhD, California State University, Los Angeles, and David Katz, PhD, US Naval War College, Newport, R.I. to pediatricians at this year’s American Academy of Pediatrics meeting in Boston.

Groans, gasps, and cries of disgust greeted many of the images shown at Saturday’s plenary presentation by Jean Kilbourne, PhD. But she wasn’t a dermatologist, or an oral surgeon, or any other doctor showing off wince-inducing injuries.

No one would try to set up a brand new widow or widower on a blind date. It’s too soon, the bereaved spoue needs time to grieve and process the loss before they can try to establish a new bond with someone else.

The good moments of Reneé R. Jenkins’ one-year tenure as president of American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) made her feel like she was wearing a tiara. The bad moments made that tiara feel like it was a target.

Two things happened at the 1995 Special Olympics that stayed with Timothy P. Shriver, PhD, its chairman and CEO. The first involved President Clinton, and a bunch of cameras.

Martha Ann Keels, DDS, PhD, of Children’s Pediatric Dentistry at Duke University, provided a case-based overview of the management of pediatric dental trauma at the 2008 American Academy of Pediatrics’ National Conference and Exposition in Boston.

Wouldn’t it be great if your patient’s medical records preceded her to the emergency room? Or your patient’s surgical procedure arrived in his medical record prior to a follow-up visit with you? That’s the dream of electronic health records (EHRs).

The health of children is affected by the degree of income and education their parents have attained, according to a study published by the Commission to Build a Healthier America at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Fan use may be associated with a lower risk of sudden death syndrome (SIDS), as reported in the October Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) said that the drug companies it represents are voluntarily changing product labels of cough and cold medicines to warn against use of these products in children younger than 4.

In a study presented at the Annual Congress of the European Respiratory Society, researchers stated that women late in pregnancy who are stressed have an increased risk of their child developing asthma.

A small but significant percentage of US adults believe that child vaccines are a cause of autism, survey results show.

Fixation preference testing in infants and toddlers may not be reliable in detecting amblyopia, according to a study published in the October Opthalmology.

A mouse model of chronic early stress demonstrated acute and long-lasting neuroendocrine and cognitive changes, according to research published in the October issue of Endocrinology.

The ideal way to encourage big businesses to respond to public health problems could involve compelling them with performance-based regulations or, conversely, fostering an atmosphere of collaboration with them, according to two Head-to-Head articles published Oct. 2 in BMJ.

Slow growth between the first and second trimesters of pregnancy is a strong predictor of perinatal death, researchers report in the October issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials rejected the notion of a ban on cough and cold medications for children at a public hearing, the Associated Press reports.

Birth size, particularly birth length, is associated with the risk of breast cancer, according to a report published online Sept. 30 in PLoS Medicine.

The fixation preference test, widely used by eye specialists to test vision in preschoolers, fails to accurately identify interocular differences in visual acuity, according to an article published in the October issue of Ophthalmology, while a related article concludes that the incidence of decreased visual acuity among children aged 30 months through 71 months is very low.

Deletion of one form of the protein targeted by lithium, which is used to treat bipolar disorder, causes congenital cardiac defects in developing mice, according to research published online Oct. 1 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Adolescents with conduct disorder have higher basal levels of cortisol than their counterparts without the condition, but they secrete less of the hormone under stressful conditions, according to study findings published in the Oct. 1 issue of Biological Psychiatry.

Wheezing illnesses due to rhinovirus infection are a strong predictor of developing asthma in high-risk children, according to a report in the Oct. 1 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a test developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) used to diagnose influenza, including the H5N1 flu virus.

Questions answered about imaging, prophylaxis, and more in the diagnosis and management of acute UTI.

Study: A standardized physical therapy program may significantly reduce the prevalence of deformational plagiocephaly.

Study: The vast majory of stethescopes may carry bacteria.

Former Child Life Services Director Myra Fox recounts her experiences at Children's Hospital Boston.