News

North Carolina state senator and former pediatrician Bill Purcell has focused on health issues such as tobacco control and motorist safety.

In taking care of minors, pediatricians need to be alert to possible child abuse, and navigate the land mines of parental consent.

A discussion of influenza vaccines, inactivated and live cold adapted attenuated virus; influenza virus and the immune response in children; and the differences in immune response elicited by both types of vaccine.

Readers comment on a method to distract pediatric patients, and the unproven Tylenol test

Continuous antibiotic prophylaxis in children with vesicoureteral reflux may be ineffective.

The Commonwealth Fund reported results of a national survey that show the state-by-state disparities in children's health care.

Links to useful websites about Down syndrome.

An overview of disorders related to allergic symptoms in the pediatric patient, such as rhinitis, otitis media, asthma, and atopic dermatitis, as well as guidence regarding when to refer to an allergist.

Links to useful websites about allergy conditions.

A 15-year-old boy with two episodes of syncope shows a healthy history; could a gastrointestinal tract condition be a culprit?

The buzz surrounding extended cycling is prompting more young girls to ask if they too can have fewer or no periods. But given the nuances of each method, pediatricians may find that fulfilling these requests may be easier said than done.

Four hours of intrapartum penicillin G prophylaxis may not be necessary in women positive for group B streptococci, according to research published in the August issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

More than 100 countries condone the use of torture and have often recruited the medical community as participants without consequence, according to an editorial published online July 31 in BMJ.

The 1999 Master Settlement Act, which outlawed tobacco advertising on billboards and transit furniture, and a voluntary pledge by outdoor advertisers not to advertise alcohol and tobacco within 500 feet of schools, playgrounds and churches are frequently flouted, according to study findings published online July 29 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The European Working Time Regulations -- which reduced the maximum working week to 56 hours in 2007, will further reduce it to 48 hours in 2009, and require a minimum of 11 hours rest in any 24-hour period -- have adversely affected clinical care, and the quality of life and training for junior medical staff in the United Kingdom, according to an editorial published online July 31 in BMJ.

A survey of more than 400 pediatric physical, occupational, and speech therapists has found that two-thirds of therapists reported seeing a rise in early motor delays in infants in the past six years.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) report News and Numbers, children ages 4 and younger were hospitalized more than 34,000 times in 2006 due to skin infections, a 150% increase since 2000.

1. A 4-year-old girl was brought to the emergency department by her parents on a Sunday afternoon. Because of a clinical history of right upper quadrant pain and trace hematuria, abdominal radiographs were obtained. What do they show?

The management of pediatricmigraine incorporates lifestyle strategieswith acute therapy and preventivemeasures. Lifestyle changes that candiminish the frequency and intensity ofmigraines include maintaining regularsleeping, eating, and exercise habits;staying well hydrated; dealing withstress; and avoiding dietary triggers ofmigraine. Acute treatment represents arace against the clock: the longer aheadache continues to smolder, the harderit is to treat. An over-the-counteragent may help in the very early stagesof headache: if it does not, however,it must be followed within an hour by atriptan. Patients with significantmigraine disability may need preventionmedications or alternative therapies.

A previously healthy 2-year-old boy was hospitalized after 2 weeks of persistent fever (temperature to a maximum of 38.9C [102F]) and a 2-day history of neck stiffness. There was no history of cough, rhinorrhea, or dysphagia. The oropharynx could not be examined because of neck stiffness. The patient had bilateral anterior cervical lymphadenopathy.

On examination, the left testicle was noted to be much smaller than the right. There was no change in color, and the testicle was firm and nontender. The physical findings were otherwise unremarkable.

For years, babies born between 32 and 36 weeks'gestation have been thought to have developmentaland neurological outcomes similar to those offull-term infants. Although studies have shownthat these infants are at greater risk for short-termmorbidities, such as respiratory distress, hyperbilirubinemia,hypoglycemia, and feeding problems,1 little researchhad been done regarding school outcomes for moderatepreterm(32 to 33 weeks) and late-preterm (34 to 36weeks) infants. Now a study in The Journal of Pediatricsby Chyi and colleagues2 has shown that these infantsmay also be at greater risk for difficulties in school laterin life.

Pregnant women with pregestational diabetes mellitus are more likely than pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus to have a child with birth defects, according to a report published online July 31 in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Babies conceived spontaneously and as a result of assisted fertilization by the same woman have similar risks of adverse outcomes, meaning that adverse outcomes among assisted fertilization babies may be attributable to the underlying causes of infertility rather than the fertility treatment itself, according to a report published online July 31 in The Lancet.

Former US Surgeon General and pediatrician Julius B. Richmond, MD, has died of cancer at age 91, as reported by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

For 2 days, an 11-month-old girl had a progressively worsening rash and subjective fever (A). The rash began on the legs as bumps, which later became large violaceous lesions (B) and spread to the face, arms, and trunk.

Eating foods enriched with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) may increase CLA levels in breast milk, which may confer health benefits to babies, according to Nutrition Research.

English childhood cancer survivors are significantly less likely to smoke than the general British population, according to an article published online July 29 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Twenty-two-month-old girl seen in the emergency department (ED) after several hours of abdominal pain associated with non-bloody, non-bilious emesis. Over past 2 months, has had 7 or 8 similar episodes of abdominal pain followed by emesis 1 to 2 hours later.

Annual per-capita government health expenditures are associated with survival of children with cancer in 10 low- and middle-income countries, and half of these countries offer very poor chances of survival for these children, according to research published in the August issue of The Lancet Oncology.