News

This season, pediatric offices and clinics will work to meet the challenges posed by the new influenza vaccination.

If you’ve been a reader of Consultant For Pediatricians for more than afew months, you’ve probably noticed that the journal is growing. Over thepast year, the number of editorial pages has increased considerably-thanks to your readership support.

The American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) holds that pediatricians are responsible for oral health supervision of children younger than 3 years. How can I do a credible job of this in a busy office practice?

Ten-day-old boy born vaginally at 37 weeks breech without complications. Has history of poor feeding with vomiting and has lost weight since birth. One episode of vomiting described as projectile. Ultrasonography ruled out pyloric stenosis but revealed bilateral hydronephrosis. Patient referred to the emergency department for further evaluation.

What are the indications for use of an insulin pump in veryyoung children (infants and preschoolers)?

A 14-year-old girl was referred for evaluation of a several-year history of growth failure, chronic abdominal pain, and intermittent emesis. The parents described the child as a "picky eater," and various foods (eg, meat products and beans) frequently caused abdominal distention.

Your last appointment of the day is with a 16-year-old boy who needs medical clearance to participate on the school basketball team. You have read about young athletes who die suddenly on the field. Is there anything you should do in addition to a history and physical examination to assure yourself that it is safe for your patient to play sports?

I'm a pediatrician who started out with some interest, and eventually developed some expertise, in what is euphemistically called child protection. I'm glad that child protection occupies only about 20% of my clinical time--it's more than I could bear full-time. After 25 years in this field, I have heard many stories. Here is one I can't forget.

Head shape abnormalities in infants may be the result of pressure on the malleable bones in the newborn skull during a vaginal delivery (molding), of constant gravitational forces on the occiput when an infant is kept in the same supine position for prolonged periods (positional deformational plagiocephaly), or of premature fusing of one or more of the cranial sutures (craniosynostosis).

Do you often fight feelings of tiredness, ineffectiveness, and isolation from the people and activities that are important to you? If so, you may be burned out, and you have a lot of company among your peers.

Issues arising from racial, ethnic, and gender disparities among adolescents will be the healthcare challenges making the headlines tomorrow, according to Howell Wechsler, EdD, MPH, Director of the Division of Adolescent and School Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Parents of your patients probably aren’t aware that vitamins, herbal preparations, and nutritional supplements are not regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration the way pharmaceuticals are, and that this lack of standards and enforcement can have dangerous consequences under certain circumstances. They need to be cautioned about what they give to their child-and you are in the best position to raise a red flag and provide education.

Pediatricians are incredibly important to adolescents-they are the only professionals who see teenagers repeatedly, and in confidence, through the adolescent years.

Julie Gerberding, MD, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reported on progress in the availability of influenza vaccine during a plenary session presentation this morning at the American Academy of Pediatrics 2006 National Convention and Exhibition.

Which virus causes the greatest number of hospitalizations among children in the United States younger than 5 years? Did you say "influenza"?

Retail medical clinics are sprouting all across the country?in pharmacies, grocery stores, and even department stores. Will your patients be treated in one? The answer depends a lot on you and your practice, according to Mark S. Reuben, MD, president of Reading Pediatrics, Inc., and chair of the department of pediatrics at Reading Hospital and Medical Center, Reading, Pa.

A new clinical report released today by the AAP declares that free and unstructured play is essential for a child’s healthy cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development.

Members of the AAP can expect to receive a letter this month from Microsoft Corporation promoting a novel Internet safety tool, "Windows Live OneCare Family Safety," that's available on-line for downloading at no cost to users. That announcement came today at the AAP's National Conference and Exhibition by Donald L. Shifrin, MD, clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington and chair of the AAP Committee on Communications.

Which virus causes the greatest number of hospitalizations among children in the United States younger than 5 years? Did you say "influenza"?

That first day of school: an exciting occasion for many children but, regrettably, a time of dread for some students. What's the problem? The task challenge of making friends and trying to be popular-an important part of a child's education but an experience that isn't always an easy or successful one.

The Medical Error Rate (MER) is not only high, it is on the rise, due to an increasingly complex health delivery system, managed care demands, and communication failure among physicians, pharmacy, and patients. “There’s growing pressure on everyone involved to reduce medical errors,” according to Philip D. Goldstein, MD, MPH, FAAP, who spoke today at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition. “Overall, patients aren’t any safer than they were 5 years ago. And data suggest that children are three times more likely to experience an adverse drug event than adults.” Pediatricians can realize tangible benefits by taking steps now to replace manually written prescriptions with e-prescribing, advised Dr. Goldstein.

Estimates are that 40% to 60% of adolescents use nutritional supplements for a variety of reasons. According to Cora Collette Breuner, MD, MPH, FAAP, associate professor of pediatrics, University of Washington in Seattle, billions of dollars are spent each year by adolescents on these substances, who may hope to improve athletic performance, alleviate fatigue, improve appearance, and gain or lose weight.

New recommendations by an expert panel sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) regarding growth curves will be published for practicing pediatricians early next year, reported Laurence Grummer-Strawn, PhD, Chief of the Maternal and Child Nutrition Branch of the CDC.

Many parents today are skeptical that recommended vaccinations are necessary. Data suggest that as many as 23% of parents think that children receive too many vaccinations, 29% believe that vaccines aren’t always proven safe, and 25% think that vaccination weakens the immune system.

Playing outside is a long-held joy of childhood, but bugs and animals that can cause harm lurk in places where children are likely to be playing?including the lawn, the woods, and the playground. Dennis L. Murray, MD, professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, offered preventive advice that you can share with parents during a seminar, "Keeping Children Safe in the Great Outdoors" Saturday at the 2006 AAP National Conference and Exhibition in Atlanta.

The US Congress dramatically reduced children's access to health care by passing the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) this year, according to American Academy of Pediatrics President Eileen Ouellette, MD, JD, during an address Saturday morning at the AAP National Conference and Exhibition in Atlanta. The act was subsequently signed into law by President George W. Bush.

When deciding whether a tonsillectomy is indicated for a given patient, tailor your decision to the severity of symptoms and that patient's ongoing story, advised a specialist Saturday at the AAP's National Conference and Exhibition in Atlanta.

Molds are commonplace in virtually every modern environment, and are even present in the everyday jar of peanut butter sitting on the kitchen counter in most children's homes. The advice of Lynnette J. Mazur, MD, MPH, presented Saturday at a seminar at the AAP National Conference and Exhibition, was simple: Eat a balanced diet!

Allergies are not only becoming more prevalent but, in the case of food allergy, the natural course may be changing, according to Robert A. Wood, MD, professor of pediatrics and director of pediatric allergy and immunology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Playing outside is a long-held joy of childhood, but bugs and animals that can cause harm lurk in places where children are likely to be playing?including the lawn, the woods, and the playground. Dennis L. Murray, MD, professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, offered preventive advice that you can share with parents during a seminar, "Keeping Children Safe in the Great Outdoors" Saturday at the 2006 AAP National Conference and Exhibition in Atlanta.