News

The mother of this 5-month-old infant was concerned about the lesions that appeared on her son's inner ankles after he had spent the day with his babysitter. The lesions had not been present when the child was dropped off earlier that morning. His grandmother feared they might be cigarette burns.

It is 9:00 on Sunday morning when the first patient of the day registers during your weekend extended office hours. The triage nurse informs you that the patient is a 13-year-old boy with "chest pain."

A 4-day-old boy was transferred to our institution for evaluation of multiple anomalies. He was born to a gravida 2 para 1 mother at 38 weeks of gestation. He weighed 3288 g at birth. Antenatal ultrasonograms at 5, 6, and 7 months had revealed short bones in the legs. The mother was subsequently lost to follow-up--until now.

A new bill to combat child abuse at residential treatment programs in the United States and abroad was recently introduced by Congressman George Miller (D-California). HR1739, labeled "The End of Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act," comes in response to reports of the death of young people so-called therapeutic boot camps, wilderness camps, and boarding schools.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that approximately 81% of the nation's toddlers are receiving all the vaccinations in the recommended series."These results are terrific news," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the CDC. "They illustrate the tremendous progress we've made in preventing what were once common childhood diseases. Most importantly, these results show that parents have high levels of confidence in our vaccination recommendations. It's encouraging to see that parents recognize the importance of protecting their children against diseases that while relatively uncommon, can cause serious harm."

Contrary to earlier findings, inhaled nitric oxide (NO) therapy for lung immaturity in premature infants does not reduce an infant's risk of death or further lung problems, according to a study by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health that appeared in the July 7 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. "Premature infants weighing less than 1,500 g should not receive inhaled NO therapy unless they are part of a research study," said NICHD Director Duane Alexander, MD.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week approved a topical acne gel developed and manufactured by the Canadian drug company QLT Inc. for use for patients between 12 and 17 years old.

Children and adolescents who have had a malignancy are at risk of medical, psychological, and social late effects of their disease and its treatment. If you're aware of potential problems and how to screen for them, you can help ensure the good health and proper development of these vulnerable youngsters.

It goes by the acronym D-TECKT, and it's an easy-to-use guide to getting a handle on what's behind a child's or adolescent's behavior problems and lighting the way to an effective solution.

In the four decades since nurse practitioners appeared on the health-care scene, they have become an integral part of pediatric care. Here are some things you may not know about this important practice role.

Gastrointestinal complaints are common, and so is the use of herbs and supplements to treat them, especially when symptoms are recurrent. Some remedies work well but others are best avoided.

A 2-year-old girl has a pimple-like swelling on her right middle finger that has expressed green fluid and developed erythema.

Allow me to add to Dr. Zuckerman's recommendations for the 4-year-old girl who refuses to use the toilet anywhere but home (Behavior: Ask the experts, June 2005).

Q. A 4?-year-old boy in my practice has an array of complaints—clothing sensitivities, eye itching, food aversion, and tics, to name a few. The tics began at age 3 with eye blinking, which subsided after six months, followed by snorting, which lasted three months. His tics are now at their worst.

Free software for an electronic medical record, CME on CAM, West Nile virus returns

It's difficult to imagine pediatrics today without PNPs.

For several days, a 9-year-boy has had painful swelling on the top and left side of his forehead, bilateral eye swelling, intermittent fever, and nasal congestion. He was seen in the office 4 weeks earlier, after he had hit his left eye on a school desk. At that time, he presented with a left retro-orbital headache, nasal congestion and discharge, and intermittent fever.

"Jennifer is bleeding," confides Mrs Smith outside the door to her daughter's clinic room. "She's really embarrassed to discuss it with anyone but I'm really worried. Do you think that she is having sex?" You listen to her concerns and learn that Jennifer's last menstrual period has lasted approximately 3 to 4 weeks. Jennifer and her mother came to the pediatric clinic today after Mrs Smith found multiple menstrual pads in the bathroom wastebasket every day for several days.

A 3-year-old boy who presents with blue sclerae and a history of tibial fracture following a minor trau- ma (jump from a height of less than 18 inches). Has a long-standing complaint of back pain. Mother remarks that the boy bruises easily. Medical history otherwise unremarkable.

There's but limited advice you can dispense to parents of your patients who have a potentially life-threatening food allergy: Avoid, avoid, avoid! Yet there's cause for optimism today among stymied clinicians and the four percent of Americans who have a food allergy—often to nuts or shellfish: a new Food Allergy Research Consortium convened at the end of June by the federal government, and led by a prominent pediatrician and food allergy expert, has been charged with, first, conducting basic, clinical, and epidemiologic studies aimed at developing therapies to treat and prevent food allergy and, second, developing educational programs aimed at parents, children, and healthcare providers.