NICU graduation is the icing on the cake for families heading home
August 31st 2017For parents of infants who require extra care after birth, experiences in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can be filled with the anxiety and stress of frequent setbacks. Here's how one hospital helps parents mark the transition to home and bring a joyful closure to the NICU experience.
Get response ready for the anaphylactic moment
August 18th 2017Every nurse practitioner should review the AAP guidelines and include an action plan in each of their practice settings. All providers should communicate information to all school, camp, and field nurses who are often the first to assess a child presenting with symptoms of anaphylaxis outside a medical facility.
Financing of vaccine delivery in primary care practices
August 7th 2017Primary care practices are the backbone of childhood immunization delivery, and have become indispensable in the promotion of public health. Over the last decades, however, the skyrocketing costs of vaccines have gone from a minor consideration in the overhead of a pediatric practice to one of significant financial burden, largely because of new vaccines.
AAP's first-ever action plan for epinephrine and anaphylaxis
August 1st 2017Anaphylaxis is a serious, life-threatening allergic reaction that can occur suddenly without warning. In children and adolescents, the leading cause of anaphylaxis is exposure to food allergens. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published 2 clinical reports that discuss guidance on appropriate epinephrine use for anaphylaxis and developing an emergency action plan for patients at risk.
Teen vaping: Time to clear the air
August 1st 2017The vaping culture of using non–cigarette tobacco and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) is the latest risky trend among adolescents and young adults. Vaping is the use of high-tech, advanced electronic devices such as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), refillable atomizers, and other tobacco products as an alternative or in addition to regular cigarettes.
Pediatricians could be overprescribing combination antifungal/corticosteroids
August 1st 2017A review of a large claims-based database suggests that they are. Investigators identified almost 10,000 children aged up to 14 years who were prescribed either Lotrisone or Mycolog-II creams (antifungal and corticosteroid combination products) by pediatricians and other specialists from 2007 through 2014.
E-cigarettes: A legislative update
August 1st 2017On August 8, 2016, Mitch Zeller, JD, blogged on the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website that beginning that day, federal law would protect the public-especially kids-from the dangers of all tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), vapes, and more. The law, known as the Deeming Rule, would regulate the largely unregulated market that he referred to as having been the “wild, wild West.”
How to perform a better physical exam
August 1st 2017There is a trend in internal medicine to get away from doing complete physical examinations on each visit, with a minimalistic approach to a healthy patient. I am not prepared to go that far just yet, but I have modified my examination in many ways over the years. Here are some gems I have unearthed.
Does strep elevate risk for mental disorders? (VIDEO)
July 26th 2017For Contemporary Pediatrics, Dr Bobby Lazzara discusses a large cohort study published in JAMA Psychiatry that examined whether children with a positive strep test are more likely than their counterparts to develop mental disorders, particularly tic disorders and OCD.