Injury prevention starts with you
December 11th 2016The article “National hospital initiative targets preventable injuries,” in the most recent issue of Contemporary Pediatrics, describes 35 years of impressive work by a nationwide coalition of concerned pediatricians and pediatric trauma surgeons who have championed hospital, school-based, and community-wide initiatives to reduce the prevalence and incidence of unintentional injuries in children.
Why aren’t pediatricians recommending HPV vaccination more strongly?
December 1st 2016In a recently published essay to address this question, the authors suggest that pediatricians may present human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine as optional or less urgent than other adolescent vaccines because they do not often read or hear about their patients’ being affected by HPV-associated cancers, which generally strike older populations.
National hospital initiative targets preventable injuries
December 1st 2016Unintentional injury is ranked number one among the 10 leading causes of death in children. In fact, injuries, ranging from car and bike crashes to poisonings and gunshot wounds, kill more children than anything else, starting at age 1 year to age 44 years.
More time spent standing in school reduces BMI
December 1st 2016Children who spent 2 consecutive years in classrooms outfitted with desks at which they worked standing (or while sitting on a stool) had a significantly lower body mass index (BMI) than their peers in classrooms with traditional standard desks, a recent study reported.
Newborn with persistent hypoglycemia
December 1st 2016A full-term male infant was born to a 33-year-old gravida 3, para 3 mother. The prenatal course was uncomplicated, without gestational diabetes; the mother received prenatal care at an out-of-state institution. At the delivery, however, the baby was notably macrosomic, with shoulder dystocia and perinatal distress requiring positive pressure ventilation.
Best tech for pediatrics: 2016
December 1st 2016At the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exibition (NCE) in October, I again presented 2 workshops on office technologies, sponsored by the AAP’s Section on Advances in Technology and Therapeutics. I made every effort to make this year’s workshop a unique experience, showcasing some new technology while including some of my old favorites.
One question that improves your family history-taking
November 22nd 2016Do NPs specifically ask parents about their childhood parenting experiences? Dr. Howard King’s article “How to help adult children of alcoholic parents” prompts us to ask about important information that most likely is not a part of our routine family history questions, and thus not a part of our child’s treatment plan.
How do we help children with election rhetoric?
November 4th 2016As Election Day nears, the intensity of the campaign and level of emotion continues to rise beyond anything remembered. Children are remarkably resilient to all this input, at least on the surface, but one has to wonder what they are thinking and likely worrying about just below the surface.
Do LABAs given with glucocorticoids increase severe asthma events?
November 1st 2016Results of a randomized trial in children with asthma comparing concomitant use of the inhaled glucocorticoid fluticasone propionate plus the long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) salmeterol with use of fluticasone alone indicate that the answer to this question is “no.”
Some infantile hemangiomas can be managed with topical therapy
November 1st 2016Superficial, relatively thin infantile hemangiomas (IHs) responded to several months of treatment with topical timolol maleate in a recent trial, suggesting that this treatment is an alternative to oral propranolol for selected IHs.
Watercooler wisdom 2: Preventing (and treating) physician burnout
November 1st 2016Physician “burnout” has become a popular topic in medical journals. It is worthwhile to discuss this important topic so we can recognize the symptoms of burnout, seek help when necessary, and change our work environment to prevent burnout and its consequences.