Archives of Disease in Childhood articles from February 2002

Archives of Disease in Childhood archives from February 2002

Cochrane's epitaph for cisapride in childhood gastro-oesophageal reflux. (Cisapride).
February 1, 2002... Cisapride in childhood gastro-oesophageal reflux The coincidental appearance of the Cochrane Review Group's systematic appraisal of the utility of cisapride for gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR) in children, (1) and the withdrawal of this...

Optimisation of thyroxine dose in congenital hypothyroidism: Optimum initial dosage remains unclear. (Screening).
February 1, 2002... The introduction of the screening programme for congenital hypothyroidism in the late 1970s and early 1980s has been rightly hailed as a major success in the prevention of neurological handicap. With a prevalence of between 1/3000 and 1/5000...

The health effects of fossil fuel derived particles. (Review).
February 1, 2002... Over the past 10 years there has been increasing evidence that particles generated by the combustion of fossil fuels adversely affect health. To what extent should paediatricians be concerned about particle pollution? This review assesses what...

Effects of cognitive, motor, and sensory disabilities on survival in cerebral palsy. (Original Article).
February 1, 2002... Background: Cerebral palsy presents with a range of severity of cognitive, motor, and sensory disabilities, which might affect survival. Aims: To quantify the effects of motor, cognitive, and sensory disabilities, year of birth, birth...

Primary school accident reporting in one education authority. (Original Article).
February 1, 2002... Background: Studies have shown a correlation between increased accident rates and levels of deprivation in the community. School accident reporting is one area where an association might be expected. Aims: To investigate differences in...

Stamps in Paediatrics: Children's Day.
February 1, 2002... The 14 November is celebrated in India as Children's Day, in memory of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's birthday. Nehru (1889-1964) was the first prime minister of Independent India and was called "chacha Nehru" by children because of his love and...

Religious circumcision and the Human Rights Act: Implications for state provision. (Circumcision).
February 1, 2002... Medicine today is in a delicate state of balance between the paternalistic and the modern; an increasingly empowered public demands its rights, while the medical profession is frequently seen as taking refuge behind a shield offered by evidence...

Archivist: Subdural haemorrhage.
February 1, 2002... Until quite recently studies have been reported which tend to play down the role of inflicted injury in subdural haemorrhage in young children. A study in Seattle (Kenneth W Feldman and colleagues. Pediatrics 2001;108:636-46) has confirmed the...

Family cognitive behaviour therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome: an uncontrolled study. (Original Article).
February 1, 2002... Aim: To examine the efficacy of family focused cognitive behaviour therapy for 11-18 year olds with chronic fatigue syndrome. Methods: Twenty three patients were offered family focused cognitive behaviour therapy. The main outcome was a...

Investigating subdural haemorrhage in infants. (Review).
February 1, 2002... When an infant or young child presents with subdural haemorrhage, the diagnostic priority is to exclude physical child abuse. A team approach should be adopted for the clinical child protection investigation. The diagnostic process is...

Critical illness neuromuscular disease: Clinical, electrophysiological, and prognostic aspects. (Original Article).
February 1, 2002... Background: Critical illness neuromuscular disease, which has been recognised as a distinct clinical entity in adults, remains poorly described in children. Aims: To assess retrospectively the clinical, electrophysiological, and prognostic...

Postcard from down under: the wide blue yonder.
February 1, 2002... I once met someone in Wolverhampton who had never travelled as far as Birmingham, a journey I made daily--sometimes by bicycle. In addition to amazement and fascination at the different way in which people live their lives, I felt a certain...

Hypoxaemia in acute respiratory and non-respiratory illnesses in neonates and children in a developing country. (Original Article).
February 1, 2002... Aims: To determine, in sick neonates and children requiring admission to a hospital in the highlands of Papua New Guinea: (1) the incidence and severity of hypoxaemia; (2) the proportion with hypoxaemia who do not fulfil criteria for acute...

Clinical efficacy of co-trimoxazole versus amoxicillin twice daily for treatment of pneumonia: a randomised controlled clinical trial in Pakistan. (Original Article).(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... CATCHUP Study Group (Co-trimoxazole Amoxicillin Trial in CHildren Under 5 years for Pneumonia) Aims: To compare the clinical efficacy of twice daily oral co-trimoxazole with twice daily oral amoxicillin for treatment of childhood...

Archivist: Appendicitis and family history.
February 1, 2002... Previous studies have shown that the family members of children with acute appendicitis are more likely than others to have themselves had acute appendicitis. A study in South Carolina (Michael WL Gauderer and colleagues. Journal of Pediatric...

Impact of antiretroviral protocols on dynamics of AIDS progression markers. (Original Article).(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Aims: To assess the "real life" effectiveness of different antiretroviral therapies (ART). Methods: A retrospective multicentre observational study in 150 HIV-1 vertically infected children on the progression to AIDS (study A), and in 61...

Febrile convulsions and sudden infant death syndrome. (Short Report).
February 1, 2002... It has been suggested that sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and febrile convulsions are related aetiologically. We compared the risk of SIDS in 9877 siblings of children who had had febrile convulsions with that of 20 177 siblings of...

Selective renal embolisation for renovascular hypertension? (Short Report).
February 1, 2002... An 11 year old girl developed hypertensive encephalopathy and renal failure from reflux nephropathy. Resection of her shrunken left kidney did not control her hypertension. Two selective arterial embolisations of the scarred right lower pole...

Acute ataxia complicating Langherans cell histiocytosis. (Short Report).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A case is reported of a 3 year old boy with an acute history of cerebellar impairment and x ray evidence of apparent chest infection. At postmortem examination, his lungs but not the nervous system were found to be massively infiltrated by...

Primary antiphospholipid syndrome presenting as complicated Henoch-Schonlein purpura. (Case Report).
February 1, 2002... A child showing sings of Henoch--Schonlein purpura developed a right tibiofibular vascular thrombosis. Antiphospholipid antibody tests were positive for both lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies. This suggests that an...

Limitations and uses of gastrojejunal feeding tubes. (Original Article).
February 1, 2002... Background: Gastrostomy feeding is a well established alternative method to long term nasogastric tube feeding. Many such patients have gastro-aesophageal reflux (GOR) and require a fundoplication. A transgastric jejunal tube is an alternative...

Letters.
February 1, 2002... An evidence and consensus based guideline for acute diarrhoea management We would like to respond to the commentary' on our paper on the above.2 The following points require clarification. Dr Baumer states that "Dr Armon and colleagues...

Management of the Child with a Serious Infection or Severe Malnutrition. (Book Reviews).
February 1, 2002... World Health Organization, 2000, [pound sterling]8.75, pp 162. ISBN 9241545313 It is a pleasure to review a paediatric text book for developing countries which indicates in a foreword its intended audience without trying to be all things...

Evidence Based Pediatrics and Child Health. (Book Reviews).
February 1, 2002... Edited by V A Moyer, E J Elliott, R L Davies, et al. London: BMJ Books, 2000, [pounds sterling]65.00 (HB), pp 404. ISBN 0727914243 If any book is to persuade paediatricians to practice evidence-based healthcare, this is it. Evidence Based...

Fetal genes are thought to determine more than half of population variance in birth-weight and paternal genes make a significant contribution. (Lucina).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Fetal genes are thought to determine more than half of population variance in birth-weight and paternal genes make a significant contribution. Data from all singleton births in Norway between 1967 and 1998 (Journal of Epidemiology and Community...

A study in the eight counties of the former Anglia and Oxford Health Region. (Lucina).(Prader-Willi syndrome)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... A study in the eight counties of the former Anglia and Oxford Health Region (Journal of Medical Genetics 2001;38:792-8) has given a population prevalence for Prader-Willi syndrome of 1 in 52 000 but a male excess (55 males, 33 females, 8 sex...

Breastfeeding protects against childhood asthma especially when there is asthma in the family. (Lucina).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Breastfeeding protects against childhood asthma especially when there is asthma in the family. A systematic review (Journal of Pediatrics 2001;139:261-6) of 12 published studies (8183 subjects) has given odds ratios for the development of...

The finding of a triangular or tubular echogenic density just cranial to the portal vein bifurcation on ultrasound imaging in an infant with cholestatic jaundice. (Lucina).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The finding of a triangular or tubular echogenic density just cranial to the portal vein bifurcation on ultrasound imaging in an infant with cholestatic jaundice has been called the triangular cord (TC) sign and is strongly suggestive of...

Living in very poor conditions in institutions permanently damages some, but not all, children. (Lucina).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Living in very poor conditions in institutions permanently damages some, but not all, children. A group of 165 children from Romania who were adopted in the UK before the age of 42 months has been compared with 52 children born in the UK and...

Because influenza causes considerable morbidity in children it has been suggested that the indications for influenza vaccination might be expanded and some have considered universal vaccination. (Lucina).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Because influenza causes considerable morbidity in children it has been suggested that the indications for influenza vaccination might be expanded and some have considered universal vaccination. Both inactivated (intramuscular) and cold-adapted...

Because of concern about the possible adverse consequences of long-term treatment of children with stimulant drugs such as methylphenidate. (Lucina).(attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Because of concern about the possible adverse consequences of long-term treatment of children with stimulant drugs such as methylphenidate, the parents of American children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)7 often turn to...

Reports from Oxford. (Lucina).(diabetes)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Reports from Oxford (Diabetes Care 2001;24:1536-40) and Boston, Massachusetts (Journal of Pediatrics 2001;139:197-203) have again drawn attention to the unsatisfactory results of diabetes treatment In the Oxford cohort, aged 11-18 years at...

Both physical and mental problems are common in the children of homeless families. (Lucina).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Both physical and mental problems are common in the children of homeless families. A study of families in supported temporary housing in Dublin (Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine 2001;18:11-5) included 14 mothers, 2 fathers, and 31...

Publicised violence may induce threats of imitation. (Lucina).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Publicised violence may induce threats of imitation. In the Columbine High School massacre of April 1999 two students in Colorado shot dead 13 other children and then killed themselves. In Pennsylvania (Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent...