Archives of Disease in Childhood articles from July 2001

Archives of Disease in Childhood archives from July 2001

Archives this month.(Brief Article)(Column)
July 1, 2001... Where are we kinder, Boston Mass. or Boston Lines.? As a young paediatrician I cheerfully conducted marrow aspirations and lumbar punctures, using such potentially dangerous drugs as rectal barbiturates, intravenous benzodiazepines, and...

Getting ADC to paediatricians in developing countries.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
July 1, 2001... For some years now it has been the policy of the BMJ Publishing Group to give free subscriptions to its journals to applicants from countries in the developing world. However, in practice this has had its difficulties. Many developing countries...

Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... [alpha]-1 antitrypsin is synthesised in the liver and protects lung alveolar tissues from destruction by neutrophil elastase. [1] [alpha]-1 antitrypsin deficiency is a common autosomal recessive condition (1:1600 to 1:1800) in which liver...

Neurodevelopmental outcome in meningococcal disease: a case--control study.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract Aims--To determine long term neurodevelopmental outcome following the spectrum of meningococcal infection. Methods--Between 1988 and 1990, 152 cases of meningococcal disease were recruited; 139 survived. Between 1998 and 1999,...

What's up (or down and out) in US healthcare.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... It is always difficult to summarise trends in US healthcare. But it's worth a shot--in no particular order: * Cost is up. Healthcare expenditures are once again increasing by 6-8% or more annually * The number of uninsured Americans...

Invasive procedures carried out in conscious children: contrast between North American and European paediatric oncology centres.(Statistical Data Included)(Polling Data)
July 1, 2001... Abstract Aim--To define practice in managing repeated invasive procedures in selected paediatric oncology centres in North America and Europe, especially the United Kingdom; to define and contrast concerns that shape policy making, and to...

The risk and outcome of cerebral oedema developing during diabetic ketoacidosis.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract Background--Cerebral oedema is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children with insulin dependent diabetes. Aims--To determine the risk and outcome of cerebral oedema complicating diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). ...

Hiding place for mycobacteria.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... I suspect that in many of our minds "the literature" begins at about the time we entered medical school. This may, of course, mean that much useful research is ignored. A fascinating example of the value of knowing about findings from a...

Total serum IgE and outcome in infants with recurrent wheezing.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract Objective--To investigate the relation between total serum IgE at 0.5--3 and 3--6 years, and the risk of allergic sensitisation and persistent wheezing up to 8 years of age. Methods--Prospective follow up study of 45 infants...

A mother and bingo.(addiction)
July 1, 2001... Nurses in Boston, Massachusetts (Neonatal Network, (Journal of Neonatal Nursing) 2000;19:7-11) have described a mother's apparent addiction to playing bingo which interfered with her care of her children and her bonding to her newborn baby. ...

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia: management during critical illness.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract Background--Little is known of the optimal dose and administration schedule of hydrocortisone in critically ill patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) caused by 21-hydroxylase deficiency. Aim--To determine plasma...

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and otitis media.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Up to 50% of acute otitis media is caused by pneumococci. Conjugate vaccines, you would think, should be able to make inroads into this number and the morbidity and economic costs associated with the disease. A trial in Finland (New England...

Characterisation of breathing and associated central autonomic dysfunction in the Rett disorder.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract Aim--To investigate breathing rhythm and brain stem autonomic control in patients with Rett disorder. Setting--Two university teaching hospitals in the United Kingdom and the Rett Centre, Sweden. Patients--56 female...

Bile bilirubin pigment analysis in disorders of bilirubin metabolism in early infancy.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract Background--Early and accurate diagnosis of Crigler--Najjar syndrome, which causes prolonged unconjugated hyperbilirubinaemia in infancy, is important, as orthotopic liver transplantation is the definitive treatment. Aim--To...

[Tc-HMPAO.sup.99m] leucocyte scintigraphy fails to detect Crohn's disease in the proximal gastrointestinal tract.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract Objective--To investigate the use of [Tc-HMPAO.sup.99m] (hexamethyl propylene amine oxime) leucocyte scintigraphy as a noninvasive screening test for inflammatory bowel disease. Patients--10 children with suspected Crohn's...

EUROPE CALLING: World wide wasting?(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Whether we like it or not, the world wide web has entered our professional and private lives. Electronic access to literature search tools such as MEDLINE, online availability of journals (like this one), sending and receiving documents,...

Hyperhomocysteinaemia and MTHFR C677T gene polymorphism in renal transplant recipients.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract Aim--To study the effect of folate treatment on hyperhomocysteinaemia and the effect of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene polymorphism on total homocysteine and folate concentrations after renal...

Impact of HIV-1 infection in South Africa.
July 1, 2001... Abstract In a prospective study, 60% of admissions to an academic hospital were infected with HIV. HIV infected children were younger, less likely to have been referred, more likely to have pneumonia and candidiasis, and had more health...

Management of sickle cell priapism with etilefrine.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract Intracavernous injections of etilefrine were effective in seven children with acute sickle cell priapism, and stuttering priapism resolved in five children after one to seven months of oral etilefrine. Compared with our previous...

Facial nerve palsy associated with Rickettsia conorii infection.
July 1, 2001... Abstract Facial nerve palsy has been occasionally attributed to infectious agents, but Rick-ettsiae species have not been documented as causative agents. We report two adolescent girls with facial nerve palsy and serological evidence of R...

Intussusception associated with bacterial meningitis.
July 1, 2001... Abstract Despite its common association with viral illnesses, intussusception has only rarely been found in the presence of bacterial infections. Two infants are described, both of whom were admitted to hospital with bilious vomiting,...

Urinary calcium excretion in enterally fed disabled children.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract The urine calcium/creatinine (Ca/Cr) ratio was measured in 17 enterally tube fed disabled children. Urine Ca/Cr ratios were inversely related to dietary calcium intake in immobile children (r = -0.57, p [less than] 0.05) but not...

Diabetic ketoacidosis in Asian children.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract Over the 10 year period 1987-1996, 328 children with type 1 diabetes meliltus presented in the city of Birmingham, England, of whom 27% had diabetic ketoacidosis. Asian children under the age of 5 had an eightfold increased risk...

Breath holding.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... I can tell you from personal experience that breath holding spells can be terrifying for parents, even those who have spent a fair amount of their time trying to reassure other parents of the benign nature of these attacks. An American...

Recent advances in cystic fibrosis.
July 1, 2001... Abstract The median life expectancy for cystic fibrosis is now over 30 years, and it is projected that in newborn infants it will become more than 40 years. The identification of the cystic fibrosis gene and its product, cystic fibrosis...

A critique of the expression of paediatric body composition data.
July 1, 2001... Abstract There is increasing interest in body composition in paediatric research, as distinct from growth and nutritional status, as almost all diseases have adverse effects on either fatness or the fat-free mass. However, the approaches...

Energy metabolism in relation to body composition and gender in adolescents.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract Objective--To study the effect of body composition on average daily metabolic rate (ADMR) and basal metabolic rate (BMR) in adolescence, and to examine current BMR prediction equations. Study--Dutch adolescents were pooled...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
July 1, 2001... Rapid responses If you have a burning desire to respond to a paper published in ADC or F&N, why not make use of our "rapid response" option? Log on to our website (www.archdischild.com), find the paper that interests you, click on...

On the death of a child.(Review)
July 1, 2001... On the death of a child. Hindmarch C. (Pp 242, paperback, [pound]17.95) Oxford: Radcliffe Press, 2000. ISBN 1 85775 445 X Death is no longer quite the taboo subject that it has been in the past but it is still a difficult topic and one...

Working with fathers.(Review)
July 1, 2001... Working with fathers. Mary Ryan. (Pp 120, Paperback, [pound]14.95) Oxford: Radcliffe Medical Press, 2000. ISBN 1857754875. In 1995, the Department of Health published Child Protection: Messages from Research which summarised the findings...

Childhood cancer: a handbook from St Jude Children's Research Hospital.(Review)
July 1, 2001... Childhood cancer: a handbook from St Jude Children's Research Hospital. Edited by G Steen and J Mirro. (Pp 606; hardback; [pound]21.99). USA: Perseus Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0738202770. This book is somewhat depressing from the point of view...

The biology of the autistic syndromes.(Review)
July 1, 2001... The biology of the autistic syndromes. Gillberg C, Coleman M. (Pp330, hardback). Cambridge, UK: MacKeith Press, 2000. ISBN 1898683220. I'm never sure if it is good sign when the receipt of a new edition of a book is accompanied by the...

Hirschsprung's disease and allied disorders. 2nd edition.(Review)
July 1, 2001... Hirschsprung's disease and allied disorders. 2nd edition. Edited by Holschneider AM, Puri P. (Pp 503, hardback, S125.00). Australia: Harwood Academic Publishers, 2000. ISBN 90 5702 263 X. In 1887, Harald Hirschsprung published the first...

British Journal of Dermatology 2001.
July 1, 2001... A charity founded mainly by German dermatologists has provided funding for 30 community health workers who examine about 30 000 children a year in rural Kenya, looking for skin diseases and providing cheap or free treatment (British Journal of...

British Journal of General Practice 2001.
July 1, 2001... General practice researchers in Australia (British Journal of General Practice 2001;51:112-6) and England (Ibid: 117-20) used a computer questionnaire (Australia) and a postal questionnaire (England) to identify children with asthma. The...

Recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor given intravenously.
July 1, 2001... Recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor given intravenously to 22 preterm infants with suspected sepsis in Brazil (Pediatrics 2001;107:30-5) did not affect mortality but was associated with fewer nosocomial infections in the next two...

Microscopic haematuria was a more common presentation in those with hyperuricosuria alone.
July 1, 2001... Idiopathic hyperuricosuria (high urinary uric acid concentration (corrected for creatinine clearance) with normal serum uric acid concentration) was diagnosed in 102 children in Naples (Pediatrics 2001;107:86-90). Forty-one also had...

Urinary fluorescence on examination with a Wood's lamp has been suggested as a quick test for ethylene glycol ingestion.
July 1, 2001... Urinary fluorescence on examination with a Wood's lamp has been suggested as a quick test for ethylene glycol ingestion. In Columbus, Ohio (Pediatrics 2001; 107:113-4) all of 46 urine specimens from non-poisoned children were considered...

Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal 2000.
July 1, 2001... In Finland, between 1982 and 1996 (Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal 2000;19:1127-34), 1.8 million children received almost 3 million doses of MMR vaccine. A nationwide surveillance system revealed 173 serious postvaccination events of which...

After almost half a century the Apgar score is still being proved useful.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... After almost half a century the Apgar score is still being proved useful. In Dallas, Texas between 1988 and 1998 (New England Journal of Medicine 2001;344:467-71) an Apgar score of between 0 and 3 at 5 minutes was associated with much the same...

Lancet 2001.
July 1, 2001... Not only is it good to be breastfed but it is good to have been breastfed. Two hundred and sixteen of a total of 926 children who, as preterm babies, had taken part in two parallel UK trials of infant feeding (bank breast milk v preterm...

In American infants given an oral rotavirus vaccine.(risk of intussusception)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... In American infants given an oral rotavirus vaccine at 2, 4, and 6 months (New England Journal of Medicine 2001;344:564-72) the risk of intussusception in the period 3 to 14 days after the first dose increased 22-fold. The vaccine was withdrawn...

Whether eating a lot of carbohydrate makes people overweight is debated.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Whether eating a lot of carbohydrate makes people overweight is debated but there is some evidence that you are more likely to compensate by eating less at the next meal if you take in your food energy in solid form rather than as liquid. This...

Research in Quebec.
July 1, 2001... Research in Quebec (Lancet 2001;357:582-6) has shown that hyperbaric oxygen treatment is no better than slightly pressurised air in treating children with cerebral palsy. A total of 111 children aged 3-12 years were randomised to 40 one hour...