Archives of Disease in Childhood articles from March 2004

Archives of Disease in Childhood archives from March 2004

Health, lifestyle, and quality of life for young adults born very preterm.(Original Article)
March 1, 2004... Background: Children born very preterm and able to attend mainstream schools have been shown to have a high prevalence of behavioural, minor motor, and learning difficulties. It is not clear whether these problems persist into adulthood,...

The neurodevelopmental progress of infants less than 33 weeks into adolescence.(Original Article)
March 1, 2004... Background: Several studies have shown an increased incidence of neurodevelopmental impairment in very preterm survivors at school age compared with controls. Aim: To compare findings in the same cohort at 8 years and 15 years. ...

Congenital heart disease and maternal diabetes.(Archivist)
March 1, 2004... Some 0.6-0.8% of liveborn babies have congenital cardiovascular malformations. For babies whose mothers have diabetes retrospective studies have put the rate at around 2-4%. A prospective population based study in the north of England has...

Randomised controlled trial of swaddling versus massage in the management of excessive crying in infants with cerebral injuries.(Original Article)
March 1, 2004... Background: Infants with neonatal cerebral insults are susceptible to excessive crying as a result of difficulties with self-regulation. Aims: To compare the effectiveness of swaddling versus massage therapy in the management of excessive...

Relation of arterial stiffness with gestational age and birth weight.(Original Article)
March 1, 2004... Background: The cardiovascular risk of individuals who are born small as a result of prematurity remains controversial. Given the previous findings of stiffer peripheral conduit arteries in growth restricted donor twins in twin-twin transfusion...

Sternal fractures.(Archivist)
March 1, 2004... There have been few reports of isolated fracture of the sternum in children. It is widely believed that such fractures are caused by a powerful blow to the chest, with a high likelihood of intrathoracic injury, such as may occur in a car crash....

Capture-recapture to estimate the number of street children in a city in Brazil.(Original Article)
March 1, 2004... Background: Street children are an increasing problem in Latin America. It is however difficult to estimate the number of children in the street as this is a highly mobile population. Aims: To estimate the number of street children in...

Gratification disorder ("infantile masturbation"): a review.(Original Article)
March 1, 2004... Background: Little has been published on gratification disorder ("infantile masturbation") in early childhood. Aims: To expand on the profile of patients diagnosed with this condition. Methods: Retrospective case note review; Fraser of...

Intestinal permeability is increased in bronchial asthma.(Original Article)
March 1, 2004... Background: Increased intestinal permeability has been reported in one study of adult asthmatics. Aim: To determine whether children with asthma have altered intestinal permeability. Methods: Thirty two asthmatic children, and 32 sex...

[[alpha].sub.1] Antitrypsin and the prevalence and severity of asthma.(Short Report)
March 1, 2004... In a random sample of children (aged 9-11 years; n = 5629), who were studied according to the ISAAC phase II protocol, heterozygosity of the [[alpha].sub.1] antitrypsin ([[alpha].sub.1]-AT) Pi genotypes MS or MZ, or low [[alpha].sub.1]-AT...

Hospital accessibility and infant death risk.(Short Report)
March 1, 2004... This study of all 4889 infant deaths within the cohort of all 287 993 births in Cumbria, northwest England (1950-93), found no evidence of an increased risk of infant death with greater travel time to hospitals. ********** Arch Dis...

Rising obesity and expanding waistlines in schoolchildren: a cohort study.(Short Report)
March 1, 2004... A cohort of schoolchildren was followed up over 6 years from 1996 to 2001. In the final year, 315 of 500 targeted children were measured. Body mass index (BMI) increased substantially over time (p ********** Arch Dis Child...

Long-term survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.(Archivist)
March 1, 2004... Current treatment of children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) gives an overall 5-year survival rate of 80-86% and a 5-year event-free survival rate of 78-83%. Some of these survivors will suffer relapse, second cancers, or other...

How a non-allergist survives an allergy clinic.(Review)
March 1, 2004... This article is the result of six years of sudden, traumatic immersion therapy in the world of food allergy, following an innocent remark in 1996 from my then clinical director at Queen Mary's Children's Hospital, St Helier (Wrythe Lane, Surrey...

Environmental toxins; their impact on children's health.(Review)
March 1, 2004... Contamination of the environment by man-made and natural toxins has a direct impact on the health of children. This review considers how toxic contamination is identified and regulated, and highlights specific hazards. ********** Arch...

Sending children home on tracheostomy dependent ventilation: pitfalls and outcomes.(Personal Practice)
March 1, 2004... In spite of the consistency of the primary discharge coordinator in our practice and attempts to streamline the process, the obstacles to discharge highlighted five years ago remain frustratingly similar. The children in this survey spent an...

Clusters of meningococcal disease in school and preschool settings in England and Wales: what is the risk?(Original Article)
March 1, 2004... Aims: To assess the risk of further cases in educational settings in order to inform policy on managing cases and clusters of meningococcal disease. Methods: Between 1 April 1995 and 31 March 2001, surveillance in preschool and school...

Delayed chemoreceptor responses in infants with apnoea.(Original Article)
March 1, 2004... Aims: To test the hypothesis that apnoea of infancy (AOI) is due to a deficit in chemoreception. Methods: Tests were performed on 112 infants: 43 healthy control infants, 28 infants with periodic breathing or central apnoea (PBCA), and 41...

A multivariate "time based" analysis of sids risk factors.(Original Article)
March 1, 2004... Aims: To investigate the influence of analytical design on the variability of published results in studies of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Methods: The results of a prospective case-control study, of 203 cases of SIDS, and 622...

Sickle cell disease pain in London and the Caribbean.(Short Report)
March 1, 2004... Arch Dis Child 2004;89:272-273. doi: 10.1136/adc.2002.020073 Pain is a common symptom in children with sickle cell disease (SCD). Hospital admissions for treating pain are frequent in parts of the UK where SCD is prevalent. (1) (2) In...

Wheezing with a whistle.(Images in Paediatrics)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... A 2 year old boy presented with history of sudden onset respiratory distress of three days duration. On examination he had right sided wheeze. Chest x ray examination revealed a radio-opaque foreign body in the right main bronchus. An emergency...

Parents measuring pulses; an observational study.(Short Report)
March 1, 2004... Parent reported pulse rates could provide important information on a child's clinical condition. The agreement between the parent's measurement of their child's pulse and a pulse oximeter was assessed following a brief educational intervention....

Ibuprofen and acute renal failure in a toddler.(Case Report)
March 1, 2004... Arch Dis Child 2004;89:276-277. doi: 10.1136/adc.2002.024141 Ibuprofen and paracetamol are equally effective (1) and widely used antipyretic agents in paediatric practice. There is no evidence to support the concept that treating a fever...

When is an abnormal frenulum a sign of child abuse?(Images in Paediatrics)
March 1, 2004... A 5 year old child was referred to the child protection team following recurrent presentations to A&E with vaginal discharge and concerns of maternal neglect. She was put on the child protection register and placed with her father. At review...

Evidence based guideline for post-seizure management in children presenting acutely to secondary care.(Guideline Review)
March 1, 2004... This evidence based guideline covers the immediate management of a child presenting to hospital with a febrile or afebrile seizure, once the fit has stopped. ********** Arch Dis Child 2004;89:278-280. doi: 10.1136/adc.2003.044743 ...

My life with Asperger's syndrome.(Back Chat)
March 1, 2004... Arch Dis Child 2004;89:281. doi: 10.1136/adc.2003.046730 My name is Mark Whitenstall. I am 9 years old and I have Asperger's syndrome. This means that I have trouble with social skills and communication. Because I have a Statement (SSEN) I...

Continuing decline in acute asthma episodes in the community.(Child Health Series)
March 1, 2004... Background: Acute asthma episodes prompting consultation with general practitioners in the sentinel practices of the Weekly Returns Service (WRS) of the Royal College of General Practitioners increased through the 1980s and early 1990s,...

Towards evidence based medicine for paediatricians.(Archimedes)
March 1, 2004... Arch Dis Child 2004;89:286-290. doi: 10.1136/adc.2003.048280 In order to give the best care to patients and families, paediatricians need to integrate the highest quality scientific evidence with clinical expertise and the opinions of the...

Should we screen every child with otitis media with effusion for allergic rhinitis?
March 1, 2004... Spiro, a 12 year old boy, was referred to the Allergy Clinic of Department of Pediatrics because of otitis media with effusion (OME) that had been present for the past four years. A paediatrician and an otolaryngologist advised a consultation...

Should we treat infantile seborrhoeic dermatitis with topical antifungals or topical steroids?
March 1, 2004... A mother brings her 2 month old child to you with unsightly seborrhoeic dermatitis on his/her scalp. You prescribe 1% hydrocortisone but the mother expresses her unhappiness at using steroids. You remember that the dermatologists at your...

Is routine EEG helpful in the management of complex febrile seizures?(Electroencephalography)
March 1, 2004... A previously healthy 16 month old girl attends with the first episode of a complex febrile seizure (prolonged more than 15 minutes). She is neurologically normal, and examination reveals otitis media as the source of her fever. According to...

Ipecac--going, going, gone!(Journal Watch Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine)
March 1, 2004... Arch Dis Child 2004;89:291-292 * Ipecac has long been the cornerstone of treatment for childhood poisoning. When administered at home, it was thought to reduce emergency department (ED) use and to improve health outcomes. Using data from 64...

A new therapy for whooping cough.(Journal Watch Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine)
March 1, 2004... * The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a 14-day course of erythromycin for treatment of clinical or laboratory pertussis, but this therapy can cause gastrointestinal disturbances, which may limit adherence. In vitro data have shown...

Is surgery the answer for morbid obesity in adolescence?(Journal Watch Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine)
March 1, 2004... * Having had little success in treating obesity in the pediatric population, clinicians are seeking new approaches to this problem. Although various surgical techniques are effective in adults with morbid obesity, the possibility of...

Teaching parents behavior management.(Journal Watch Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine)
March 1, 2004... * Educational programs that focus on changing parental behavior have a considerable impact on child behavior. The challenge has been to find an efficient and cost-effective program that can be adapted to pediatric practice. These authors report...

Pneumococcal vaccine not effective in children with recurrent otitis media.(Journal Watch Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine)
March 1, 2004... * In 2 clinical trials involving almost 40,000 healthy infants, 7-valent conjugate pneumococcal vaccine (PCV7) was found to be highly effective in reducing severe pneumococcal infections. To determine whether the vaccine is effective in older...

Chronic urticaria and coeliac disease.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2004... We appreciated the paper by Levy et al published in this journal in June 2003. (1) A number of the cases of chronic urticaria in children appear to be of unknown aetiology, and experiences such as the one reported by the authors indicate...

Vitamin B-12 in Crohn's disease patients with small bowel surgery.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2004... Vitamin B-12 is absorbed from the terminal ileum, which is a commonly affected segment of gut in Crohn's disease. Its absorption may be compromised in these children secondary to inflammatory lesions, ileal bacterial over-growth, or mucosal...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
March 1, 2004... We would like to apologise for a typing error in the paper by A M Weindling, which was published in the December 2003 issue (Arch Dis Child 2003;88:1034-37). In Box 2 the first sentence under the heading 'Feet to foot; head uncovered' should...