Archives of Disease in Childhood articles from September 2003

Archives of Disease in Childhood archives from September 2003

Commissioning from specialist children's trusts: the children's trust initiative is a freedom not a solution.(Leading Article)
September 1, 2003... Alan Milburn, the Government Health Secretary, threw the phrase "children's trusts" into the arena of public debate when he addressed a national social services conference in Cardiff on 16 October 2002. He said: "I intend to create...

Illustrations--in erratum.(Correction Notice)
September 1, 2003... The cartoon by Terry McElroy can be found on page 658 of last month's issue and not page 686 and relates to the article by ML Everard. (Ethical aspects of using radiolabelling in aerosol research. Arch Dis Child 2003;88:659-61). The journal...

Allergic contact dermatitis to henna tattoo.(Images In Pediatrics)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... This 9 year old boy had a henna tattoo of a Chinese dragon painted on his back while abroad on holiday. The tattoo colour faded over the subsequent week but the area became acutely erythematous, swollen, and blistered, and was painful and...

Health consequences of obesity.(Review)
September 1, 2003... The recent epidemic of childhood obesity (1) has raised concern because of the possible clinical and public health consequences. (2 3) However, there remains a widespread perception among health professionals that childhood obesity is a largely...

Performance, treatment pathways, and effects of alternative policy options for screening for developmental dysplasia of the hip in the United Kingdom.(Original Article)
September 1, 2003... Aims: To compare, using a decision model, performance, treatment pathways and effects of different newborn screening strategies for developmental hip dysplasia with no screening. Methods: Detection rate, radiological absence of subluxation...

Efficiency of alternative policy options for screening for developmental dysplasia of the hip the United Kingdom.(Original Article)
September 1, 2003... Aims: To assess, using a decision model, the efficiency of ultrasound based and clinical screening strategies for developmental dysplasia of the hip. Methods: The additional cost per additional favourable outcome was compared for the...

The economic burden of environmental tobacco smoke in the first year of life.(Original Article)
September 1, 2003... Aims: To examine the population impact and economic costs associated with environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in Chinese infants with non-smoking mothers. Methods: Prospective, population based birth cohort study in Hong Kong, 1997-98. Main...

A decade of change: tuberculosis in England and Wales 1988-98.(Original Article)
September 1, 2003... Tuberculosis cases in children (aged under 15 years) in the National Surveys rose from 308 (rate: 3.3 per 100 000) in 1988 to 408 (4.2 per 100 000) in 1993 and then fell to 364 (3.6 per 100 000) in 1998. The rates in white children were 1.6,...

Maternal recall of exclusive breast feeding duration.(Original Article)
September 1, 2003... Background: Both the pattern and duration of breast feeding are important determinants of health outcomes. In vertical HIV transmission research, reliable documentation of early breast feeding practices is important in order to correctly...

Passive smoking and children's teeth.(Archivist)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The prevalence of dental caries in children in the United States has fallen greatly in the last 50 years probably because of the use of toothpastes and increased fluoride in drinking water. Nevertheless the treatment of paediatric dental caries...

Infant care practices related to cot death in Turkish and Moroccan families in the Netherlands.(Original Article)
September 1, 2003... From 1979 to 1993 Turkish infants had a significantly higher cot death risk compared to Dutch infants. In contrast Moroccan infants had a risk of cot death that was approximately three times lower compared to Dutch infants during the same...

Time rich/time poor, or soon come, island time.(Postcard From The Road)
September 1, 2003... When does the bus get here? The answer varies depending on where in the world you are. In some parts of Europe you'll get an answer accurate to the minute. In others you may hear "Manana"--tomorrow, which as little orphan Annie observed, is...

A comparison of two commonly used methods of weight estimation.(Short Report)
September 1, 2003... In the practice of emergency medicine, it is often necessary to know a child's weight when planning therapeutic interventions. The majority of drug dosages are calculated on a per kilogram basis, as are resuscitative measures such as equipment...

Association between blood lead concentrations and body iron status in children.(Short Report)
September 1, 2003... Blood lead concentrations and body iron status were Investigated in 279 children. Blood lead concentrations Showed no increase during iron depletion phase (stage I) but markedly increased from the phase of iron deficient (stage II) increased...

Infant feeding and obesity through the lifecourse.(Short Report)
September 1, 2003... In the 1958 British birth cohort (n = 12 857 at age 7), breast feeding and BMI were unrelated in childhood. Breast feeding was protective against increased BMI at ages 16 and 33 years in females, and at 33 years in males, but this effect was...

Bone densitometry in children assessed by dual x ray absorptiometry: uses and pitfalls.(Review)
September 1, 2003... The importance of bone growth and mineralisation during childhood for bone health in adult life is increasingly accepted, with both nutritional factors (1) and exercise (2) being recognised as influential for normal skeletal development. The...

Surgical management of ambiguous genitalia.(Review)
September 1, 2003... The surgical management of children born with ambiguous genitalia has always been difficult, subject to evolving attitudes and techniques, and at times controversial. Standard protocols have stressed the need for early diagnosis, gender...

Occult intraspinal glass injury.(Images In Paediatrics)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Injuries due to glass are common in children. (1) We present the case of a 4 year old female who fell into a glass cabinet at home. A relative promptly removed a piece of glass from the child's left flank. The child attended her district...

Severe and unrecognised: pertussis in UK infants.(Original Article)
September 1, 2003... Aims: To diagnose pertussis using culture, polymerase chain reaction, and serology, in children admitted to intensive care units (PICUs) and some paediatric wards in London, and in their household contacts to determine the source of infection....

Perception of exercise induced asthma by children and their parents.(Original Article)
September 1, 2003... Background: Exercise induced asthma (EIA) plays an important role in clinical evaluation. There has been little previous work validating EIA as reported directly by children and indirectly by their parents. Aims: (1) To determine the...

Kindergarten-based outbreak of perianal group A streptococcal infection.(Archivist)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Perianal cellulitis due to group A beta-haemolytic streptococcal infection (PASI) was first reported in 1966. Children are affected much more frequently than adults, and boys more than girls. There is usually a well demarcated perianal rash,...

Radiological and biochemical resolution of nutritional rickets with calcium.(Original Article)
September 1, 2003... Aims: To determine the response to oral calcium in Nigerian children with rickets. Methods: In a teaching hospital in Western Nigeria, 26 children (13 boys, 13 girls, aged 2-5 years) with confirmed rickets received calcium lactate (2.7...

The challenge of mastitis.(Review)
September 1, 2003... The process of lactation and feeding, referred to by some as the final stage of labour is remarkably successful. This phase of infant care has been subjected to considerable evolutionary pressure since the earliest mammals, reptiles and birds...

Transient hyperinsulinism associated with macrosomia, hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, hepatomegaly, and nephromegaly.(Case Report)
September 1, 2003... Transient hyperinsulinism (HI) has been reported in infants born to mothers with diabetes mellitus, (1) in infants subjected to perinatal asphyxia, or intrauterine growth restriction, (2) in those born with Beckwith-Weidemann syndrome (BWS),...

Bowel obstruction in an infant with AIDS.(Case Report)
September 1, 2003... AIDS accounted for approximately one quarter of all deaths in South Africa in 2000 and has become the country's single biggest cause of death. (1) Paediatric HIV infection is now a common cause of admission to hospital and a major contributor...

Sildenafil as a treatment for pulmonary hypertension.(Case Report)
September 1, 2003... Severe, chronic pulmonary hypertension in childhood is uncommon, difficult to treat, and carries a poor prognosis. Sildenafil (Viagra, Pfizer) has been used successfully in adults with pulmonary hypertension as monotherapy or in combination...

Lead: devastating impact even at low levels.(Journal Watch)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The relation between intelligence and blood lead levels greater than 10 [micro]g/dL is well defined: IQ declines by 2 to 5 points with every increase of 10 to 30 [micro]g/dL. The effect of lower lead concentrations is less certain....

Daily inhaled steroids benefit patients with mild asthma.(Journal Watch)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The benefit of inhaled glucocorticosteroids for chronic severe asthma is well known. To examine the effect of once-daily inhaled budesonide in patients with less severe disease, researchers conducted a multicenter, placebo-controlled,...

Shigella: a new use for azithromycin?(Journal Watch)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... There are numerous reports of multiresistant shigella in the developing world, and U.S. practitioners in states with large immigrant populations regularly face the problem of treating patients infected with these isolates. Because shigella is...

Strategies to prevent medication errors in hospital patients.(Journal Watch)
September 1, 2003... Each year in the U.S., more than 44,000 adult deaths are caused, at least in part, by medical errors. A similar situation exists in pediatric healthcare, and infants and children in intensive care units are especially vulnerable to lasting...

Can intensive glycemic control limit atherosclerosis progression in type 1 diabetes?(Journal Watch)(Author Abstract)
September 1, 2003... In the landmark Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), patients with type 1 diabetes who were randomized to receive intensive glycemic control had a lower incidence of microvascular complications, but not of adverse cardiovascular...

Early drinking: where does it lead?(Journal Watch)(Author Abstract)
September 1, 2003... Underage drinking continues to be a problem in the U.S., and the long-term consequences are largely unknown. In this longitudinal study, investigators first surveyed 6338 seventh graders from 30 California and Oregon schools in 1985, and then...

Towards evidence based medicine for paediatricians.(Archimedes)
September 1, 2003... In order to give the best care to patients and families, paediatricians need to integrate the highest quality scientific vidence with clinical expertise and the opinions of the family. (1) Archimedes seeks to assist practising clinicians by...

A new urine collection method; pad and moisture sensitive alarm.(Letters)
September 1, 2003... Urine collection pads (UCPs) are a noninvasive and easy method of sampling urine from young children still in nappies to diagnose or rule out urinary tract infection (UTI). (1-3) However, our previous study (4) showed a high rate (27%) of...

Lean body mass in children with cystic fibrosis.(Letters)
September 1, 2003... Poor nutritional status adversely affects long term survival of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). (1) Body composition measured by dual energy x ray absorptiometry (DXA) has been shown to correlate well with other established techniques such...

Haemolytic anaemia associated with high dose intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in a child with Guillain-Barre syndrome.(Letters)
September 1, 2003... We report a case of severe haemolysis in a patient who received high dose immunoglobulin therapy. A 4 year old, 16 kg boy, with AB Rhesus positive blood, was admitted to our intensive care unit with Guillain-Barre syndrome. Rapid progression to...

Cracked.(Book Review)
September 1, 2003... Lynsey Calderwood, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2002, 13.95 [pounds sterling] Cracked is a personal account written by someone who had a traumatic brain injury aged 14 years, in 1992. She was left with no physical scars, but with a...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
September 1, 2003... In the Arch Dis Child supplement I of this year (published in April), the following abstract was not published. It should have replaced abstract G24. Meat consumption during weaning is positively associated with psychomotor outcome in...

Lucina.(aminophylline for childhood asthma)(congential diphragmatic hernia)(nutritional rickets)(peanut allergy)(causes of conjunctivitis)(bacterial vaginal infections)(wound care)(nutritionally-induced rapid infant growth may be a risk factor for type 2 diabetes)
September 1, 2003... A child with severe asthma does not respond well to inhaled [beta] agonist plus ipratropium and oral steroid. Should you then give intravenous salbutamol or aminophylline? Researchers in London (Thorax 2003;58:306-10) have come down in favour...