Pediatric News articles from April 2002

Pediatric News archives from April 2002

Alleviating Asthma in the Inner City. (Physician Feedback, Environmental Remedies).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... NEW YORK -- Physician feedback and environmental remediation are among the interventions that can significantly benefit inner-city asthmatic children, whose home and school environments often present "challenges" to their health and quality of...

Rate tympanic membrane to aid AOM diagnosis: Try a graded scale of 0-7 to assess appearance and need for antibiotic use. (Antibiotics or Watchful Waiting?).(acute otitis media )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... NEW ORLEANS -- A systematic approach to rating the appearance of a child's tympanic membrane may be a practical way to help decide whether or not a child with otitis media needs an antibiotic. When physicians used a graded scale of 0-7 to...

Proposed HIPAA rule threatens teen privacy: The comment period closes on April 26. (May Keep Adolescents from Seeking Care).(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The Department of Health and Human Services is proposing to water down a provision in the federal privacy rule that affords confidentiality rights to minors, despite objections from pediatric groups. The change is one of several...

Boost amino acid solutions with cysteine from day 1. (Extremely Low-Birth-Weight Infants).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... STANFORD, CALIF.-- Cysteine ought to routinely be added to amino acid solutions given starting in the first hours of life to enhance protein accretion in extremely-low-birth-weight babies, Dr. Scott C. Denne said at a conference on perinatal...

Fitness group promotes infant, toddler activity. (Bettering Fitness and Motor Skills).(National Association for Sport and Physical Education )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... No, there is no quota of push-ups for infants, but recently published guidelines spell out suggestions for encouraging motion in early childhood. Infants and preschoolers should engage in physical activity each day, with an eye toward...

Experimental drug shortens sickle cell crises. (60% of Children Responded).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Purified poloxamer 188 (PP188), a surfactant that improves microvascular blood flow by decreasing blood viscosity and adhesive frictional forces, cuts the duration of vasoocclusive crises in patients with sickle cell disease, reported Dr....

Versed recall. (Pediatric Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Roche Laboratories is voluntarily recalling its Versed syrup (midazolam HCI) CIV~ 118 mL (2 mg/mL) bottle, lots U0009-50 and U0010-50, which physicians may have received on or after Dec. 27, 2001. Those bottles of the product, which is used for...

Poison prevention. (Pediatric Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... A new national toll-free number (800-222-1222) gives everyone in the United States free access to their regional poison control center, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Launched on Jan. 30, 2002, the number received 44,000 calls in the first full...

Homicides in infancy. (Pediatric Briefs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The risk for homicide is greater in infancy than in other years of childhood before age 17, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. A total of 3,312 homicides in infants under 1 year of age were reported nationwide during...

Meningitis outbreak linked to Jamaica trip. (Young Adults Affected).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... An outbreak of eosinophilic meningitis caused by the roundworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis was reported among 12 young adults from the United States who visited Jamaica. The 12 were part of a tour group of 23 young adults. Infection was...

Holistic remedies for AOM prevention, treatment. (When Parents Reject Antibiotics).(acute otitis media)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... SAN DIEGO -- Consider both mainstream and complementary options when parents reject antibiotics and tympanostomy tubes for the prevention or treatment of acute otitis media, Dr. Kathi J. Kemper advised at a meeting sponsored by the Los Angeles...

Diagnosis-only medicine. (Letters From Maine).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Most of my pediatric mentors were therapeutic nihilists. They taught me to be cautious with antibiotics and to stay off pharmacologic bandwagons until I was sure they were traveling in the right direction. Although those old practitioners were...

Letters. (Opinion).(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2002... Dreading New Recertification Having endured one recertification exam 5 years ago (replete with multiple software failures) and now dreading the new proctored, closed book format, I could not agree more with Dr. William G. Wilkoff's column...

Methylphenidate not ideal for preschool ADHD. (Evidence Base Lacking).(attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... NEW YORK -- Methyiphenidate is widely given to preschool children for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, but the evidence for its efficacy is weak, and the drug's labeling formally warns against its use in children under 6 years of age,...

Control disruptive disorders comorbid to ADHD. (Risperidone as Adjunct to Stimulants).(attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Risperidone is an effective adjunctive therapy to stimulants in patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and comorbid disruptive behavior disorders, Dr. Richard E. Snyder reported in a poster presentation at the...

Assess hearing within first 6 months of life. (Key to Overall Development).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... BALTIMORE -- Early identification of hearing impairment is crucial to the development of age-appropriate language, regardless of whether that language is signed or spoken, Christine Yoshinaga-Itano, Ph.D., said at a meeting on developmental...

With raves all the rage, 'club drug' use may rise. (Ecstasy, Ketamine, LSD).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... SAN FRANCISCO -- Expect to see an increased use of Ecstasy, ketamine, LSD, and GHB among your teenage patients, Jo Ellen Dyer, Pharm.D., said at a meeting on clinical pediatrics sponsored by the University of California, San Francisco. ...

Don't wait until school starts to work on speech delays. (Intervene Between Birth and Age 5 Years).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... NEW ORLEANS -- It is never too early to make a referral for suspected developmental delays in speech or language, Patricia Launer, Ph.D., said at a meeting on children with special needs sponsored by Contemporary Forums. The years between...

Don't just say no to thumb-sucking behavior. (Assess Child's Maturity Level).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... SAN FRANCISCO -- The most important thing to do when offering advice on how to stop thumb sucking is to first assess the child's level of emotional maturity, Martha Ann Keels, D.D.S., said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of...

Tube power: How much is too much? (Behavioral Consult).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... It seems to be increasingly fashionable to point to television and video games as the major causes of violence among today's children and adolescents, but I beg to differ. In my opinion, the media is just one of a long list of harmful...

New guidelines promote children's mental health. (For Primary Care Physicians).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... WASHINGTON -- The new Bright Futures manual is the first stop for the primary care physician in addressing pediatric mental health, Dr. Michael S. Jellinek said at a meeting on children's mental health sponsored by the National Institute for...

Demand continues to swell for sports supplements. (Preteens, Teens Unlikely to Bring Up Use).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... BETHESDA, MD. -- Products marketed for enhancing athletic performance are attracting fans among athletes at all levels of age and ability--including 10-year-olds on the playground. This picture of an expanding, and increasingly youthful,...

Sports exams are no substitute for comprehensive physicals. (Many Use it as Only Annual Evaluation).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- The annual preparticipation/preseason sports exam is no substitute for a complete medical exam, but sometimes that's the only time of the year young athletes receive care from a physician. "This is especially true for...

SIDS risk reduction messages missing minorities. (Be Explicit in Explaining Risk Factors).(sudden infant death syndrome )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... WASHINGTON -- African American, Native American, and Alaska Native infants have a higher incidence of sudden infant death syndrome than white infants, panelists noted at a press briefing on sudden infant death syndrome sponsored by the CJ...

Picking the wounds to mend with Dermal glue. (Pediatric Emergency Specialist's Tips).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... SAN ANTONIO -- Even the busiest pediatricians don't suture as many wounds as an emergency room physician, so it stands to reason they have less day-to-day experience with 2-octylcyanoacrylate dermal glue, marketed by Ethicon Inc. as Dermabond....

Nevi in prepubertal children do not need to be removed. (Generally Benign in Adolescents).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... SAN ANTONIO -- No nevi in prepubertal children need to be removed, and most nevi in adolescents also are benign, Dr. William L. Weston said at a meeting sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Specifically, the following nevi may...

Kawasaki diagnosis often misses cardiac disease. (Guideline Rewrite is Overdue).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Current methods of identifying children with Kawasaki syndrome are only about 80% effective at finding those children with coronary artery disease abnormalities, and researchers at the University of California, San Diego, are clamoring to do...

Abnormal ECGs associated with Kawasaki disease in teenage years. (Possibility of Heart Disease).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Abnormalities in ECGs found in 13-year-olds with Kawasaki disease may presage the development of cardiac disorders in the late stage of the disease, said Dr. Shizuhiro Hirata of the Jichi Medical School in Saitama, Japan, and colleagues. ...

Skip thyroxine for hypothyroxinemic preemies. (Lack of Beneficial Evidence in Literature).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Thyroxine should not be administered routinely in preterm infants with hypothyroxinemia who don't have true hypothyroidism, a team of investigators suggested after reviewing the available medical literature on the topic. The investigators...

Chemical encyclopedia. (Products).(Merck Index)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The 13th edition of the Merck Index, a one-volume encyclopedia of chemicals, drugs, and biologicals, is now available. It includes an expanded therapeutic category index and enhanced capsule statements describing classes of compounds. Cost is...

Pair drugs, reduce tics. (Journal Scan).(Ritalin and Catapres)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Combining methylphenidate (Ritalin) with clonidine (Catapres) reduced the severity of tics in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder more effectively in combination than did either drug alone, said Dr. Roger Kurlan of the...

Asthma prevention lacking. (Journal Scan).(evaluation of Claritin (loratadine) for the treatment of exercise-induced asthma in children)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Exercise-induced asthma in children can be reduced, but not prevented, with loratadine (Claritin), said Dr. A. Baki and Dr. F. Orhan of Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey This study of 11 patients (mean age 11.5 years) is the first...

Post-head injury anxieties. (Journal Scan).(child head injury complications)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Children remain at risk for anxiety at least 1 year after suffering a severe dosed head injury, said Dr. Roma A. Vasa and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. Children with a preinjury history of anxiety are at increased risk, and...

Beware of tykes in trucks. (Journal Scan).(safety of placing children in the back seat of an extended-cab pickup truck)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Children seated in the back seat of an extended-cab pickup truck are more than four times as likely to get hurt in a crash than children in the back seats of other vehicles, said Dr. Flaura K. Winston and her colleagues at TraumaLink, the...

Diagnostic dilemma.(cat-scratch disease)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... An afebrile 8-year-old boy presents with cervical lymphadenitis. The node is mildly tender, and there is no erythema of the overlying skin. (See p. 2 for more comprehensive history.) SHORT DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS: * Cat-scratch disease....