Pediatric News articles from December 2005

Pediatric News archives from December 2005

Maximize vaccines at 18-month visit.(News)
December 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Maximizing efforts to vaccinate children at the 18-month well-child visit would dramatically increase the proportion of children who are up to date, Richard A. Schieber, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of...

Tough asthma often defeats care even by specialists: most patients struggle with compliance.(News)
December 1, 2005... ANAHEIM, CALIF. -- Despite being treated by asthma experts and receiving multiple state-of-the-art drugs, a "'shocking" number of patients with moderate to severe asthma remained poorly controlled in a large, prospective study. The study...

FDA warns of long-acting bronchodilator safety risks.(News)
December 1, 2005... Long-acting [[beta].sup.2]-adrenergic agonists should not be the first medicine physicians prescribe for patients with asthma and should be added to treatment only when patients do not adequately respond to other asthma medications, according...

Earplugs aid concertgoers' hearing.(News)
December 1, 2005... LOS ANGELES -- It doesn't matter if your patients are heading to a concert by Barry Manilow or Metallica, they should be advised to wear earplugs. That's the take-home message from a prospective study that found a high incidence of...

Allergies have skyrocketed in one generation--for real.(News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Allergies really are increasing, P. Brock Williams, Ph.D., reported at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Numerous publications have documented recent increases in clinical symptoms of allergies and...

Cefdinir beats penicillin for recurrent tonsillitis.(News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Cefdinir appears to be better than penicillin in the eradication of the group A [beta]-hemolytic streptococci that cause recurrent tonsillitis, reported Itzhak Brook, M.D., of Georgetown University, Washington, and Perry A. Foote Jr., M.D., of...

Reduce BMI early to improve blood pressure.(News)
December 1, 2005... VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Overweight 5-year-olds who become normal weight by adolescence experience a clinically meaningful improvement in blood pressure, compared with those who remain heavy, Abdullah Al Mamun, M.D., said at a meeting sponsored by...

Chromosome 6: genetic culprit in large MS study.(News)
December 1, 2005... SAN DIEGO -- A very large genetic linkage study has pinpointed the major histocompatibility complex on the short arm of chromosome 6 as the key genetic player in multiple sclerosis. The study is not the first to implicate the major...

FDA halts sales of pemoline, cites liver risks.(News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has withdrawn approval for pemoline (Cylert) because of the risk of liver toxicity. But the agency has stopped short of calling for a recall of existing stocks of the drug. Abbott Laboratories, which...

Tamiflu deemed safe for children despite reports.(Infectious Diseases)
December 1, 2005... GAITHERSBURG, MD. -- Tamiflu appears to have played "no role" in the deaths of 12 children in Japan and in 32 reported cases of neuropsychiatric events, 31 of which also occurred in Japan, in children who received the drug after a diagnosis of...

Invasive MRSA may require vancomycin therapy.(Infectious Diseases)
December 1, 2005... WARSAW -- Community-acquired methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in children are on the increase around the world, and while most cases involve the skin and soft tissue and are susceptible to clindamycin, severe invasive...

Focus on immediate flu concerns, not fears.(ID CONSULT)
December 1, 2005... We should be concerned but not panicked about avian influenza. As clinicians, we need to reassure families about the small but perhaps increasing potential for pandemic flu and answer their questions, but at the same time focus our immediate...

Empiric antiviral therapy worthwhile during flu outbreaks.(Infectious Diseases)
December 1, 2005... Empiric therapy with antiviral medication during an influenza epidemic is superior to both rapid diagnostic test-based therapy and no therapy in symptomatic pediatric patients, according to an analysis based on hypothetical scenarios. "We...

Ototoxicity not seen with brief trial of Cortisporin.(Infectious Diseases)
December 1, 2005... LOS ANGELES -- Cortisporin Otic did not cause ototoxicity and was cost effective when used for 5 days after ear tube placement surgery in children, according to a large retrospective review at a tertiary otologic center. Newer...

Chlamydia climbs in teen girls.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Overall rates of chlamydia in the United States increased by 6% in 2004 compared with 2003 levels, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a telephone news conference. The highest rates of chlamydia continued to be...

Missionary imports measles.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... A measles outbreak in Indiana in May-June 2005 has been attributed to an unvaccinated 17-year-old girl who had worked as a missionary in an orphanage and hospital in Bucharest, Romania, according to the CDC (MMWR 2005;54;1073-5). The girl...

Tx for noncompliant H. pylori patients.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The clinical potency of metronidazole, despite evidence of in vitro resistance, may make it a more effective choice for children in areas with a high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori, said Bradford D. Gessner, M.D., of the Alaska Division of...

Genotypes factor in hepatitis C.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Interferon therapy for chronic hepatitis C may be less effective in children with a hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 than in children with hepatitis C virus genotypes other than 1, based on a retrospective study of 50 children aged 3-15...

WHO's pneumonia study tops journal articles: take-home message: if a child with pneumonia is not toxic, oral rather than intravenous therapy is adequate.(Infectious Diseases)
December 1, 2005... ASPEN, COLO. -- A World Health Organization study conducted in eight developing countries tops an expert's annual list of the most important journal articles for physicians treating pediatric infectious diseases. "Basically, what it showed...

Immunization efforts focus on adolescents: teenagers increasingly are being recognized as important reservoirs for certain infectious diseases.(Infectious Diseases)
December 1, 2005... CAMBRIDGE, MASS. -- Much of the "action" in the immunization arena is shifting to adolescents, according to Colin Marchant, M.D. "Adolescent immunizations are a quickly evolving area, as youth in this age group are increasingly being...

Don't wait for gay teens to speak up.(BEHAVIORAL CONSULT)
December 1, 2005... Don't hold your breath waiting for the adolescents in your practice to tell you they consider themselves transgender or gay. Except in very rare cases, they won't. But it's very important not to miss the opportunity to have this...

Asperger's, high-functioning autism often overlap.(Behavioral Pediatrics)
December 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Officially, the lack of delayed language skills is what separates a child with Asperger's disorder from one with high-functioning autism. But the reality is far more complex, Chris Plauche Johnson, M.D., said at the annual meeting...

Early emotional support key to good behavior.(Behavioral Pediatrics)
December 1, 2005... Parental emotional support of children as young as 1 year of age is associated with a lower incidence of externalizing problems later in childhood. "Our results are suggestive of very early parenting potentially having a long-term impact...

Poor school performance, lack of sleep linked.(Behavioral Pediatrics)
December 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- When a child is sleep deprived, it shows at school. In a study of 74 healthy 6- to 12-year-old students, experimentally reducing the duration of their sleep at home for 1 week resulted in academic and attention problems...

Early recognition lessens down-related delays: improved detection of medical vulnerabilities that cause developmental disabilities optimizes learning.(Behavioral Pediatrics)
December 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Recognizing and acting on areas of medical vulnerability can prevent secondary developmental disability in children with Down syndrome. "For most parents, Down syndrome already implies that the child will not develop as they...

Plan on teens with down syndrome to want independence.(Behavioral Pediatrics)
December 1, 2005... SAN DIEGO -- When it comes to helping adolescents with Down syndrome and other cognitive disabilities transition to adult services, the earlier the better, William I. Cohen, M.D., advised at the annual meeting of the Society for Developmental...

Adoption "story" processed throughout childhood.(Behavioral Pediatrics)
December 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- During each stage of childhood, adopted children must master a different level in processing their unique life story, Kay Seligsohn, Ph.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "Each stage has its...

NIMH data flag girlish aggression.(Behavioral Pediatrics)
December 1, 2005... SAN DIEGO -- While the bulk of current literature suggests that young girls exhibit less verbal and physical aggressive behavior than young boys, results from a new analysis funded by the National Institute of Mental Health suggest that may not...

One size should fit all.(LETTERS FROM MAINE)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2005... One of the things that I enjoy most about practicing in semirural, sub-suburban Maine is that it allows me the privilege of caring for children representing the entire socioeconomic spectrum, I may begin the morning peering into the sore throat...

Parents must face obesity in children.(Letters)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... All charting, programming, and weight reduction programs are failures that only add to the statistics ("Parental Misperceptions About Child's Weight Factor Into Obesity Epidemic," August 2005, p. 25). Not a single day goes by without...

Docs and staff last in line.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2005... Flu shots for physicians and their staff is a great idea, but only if a supply of the flu vaccine is made available ("CDC Urges: Physician, Vaccinate Thyself," October 2005, p. 16). Our office has been on the "wait list" since June 2005...

AMA isn't helping physicians.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2005... The article regarding the American Medical Association policy debate demonstrates the reason many doctors do not want to be involved with the organization ("AMA Delegates Diverge on Pay for Performance," July 2005, p. 59). The approach is...

Correction to dermatitis article.(Correction Notice)
December 1, 2005... A chart, "pH of Selected Cleansers," which accompanied a recent article on dermatitis, contained erroneous information about Johnson's Baby Wash ("Dermatitis Requires Multifaceted Approach," September 2005, p. 47). All Johnson & Johnson...

Book helps kids cope with cancer.(FYI)
December 1, 2005... "I'm a Super Hero," written and illustrated by a little boy with cancer, helps children understand cancer and its treatments. The booklet is available from the Daxton Wilde Foundation for $5.99. To order, visit www.daxtonwilde.com.

Free infant eye assessments.(FYI)
December 1, 2005... The American Optometric Association is offering free, one-time, comprehensive eye assessments for infants in their first year of life through the InfantSEE program. The assessment provides early detection of potential eye and vision problems....

Campaign targets childhood obesity.(FYI)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The Department of Health and Human Services and the Advertising Council have launched a campaign, "Can Your Food Do That?" to encourage healthy eating and physical activity among children. Along with television and Web ads, the campaign...

Autism resource launched.(FYI)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The nonprofit organization Autism Speaks has launched a new Web site, offering resources for those directly affected by the disorder. The site offers information for two different audiences: families who want to learn more about autism and...

Workbook on coping with Katrina.(FYI)
December 1, 2005... "My Hurricane Katrina Story" is a workbook geared toward children and adolescents. It encourages active coping, healthy expression, and learning. The workbook was written by an experienced disaster team. Those individuals working with...

Emergency resource for PDAs.(FYI)
December 1, 2005... The ".911" emergency response resource for Palm OS and Pocket PC devices--designed for use during infectious disease outbreaks, natural disasters, and bioterrorism threats--has been updated with the latest recommendations from the Centers for...

Resources for pediatric GERD.(FYI)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... GlaxoSmithKline has launched a pediatric gastroesophageal reflux disease awareness initiative that includes a tool for recording a child's symptoms and an educational Web site. The Reflux Recorder can be obtained by visiting www.babygerd.com....

Concussion tool kit for coaches.(FYI)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a multimedia tool kit for those involved in teen sports to help prevent concussion and to identify its symptoms. "Heads Up: Concussion in High School Sports" also includes information...

Dietary guidelines explained.(FYI)(A Healthier You)(Book review)(Brief review)
December 1, 2005... The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released "A Healthier You." It is based on the "Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005" and is intended to help Americans interpret the newest dietary recommendations. The book offers simple...

Educational campaign on pertussis.(FYI)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The National Association of School Nurses has begun a campaign called "Pertussis Tools for Schools" to educate school nurses, teachers, parents, and teens about the signs and symptoms of pertussis. In 2004, nearly 20,000 cases of the bacterial...

Dietary intervention improves cholesterol level: a low-fat diet is safe and effective, but if the child's LDL cholesterol level is very high, diet is not enough.(Clinical Rounds)
December 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Attention to diet will successfully manage cholesterol in many children, especially young ones, said Samuel S. Gidding, M.D., of the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del. "Cholesterol levels are...

Trauma more severe, healing takes longer among obese.(Clinical Rounds)
December 1, 2005... PHOENIX -- A retrospective study of 316 pediatric trauma patients suggests obese children and adolescents could have more difficulty recovering from severe injuries than those who are leaner. Youngsters with a body mass index of 30...

Oral chelator ok'd for transfusional iron overload.(Clinical Rounds)(approved deferasirox)
December 1, 2005... ROCKVILLE, MD. -- A long-awaited alternative to the highly effective--but cumbersome and often painful--subcutaneous infusions of the iron chelator deferoxamine was approved last month for children and adults with chronic iron overload caused...

Thermometer recalled for heating fault.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Omron Healthcare is voluntarily recalling certain 3-Way instant thermometers due to a potential problem that can cause the thermometer tip to overheat. The recall applies to model numbers MC-600 and MC-600CAN. The recall was prompted by a...

Alter oral flora early to sharply reduce caries.(Clinical Rounds)
December 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Altering the oral flora by dietary management and dental intervention can alter the cariogenic process in young children, lessening the chance of decay in primary and permanent teeth, Kevin Hale, D.D.S., said at the annual meeting...

Half of school bus injuries get emergent care.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... ST. LOUIS -- Each year, 20 children (5 bus riders and 15 pedestrians) die in school bus-related accidents, Kristine Griffith-Williams, M.D., said in a poster presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Society for Pediatric Research. ...

Levemir, Trileptal.(New & Approved)
December 1, 2005... Levemir (insulin detemir [rDNA origin] injection, Novo Nordisk Inc.) The Food and Drug Administration approved Levemir (insulin detemir [rDNA origin] injection) for adult and pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes. * Recommended...

Simple solutions treat tough atopic dermatitis.(Clinical Rounds)
December 1, 2005... LAS VEGAS -- If you're stumped about how to manage your patients with severe atopic dermatitis, consider simple solutions first, Amy S. Paller, M.D., advised at the Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference. "It's important to see if there's a...

Match topical retinoids to needs of individual acne patients.(Clinical Rounds)
December 1, 2005... BLAINE, WASH. -- Topical retinoids can be highly effective treatments for acne, but they come in a bewilderingly wide variety of strengths and formulations. Clinicians should consider effectiveness, tolerability, and the type of vehicle...

Timely surgery optimizes cosmesis in skin tumors.(Clinical Rounds)
December 1, 2005... PARIS -- To obtain the best cosmetic results, you must intervene early in pediatric dermatologic tumors, Patrick A. Diner, M.D., said at the Fourth International Academy of Cosmetic Dermatology World Congress. A common misconception is that...

Lamotrigine called effective add-on for PGTC seizures.(Clinical Rounds)(primary generalized tonic-clonic)
December 1, 2005... LOS ANGELES -- Adjunctive therapy with lamotrigine significantly reduced the number of primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures in children and adolescents in whom such seizures are inadequately controlled with other antiepileptic drugs alone,...

Endoscopic injection for VUR tripled since 2001: whether it should be used in favor of surgery or soon after diagnosis remains a controversial issue.(Clinical Rounds)(vesicoureteral reflux )
December 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The use of minimally invasive injection procedures for treating children with vesicoureteral reflux has nearly tripled since the injectable material known as Deflux was approved for use in the United States in 2001, Mathew D....

Diagnostic laparoscopy safe in pediatric abdominal trauma.(Clinical Rounds)
December 1, 2005... PHOENIX -- Diagnostic laparoscopy can spare selected children from the risks of laparotomy for abdominal injuries, according to a 5-year review of pediatric trauma cases reported by Alexander Feliz, M.D., at the annual meeting of the American...

Quick tool flags who has uncontrolled asthma: a short questionnaire reliably determines which patients require focused medical attention.(Clinical Rounds)
December 1, 2005... ANAHEIM, CALIF. -- A simple, seven-question pictorial tool can give a pediatrician an instant snapshot of whether a patient's asthma is well controlled at the time of an office visit. Children aged 4-11 years and their caregivers can...

Pantoprazole safely relieves GERD, at half adult dose.(Clinical Rounds)
December 1, 2005... MONTREAL -- Pantoprazole safely reduces gastroesophageal reflux symptoms in children and adolescents at roughly half the adult dosage, according to two studies funded by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures the proton pump inhibitor. ...

Universal health care in Illinois.(Policy & Practice)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Universal health care coverage will be available to children in the state of Illinois next year. Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich (D) recently signed the "All Kids" plan into law, which makes comprehensive health insurance available to all...

Autism and genetics.(Policy & Practice)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Five institutes at the National Institutes of Health and three private organizations have formed a consortium to identify genes that may contribute to the development of autism and autism spectrum disorders. The consortium has funded five...

AMA addresses Medicaid reform.(Policy & Practice)
December 1, 2005... Delegates to the American Medical Association's interim meeting tackled the issues of Medicaid reform and the uninsured, opposing Medicaid reform legislation--now pending in the U.S. House of Representatives--that would mandate premiums and...

Smoking ban in public places.(Policy & Practice)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Applying a hard-line approach to kicking the habit, AMA delegates voted to actively support national, state, and local legislation and pursue regulations banning smoking in all workplaces. In addition, the AMA should work to ensure that federal...

Improving uncompensated care.(Policy & Practice)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... Hospitals have established more generous uncompensated-care guidelines for uninsured patients after a torrent of publicity about aggressive hospital billing and collection practices and a series of lawsuits alleging that hospitals overcharge...

Physicians of note share their love for music.(The Rest of Your Life)(C. Wright Pinson)
December 1, 2005... In 1964, when C. Wright Pinson, M.D., was just 11 years old, he bought his first set of Ludwig drums. The price tag was $300, "which was 100% of my net worth at the time," quipped Dr. Pinson, professor of surgery and chief medical officer...

Panel seeks citizen input on health care reform: comments on the current state of health care will be gathered via community meetings and the Internet.(Practice Trends)
December 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- American health care could be in for the world's largest customer satisfaction survey as the U.S. Citizens' Health Care Working Group seeks comments nationwide on how to reform the system. "In order to make health care work...

Electronic health record interfaces may cause errors.(Practice Trends)
December 1, 2005... LOS ANGELES -- Electronic health records have been proposed as one way to reduce medical errors, but their design can contribute to errors as well, Melonie Nance, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head...

Ethical conflicts surface around FDA's black box label warnings for SSRIs.(Practice Trends)
December 1, 2005... MONTREAL -- When members of the Food and Drug Administration's advisory panels make recommendations about placing "black box" labels on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, many factors influence their decision-making processes, Philip J....

Synchronizing the office.(EFFICIENT PEDIATRICIAN PRACTICES)
December 1, 2005... For this column, I would like to probe office personnel interactions and offer some suggestions to make your office more efficient. The largest part of your overhead goes toward payroll--probably 18%-24% of gross revenue, depending on how...