Pediatric News articles from July 2003

Pediatric News archives from July 2003

FluMist licensed for ages 5-49 years: more expensive than injected.
July 1, 2003... ATLANTA -- The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has endorsed the use of FluMist as "an important new option" for vaccinating healthy individuals aged 5-49 years. The new...

Vital signs.
July 1, 2003... Drug Firms' Global R&D Expenditures Outstrip National Institutes of Health Budget Note: based on survey of foreign and domestic expenditures for company-financed R&D of 33 memebers of Pharmaceuticals Research and Manufacturers of America...

Pediatric vaccine counseling code in development: August target datecode: would separate physician work from vaccine administration itself.
July 1, 2003... WASHINGTON -- A single code for pediatric vaccine counseling is under development. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association's CPT Editorial Panel are working to develop the code, "which would allow physicians...

Monkeypox illustrates emerging infections threat: from Africa to North America smallpox vaccine, suggested for exposed kids.
July 1, 2003... Like severe acute respiratory syndrome and West Nile virus before it, the monkeypox virus outbreak in the upper Midwest offered more evidence that emerging infectious diseases no longer respect national, or even continental, boundaries. ...

Parents sacrifice custody for psychiatric care: GAO report.(General Accounting Office)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Thousands of U.S. families have been forced to choose between obtaining mental health services and relinquishing custody of their children with mental or emotional disorders, according to a new report by the General Accounting Office. The...

Diagnostic dilemma. (News).(Lobar pneumococcal pneumonia)
July 1, 2003... A 7-year-old boy has a high fever and vague abdominal pain for 2 days, just like his two siblings. The siblings improve, but the 7-year-old has increasing abdominal pain with nausea and fever persisting for another 3 days. The boy's mother...

FDA acts to speed approval of more generics: AMA applauds action.(American Medical Association)
July 1, 2003... Starting in August, drug companies will no longer be able to use regulatory challenges to prevent generics from entering the market and competing with their products when patents expire, according to the Food and Drug Administration. In a...

Monkeypox far different from varicella or smallpox, doctor says: scattered lesions at varying stages. (News).
July 1, 2003... The first case of monkeypox virus infection to be identified in the United States did not fool Dr. John W. Melski into first mistaking it for chickenpox, or cause him undue alarm that it was smallpox. The presentation of the 4-year-old...

Tx-resistant recurrent OM is common: compared with AOM. (News).(otitis media)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... WASHINGTON -- Significantly more antimicrobial-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae were present in children with recurrent otitis media than in children with acute otitis media, Dr. Itzhak Brook and Dr. Alan Gober...

Pneumococcal vaccine is a must for cochlear implant patients: 30-fold higher risk in this population. (News).
July 1, 2003... ATLANTA -- Patients who have received cochlear implants should be vaccinated against Streptococcus pneumoniae, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended at its summer meeting. ...

ACIP against expansion of smallpox vaccinations: myocarditis/pericarditis cited. (News).(Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices)
July 1, 2003... ATLANTA -- The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised the federal government not to expand the current pre-event smallpox vaccination recommendations. The decision, made...

Vaccine-associated anaphylaxis risk calculated at 0.65 per million: events low, but impossible to predict. (News).
July 1, 2003... SEATTLE -- Pediatricians and other vaccine providers should be prepared to manage anaphylactic shock, Kari J. Bohlke, Sc.D., said in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies. The risk of anaphylaxis...

Pediatricians using wrong needle sizes for vaccinations: 7/8 inch is recommended for infants. (News).
July 1, 2003... SAN DIEGO -- Many pediatricians were not following the established guidelines of needle length requirements for routine immunization of infants, children, and adolescents, results from a small survey found. "The 5/8-inch needle seems to be...

More frequent coitus is associated with the persistence of HPV: small study. (News).(human papillomavirus)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... SEATTLE -- More frequent sexual intercourse and more partners could be factors that determine how long a particular human papillomavirus infection persists, Dr. Marcia Shew said at the annual meeting of the Society for Adolescent Medicine. ...

Panel debates promising hyperbilirubinemia drug: comparison with phototherapy key. (News).
July 1, 2003... GAITHERSBURG, MD. -- The potential of stannsoporfin as a medical treatment for dangerous hyperbilirubinemia in newborns was debated in a meeting of the Food and Drug Administration's pediatric subcommittee of the Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory...

Botox can treat, correct toe walking: reduce need for surgery. (News).
July 1, 2003... Botulinum toxin type A can successfully treat and correct toe walking Dr. David Roye said at a seminar sponsored by the Children's Hospital of New York. Toe walking, a form of limp characterized by a fixed contracture of the Achilles...

Predicting UTI scarring. (Clinical Capsules).(urinary tract infections)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... High procalcitonin values in children presenting to the emergency department with urinary tract infections (UTIs) predicted renal scarring, said Dr. Cristina Prat of Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain. In a study of 77...

Preemie weight and UTIs. (Clinical Capsules).(premature infants and urinary tract infections )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Extremely low-birth-weight premature newborns with urinary tract infections have a lower rate of vesicourethral reflux than larger preemies, said Dr. Sofia Bauer of Meir General Hospital, Kfar-Saba, Israel, and her colleagues (Pediatr. Infect....

SARS in Hong Kong and U.S. (Clinical Capsules).(severe acute respiratory syndrome)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Approximately 110 children in Hong Kong have been identified with severe acute respiratory syndrome, Dr. Malik Peiris of the University of Hong Kong said at a SARS research conference at the National Institutes of Health in May. "At least half...

C. difficile test rarely needed. (Clinical Capsules).(Clostridium difficile )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Clostridium difficile testing is unnecessary or inappropriate in the majority of pediatric inpatients with diarrhea, said Dr. Jordan G. Spivack of Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and his colleagues. Although C. difficile testing and...

Improved TB test. (Clinical Capsules).(tuberculosis )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... An enzyme-linked immunospot assay can be significantly more accurate in testing for latent tuberculosis infection, compared with the tuberculin skin test, said Katie Ewer and her associates at the University of Oxford (England). In the wake of...

Impact seen later with asymptomatic CMV: cognitive sequelae seen at age 6 years. (Infectious Diseases).(cytomegalovirus)
July 1, 2003... SEATTLE -- Children congenitally infected with cytomegalovirus but who are asymptomatic at birth demonstrated measurable cognitive sequelae for the first time, Dr. Sherry Sellers-Vinson said at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic...

New pathogen primarily infecting children is spread by raccoons: severe CNS effects and death. (Infectious Diseases).
July 1, 2003... MIAMI BEACH -- Baylisascaris procyonis is emerging as an important and deadly new human pathogen, particularly in children, Dr. Sheldon L. Kaplan reported at a pediatric update sponsored by Miami Children's Hospital. There is no effective...

Put some teeth into your exam. (ID Consult).(dental care)
July 1, 2003... A 20-second dental exam and a 20-second dental discussion should be part of every "preventive" pediatric visit once a child reaches 6 months of age. Do you know the number one chronic infection in pediatrics? You got it: dental caries....

For the first time in several years, CDC deems vaccine supply to be stable: only Hib is somewhat precarious. (Infectious Diseases).(Centers for Disease Control)(Haemophilus influenzae type b)
July 1, 2003... WASHINGTON -- Dean Mason is a happy man. "For the first time in a long time, we can say that the vaccine supply is okay," said Mr. Mason, program support branch chief at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National...

Handle vaccines with care or you may rue the day: use best practices. (Infectious Diseases).
July 1, 2003... CHICAGO -- Errors in vaccine handling put patients in danger and can cost hundreds of millions of dollars nationwide each year if physicians don't implement best practices for vaccine storage and handling, Gary Coil said at the National...

Panel supports broader indication for herpes drug: uninfected partners. (Infectious Diseases).(valacyclovir )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... GAITHERSBURG, MD. -- A federal advisory panel has recommended that suppressive therapy with valacyclovir be approved for reducing the risk of genital herpes transmission from infected to uninfected sexual partners. The Food and Drug...

How to choose the best antibiotic for sinusitis: amoxicillin ok for majority. (Infectious Diseases).
July 1, 2003... SAN FRANCISCO -- Although experts differ on whether children with bacterial sinusitis benefit from antibiotics, the weight of the evidence supports their use, Dr. Margaret B. Rennels said at a meeting on clinical pediatrics sponsored by the...

Serious bacterial infections unusual in young infants with RSV and fever: full sepsis evaluation unnecessary? (Infectious Diseases).(respiratory syncytial virus)
July 1, 2003... SEATTLE -- There is a very low incidence of serious bacterial infections among infants aged 1-90 days with respiratory syncytial virus infection who present with fever, Dr. Kathlene Bassett reported at the annual meeting of the Pediatric...

Watch for suppurative complications of bacterial sinusitis: affects older children, adolescents. (Infectious Diseases).
July 1, 2003... SAN FRANCISCO -- While most bacterial sinusitis in children will resolve relatively quickly with no long-term consequences, physicians should be on the lookout for the rare but serious suppurative complications, Dr. Margaret B. Rennels said at...

HIPAA and the rumor mill. (Letters From Maine).(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)(Column)
July 1, 2003... A few years ago, denial and flagrant inattention caught up with me, and I was forced to spend a week in the hospital and submit to some urologic procedures. I was given the option of being transferred to the tertiary medical center 25...

Safety device unregulated.(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2003... A recent item in the Products section highlighted a "Belt Tightener for Car Seats" (March 2003, p. 25). According to the description, the product "reduces hazardous side-to-side and tipping movements and can be used in any vehicle with any...

Blind, mad, red, and dry.(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2003... I just read the Diagnostic Dilemma (May 2003, p. 51) on anticholinergic poisoning, and I have a good mnemonic device to help pediatricians remember the side effects of anticholinergic poisoning: blind as a bat (mydriasis), mad as a hatter...

A rash of problems.(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2003... I enjoyed reading Dr. William G. Wilkoff's column on viral-induced amoxicillin rash ("Error Message in Red," Letters From Maine, March 2003, p. 26). Another problematic issue is that children often are labeled as "amoxicillin allergic,"...

Rx without Dx.(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2003... As a school psychologist, I am very involved in the problems associated with children with learning difficulties. Unfortunately, I often find the collaborative efforts between pediatricians and school personnel to be something less than...

FDA nixes Paroxetine for major depression: 1- to 18-year-olds. (Behavioral Pediatrics).
July 1, 2003... Paroxetine should not be used for the treatment of depression in children or adolescents with major depressive disorder, said the Food and Drug Administration. But the drug should not be discontinued suddenly because of the risk of...

Bullying, being bullied lead to violent behavior: affects boys and girls. (Behavioral Pediatrics).
July 1, 2003... Children who bully others, or who are bullied, are more likely to engage in violent behavior, said Tonja R. Nansel, Ph.D., of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and her colleagues. The researchers analyzed survey...

Prepare adolescents for healthy adult sexuality: give parents anticipatory guidance. (Behavioral Pediatrics).
July 1, 2003... MIAMI BEACH -- Pediatricians can help prepare children and adolescents for healthy adult sexuality by guiding parents on age-appropriate discussions, talking openly and directly with adolescents about sexual intercourse and birth control, and...

Patient sex-ed brochures.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The American Academy of Pediatrics has a plethora of patient education brochures that you can provide to your teen patients and/or their parents. Most of these brochures come in packets of 100; the packets cost $29.95 for AAP members and...

Twins, triplets multiply behavioral challenges. (Behavioral Consult).
July 1, 2003... Any mother-to-be who announces that she is expecting twins or triplets encounters a double-edged reaction. First there is surprise and delight, but then a dark cloud looms. "Oh my gosh, how are you going to manage?" people ask in a foreboding...

MRA reveals peripheral aneurysms in Kawasaki: allows more aggressive therapy. (Clinical Rounds).(magnetic resonance angiography )
July 1, 2003... SNOWMASS, COLO.--In children with Kawasaki disease, whole-body magnetic resonance angiography identifies peripheral aneurysms that may be missed on physical exam and echocardiography Dr. Barry L. Myones said at an international conference on...

Early start to acetylsalicylic acid has benefit in acute Kawasaki disease: low dose vs. high dose questioned. (Clinical Rounds).
July 1, 2003... SNOWMASS, COLO. -- Thrombocytosis begins sooner in the course of Kawasaki disease than previously thought, so treatment should be initiated as early in the acute phase as possible, Dr. Rosie Scuccimarri said at an international conference on...

Start teens on monophasic oral contraceptives: compliance not as problematic. (Clinical Rounds).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... KOHALA, HAWAII -- The prescribing of oral contraceptives for teenagers needs to be handled differently from prescribing for adults because there may be problems with compliance, Dr. Richard MacKenzie said at a meeting sponsored by the American...

New & approved: NIOX, Flonase. (Clinical Rounds).
July 1, 2003... NIOX (Nitric Oxide Test System, Aerocrine AB) The Food and Drug Administration cleared this first noninvasive exhalation test to assess patient response to anti-inflammatory asthma medications. * Recommended Dosage: The patient...

Inform parents syncope in child is usually benign: rule out cardiovascular disease. (Clinical Rounds).
July 1, 2003... MIAMI BEACH -- Although syncope in children and adolescents can be a sign of a serious underlying cardiac condition, in most cases, pediatricians can assure parents that the condition is benign and should resolve over time, Dr. Richard Zakheim...

Metformin use for PCOS in adolescents called premature: no long-term data yet. (Clinical Rounds).(polycystic ovary syndrome)
July 1, 2003... SEATTLE -- Physicians may have become too eager to add metformin reflexively to treatment of adolescent patients with polycystic ovary syndrome, Dr. S. Jean Emans said at the annual meeting of the Society for Adolescent Medicine. "I don't...

Cardiac exam skills of many pediatric residents below par: a few skills performed well. (Clinical Rounds).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... GREENWICH, CONN. -- Many pediatric residents are lacking in some basic cardiac examination skills, Dr. Sujata Chakravarti reported at a meeting of the Eastern Society for Pediatric Research. Deterioration in cardiac physical examination...

FDA panel recommends drug for idiopathic short stature: expanded indication for humatrope. (Clinical Rounds).
July 1, 2003... BETHESDA, MD. -- An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration recommended approval for an expanded indication of Humatrope to include treatment of non-growth hormone-deficient short stature. The Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs...

Use of growth hormone in SGA kids adds inches: new guidelines. (Clinical Rounds).(small for gestational age )
July 1, 2003... A panel of experts has drawn up consensus guidelines on using growth hormone to normalize height of children born small for gestational age who do not experience catch-up growth by age 2-3 years. Every year about 91,000 infants in the...

Biologic therapy approved for moderate to severe allergic asthma: omalizumab binds to immunoglobulin E. (Clinical Rounds).
July 1, 2003... The Food and Drug Administration has approved omalizumab as a treatment for people aged 12 years and older with moderate to severe persistent asthma. Omalizumab, the first biotechnology product approved for asthma and the first product...

Early vitamin supplements risk food allergy: higher risk of asthma as well. (Clinical Rounds).
July 1, 2003... SEATTLE -- Early vitamin supplementation may be associated with a greater risk of development of later food allergies and asthma, Dr. Joshua D. Milner said at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies. In a survey study of...

Use ultrasound to dx thyroid disorder: congenital hypothyroidism. (Clinical Rounds).
July 1, 2003... SEATTLE -- Thyroid ultrasonography is a useful tool for definitively diagnosing congenital hypothyroidism in young children, results from a small study suggest. The study is the first attempt to establish criteria for discontinuation of...

Unintentional injury rate down 40%: from 1987 to 2000. (Clinical Rounds).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The rate of unintentional injuries among children aged 14 years and under dropped by almost 40% from 1987 to 2000, the National Safe Kids campaign said in a new report. But such injuries still claim more than 5,600 lives a year--or about...

Database programs: HanDBase v3.0. (Digital Assistance).
July 1, 2003... Overview: HanDBase is a highly customizable database program for Palm and Pocket PC handheld devices. Intuitive configuration allows easy creation, use, and sharing of databases for virtually any type of information. The wide variety of free...

FDA Panel: ipecac OTC stores should be revoked: little efficacy data. (Clinical Rounds).(over-the-counter)
July 1, 2003... BETHESDA, MD. -- A Food and Drug Administration Advisory Panel voted 6-4 that ipecac syrup, used for years as an emergency in-home method of gastrointestinal decontamination, should no longer be available over the counter. The issue of...

Drugs used for suicides differ for youths, adults: hospital discharge, mortality data. (Clinical Rounds).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... SANTA FE, N.M. -- Youths and adults tend to use markedly different drugs for suicidal overdoses, Ted R. Miller, Ph.D., reported at the annual conference of the American Association of Suicidology. He analyzed 1997 hospital discharge and...

Nonfatal self-inflicted injury rate is the highest among teenage girls: probable suicide attempts. (Clinical Rounds).
July 1, 2003... SANTA FE, N.M. -- More than 289,000 nonfatal self-inflicted injuries are treated in the nation's emergency departments annually, with the highest rates occurring in teenage girls, Dr. Robin M. Ikeda reported at the annual conference of the...

Overuse knee injury symptoms vague, nonspecific: must understand causes to properly treat. (Clinical Rounds).
July 1, 2003... KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. -- Chronic and overuse knee injuries will get any physician behind schedule because the cause isn't obvious, Dr. Steven Anderson said at a sports medicine meeting sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics. "The...

Training is lacking for pediatric end-of-life care: students, residents, physicians surveyed. (Practice Trends).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... NEW ORLEANS -- Training in pediatric end-of-life care is seriously lacking according to physicians, residents, and medical students responding to a survey, Jason N. Johnson reported in a poster presentation at the southern regional meeting of...

Empathy deficit in doctors starts as early as pre-med: unlike in other career paths. (Practice Trends).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... SALT LAKE CITY -- Undergraduate students planning medical careers show significantly less empathy than those planning to enter other professions, J. Kenneth Arnette, Ph.D., said at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. ...

Broaden focus to include whole family: Task Force on the Family. (Practice Trends).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Children's health outcomes depend in large part on family environment, so pediatricians ought to broaden their focus to encompass the entire family rather than just children. That's the sum of the 80 recommendations by the American Academy...

New AAP leader outlines goals. (Policy & Practice).(Dr. Carol Berkowitz, American Academy of Pediatrics)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Achieving adequate reimbursement for pediatricians and universal access to health care for all children are the top two goals for the American Academy of Pediatrics, says the academy's new vice president, Dr. Carol Berkowitz. "Pediatricians...

Adult visits to pediatric ERs. (Policy & Practice).(emergency departments)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Federal laws that require hospital emergency departments to treat anybody who walks through the door are leading a significant number of adults into children's hospital emergency departments (CHEDs) with problems these facilities are ill...

Preventing heat illness. (Policy & Practice).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Professional soccer, basketball, and baseball players are joining together to publicize the dangers of dehydration and heat illness just as the summer heat begins to beat down on children and teens playing sports. The National SAFE KIDS...

Medicaid criticisms. (Policy & Practice).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The Bush administration's block grant approach to Medicaid "moves health policy in the wrong direction," according to a report by the nonprofit Urban Institute. While the administration has touted its proposal to shift Medicaid decision-making...

It pays to immunize. (Policy & Practice).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Childhood vaccinations can prevent deaths--and save money, a researcher from the National Immunization Program (NIP) told the National Vaccine Advisory Committee. "The routine childhood immunization program prevents about 10.5 million cases and...

Irradiating school meat. (Policy & Practice).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Starting next year, irradiated ground beef will be included in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National School Lunch Program, but school districts can choose not to use it. The Food and Drug Administration approved irradiated beef and...

Pediatric drug rule revival is still sought: appeals court wants answers. (Practice Trends).
July 1, 2003... WASHINGTON -- A federal appeals court is allowing pediatric groups to pursue reinstatement of the pediatric drug rule. This is provided that the court gets some answers on how it can enforce a rule that the federal government hasn't sought...

Physician reimbursement. (AMA Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Delegates voted for a resolution calling for the AMA to "aggressively pursue legislation and regulation to protect physician payment and thereby ensure patient access to physicians." Dr. David A. Ingis of Willingboro, N.J., brushed aside...

Medical errors. (AMA Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The House of Delegates approved a report urging physicians to actively participate in developing a medical errors reporting mechanism that emphasizes education, and to seek changes in legislation that allow for secure reporting practices...

Confronting obesity. (AMA Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Urged on by U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, the delegates voted to take steps to raise public awareness of the health risks of obesity and promote...

Abstinence-only education voted down. (AMA Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The House of Delegates came down against abstinence-only education programs in schools, though it watered down original language that it "actively oppose" federal funding for such programs. Instead, the new policy is to endorse "comprehensive...

Graphic tobacco warnings. (AMA Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The House of Delegates voted to support legislation to change warnings on tobacco products. The changes would include increasing the size of warnings to as large as half of the front of the package, including color photographs of such images as...

Clinical skills exam. (AMA Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The House emphasized their opposition to the Clinical Skills Assessment Exam. More than 4 dozen delegates spoke against the exam's cost to medical students, cited lacking evidence of the exam's effectiveness, and advocated letting medical...

House staff self-governance. (AMA Briefs).(hospital administration)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The delegates voted nearly unanimously to support the medical staffs of hospitals in California and Ohio in their fights against hospital administrators' efforts to rewrite medical staff bylaws, take over the medical staff dues account, nullify...

Infectious disease workshop. (FYI).(online and CD-ROM)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Parents of Kids With Infectious Diseases (PKIDs) has created a free infectious diseases workshop that teaches how to prevent infections in all areas of life and includes what to do in the event of a bioterrorist strike. A train-the-trainer...

Palliative Care for HIV/AIDS. (FYI).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The Department of Health and Human Services has released "A Clinical Guide to Supportive and Palliative Care for HIV/AIDS." It provides practical guidelines for providing palliative care and supportive services to patients with HIV/AIDS. The...

Star Sleeper. (FYI).(web site)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The Star Sleeper Web site provides educational resources for pediatricians, parents, and teachers about the importance of children getting enough sleep. Part of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's "Sleep Well. Do Well. Star Sleeper"...

Bioterrorism drug information. (FYI).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Information on bioterrorism-related drugs is available at the "Drug Preparedness and Response to Bioterrorism" Web site, maintained by the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. The site provides links to...

Autism information source. (FYI).(First Signs Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The First Signs Inc. Web site offers information about the early signs of autism. The site contains information for both parents and physicians. Physicians can learn about current literature, screening tools, and other resources about autism....

Vaccine Web site in Spanish. (FYI).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... An interactive Web site provides information about childhood immunizations to Spanish-speaking parents. For more information, contact GlaxoSmithKline at http://enespanol.pediarix.com or 866-PEDIARIX (866-733-4274).

Quality Measures Web site. (FYI).(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has launched a Web-based National Quality Measures Clearing-house where users can search for measures that target a particular disease, treatment, age range, gender, vulnerable population, setting...

Preservative-free vaccine. (Products).(Aventis Pasteur Inc. )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... A preservative-free formulation of diphtheria and tetanus toxoids adsorbed USP (for pediatric use) is now available in the United States. The thimerosal-free vaccine, indicated for children with hypersensitivity to the pertussis component in...

Bacterial conjunctivitis Tx. (Products).(Alcon Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Vigamox (moxifloxacin HCl ophthalmic solution) 0.5% is indicated for treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis in children aged 1 year and older. The recommended dose is three times daily for 7 days. Contact Alcon Inc., 800-757-9195,...