Pediatric News articles from July 2008

Pediatric News archives from July 2008

Combo vaccines are mixed blessing.(News)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ATLANTA -- The availability of two new combination vaccines for routine childhood immunization provides increased opportunity for reducing the number of needle sticks that children must endure, but at the same time...

ACIP acts to ease scheduling of two rotavirus vaccines: goal is to harmonize RotaTeq and Rotarix.(News)
July 1, 2008... ATLANTA -- The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted at its summer meeting to simplify and "harmonize" the routine childhood immunization schedule by raising the maximum ages at...

AAP calls for aggressive lipid screening, therapies.(News)
July 1, 2008... Citing new information on obesity, poor diet, and lack of exercise, the American Academy of Pediatrics has called on its members to become more aggressive in screening children for dyslipidemia. The AAP now recommends that children aged...

Sleep-related infant deaths triple.(News)
July 1, 2008... HONOLULU -- Infant mortality attributable to accidental sleep-related suffocation and strangulation in bed more than tripled between 1990 and 2004, from 3.4 to 12.5 per 100,000 live births, according to federal data. Deaths from sudden...

Lead in artificial turf brings CDC advisory: high levels of the toxic heavy metal have been found in the dust and fibers on fields, especially older ones.(News)
July 1, 2008... The discovery of high levels of lead in dust and fibers from artificial turf sports fields in New Jersey has prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a health advisory to pediatric care providers about the potential for...

Feds' strategic plan seeks 40% EHR usage by 2012.(News)
July 1, 2008... If the feds have it their way, 40% of physician offices will be using certified electronic health records by 2012. The goal is part of a strategic plan for coordinating the federal government's health IT efforts over the next 4 years, and...

RotaTeq may not raise risk for intussusception.(News)
July 1, 2008... ATLANTA -- The rotavirus vaccine RotaTeq is not associated with an increased risk of intussusception among infants in the United States during either the 1-day to 7-day period following vaccination or the 1-day to 21-day period, according to...

Two decisions delayed on PPV23 use after PCV7.(News)
July 1, 2008... ATLANTA -- Recommendations regarding use of the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in high-risk children aged 24-59 months who previously received the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine remain to be finalized after discussion of...

Rotavirus season is later, less severe than past 15.(News)
July 1, 2008... ATLANTA -- Rotavirus activity in the ongoing 2007-2008 season in the United States appears to have been delayed in onset by 2-4 months and to have diminished in magnitude by more than 50%, compared with the previous 15 seasons, coinciding with...

Prophylaxis ruled out for simple febrile seizures.(News)
July 1, 2008... Despite evidence suggesting that prophylactic continuous or intermittent anticonvulsant therapy can reduce the risk of recurrent simple febrile seizures in children, the potential toxicities of such treatment outweigh the relatively minor risks...

Formula change may cut allergy markers at age 3.(News)
July 1, 2008... HONOLULU -- Infant formula supplemented with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids was associated with a 71% decrease in the odds of being diagnosed with allergic manifestations during the first 3 years of life, according to a study of 89...

Most parents favor HPV vaccine at younger ages.(Infectious Diseases)
July 1, 2008... NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. -- A study of 61 parents of infants and children up to 10 years of age suggests that parents may favor the idea of giving the human papillomavirus vaccine at a very young age rather than during adolescence. The study...

Infection specialists step up MRSA fight: staff education leads among new measures reported in an APIC poll of 2,041 of its members.(Infectious Diseases)
July 1, 2008... During the past year, more than 75% of infection Wprevention and control professionals have taken extra steps to prevent transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in health care facilities, according to results of a survey...

Options for treating skin infections in the CA-MRSA era.(Infectious Diseases)
July 1, 2008... HONOLULU -- For community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections of the face, cephalexin should rarely be the antibiotic of choice, according to a decision analysis performed by researchers at the University of...

Lab tests find more infants' bacterial infections.(Infectious Diseases)
July 1, 2008... HONOLULU -- A few simple, inexpensive laboratory tests conducted in the outpatient setting could have identified which febrile infants were likely to have serious bacterial infections and should have been considered candidates for hospital...

To x-ray or not in child with signs of pneumonia.(Infectious Diseases)
July 1, 2008... HONOLULU -- Of 526 children presenting to an emergency department with wheezing--but no fever or hypoxia--only 3.7% turned out to have radiographically diagnosed pneumonia. On the other hand, of 308 children without the classic lower...

Virtually all pediatricians follow Tdap guidelines.(Infectious Diseases)
July 1, 2008... HONOLULU -- One year after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new recommendations on vaccinating adolescents against pertussis, 96% of pediatricians but only 75% of family physicians were recommending the vaccine routinely,...

Patches among new vaccine delivery methods.(I.D. CONSULT)
July 1, 2008... Innovative vaccines in the pipeline offer needle-less alternatives that will help alleviate the human pincushion problem as well as facilitate immunization in the developing world. Transdermal patches, oral administration via food or drink,...

Third-trimester maternal flu vaccine also protects infant.(Infectious Diseases)(Clinical report)
July 1, 2008... HONOLULU -- When women are given influenza vaccine in their third trimester of pregnancy, their infants receive protection against flu infection, results of a randomized controlled trial of more than 300 pregnant women confirm. "This is...

Catch-up immunization software.(Infectious Diseases)
July 1, 2008... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is offering an online software tool designed to help health care providers and parents determine how to adjust complex childhood immunization schedules to catch up on missed vaccinations in...

Vaccine refusers pose liability issues.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2008... Regarding the standardized patients who graded pediatricians on their care, I applaud the physicians who didn't dismiss them because they declined the required/recommended immunizations, but that wouldn't have been me ("What to Say and Do When...

Autism: address, don't deny concerns.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2008... The autism editorial by Lawrence Scahill, Ph.D., is very upsetting ("Autism Is Not an Epidemic," Guest Editorial, April 2008, p. 24). I know that editorials are supposed to be controversial; however, this article just continues the...

Yes, there is an autism epidemic.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2008... I am writing in response to an editorial by Lawrence Scahill, Ph.D., about autism ("Autism Is Not an Epidemic," Guest Editorial, April 2008, p. 24). I am not an epidemiologist or a neuropsychologist and have no formal training in autism...

A good book for pediatricians.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2008... When I was a resident pediatrician, I picked up a Barton D. Schmitt telephone triage book and perused it ("How to Select Books on Parenting," January 2008, p. 38). It was great! It had all the answers that I faced in clinic. How to get the...

Pediatricians: enjoy the happy times.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2008... I thoroughly enjoyed Barbara J. Howard's recent column ("Smile and the Kids Smile With You," Behavioral Consult, May 2008, p. 20). I think I am young today because of playing during my work time. All the worries of an adult melt away in these...

Pain relievers.
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "More and more patients are going to the Internet for medical advice. To keep my practice going, I changed my name to Dr. Google."

Home, sweet home.(Letters From Maine)
July 1, 2008... That steady buzzing sound bugging me for the last couple of years has finally gotten so loud that I must write about the two words that are causing all the noise: Medical Home. How could one possibly argue with a concept that has such a nice...

Abused moms are more likely to spank infants.(Behavioral Pediatrics)(Clinical report)
July 1, 2008... HONOLULU -- Corporal punishment was being used by 1 in 7 mothers to discipline their 11-month-olds in a prospective study of 1,378 mothers. Dr. Esther K. Chung, primary investigator, said the findings suggest that pediatricians may want to...

Fostering self-esteem through the ages.(Behavioral Consult)
July 1, 2008... An individual's core sense of self-esteem is cultivated from birth, as a baby receives the attention and affection provided by the caretaker. When an infant's cry is comforted, her hunger nourished, her smiles met with smiles, the message is...

Lead and intrauterine tobacco exposure may trigger ADHD.(Behavioral Consult)
July 1, 2008... HONOLULU -- More than 800,000 cases of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in the United States may be linked to childhood exposure to lead and intrauterine exposure to tobacco smoke, according to the results of a study Dr. Tanya E....

St. John's wort is found not beneficial in ADHD.(Behavioral Pediatrics)
July 1, 2008... An 8-week course of St. John's wort did not improve attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms in what researchers described as the first-ever randomized clinical trial of the herbal remedy in children and adolescents, according to a...

High-risk youth behaviors decreasing over time.(Behavioral Pediatrics)
July 1, 2008... Fewer high school students are engaging in certain high-risk health behaviors today, compared with their counterparts in the early 1990s, according to data from the 2007 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Although large numbers of...

Using Daytrana patch 4-6 hours benefits ADHD.(Behavioral Pediatrics)
July 1, 2008... Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder who wore Daytrana methylphenidate transdermal patches for stretches of 4 or 6 hours experienced improvements in their ADHD symptoms, results from a multicenter controlled trial of 117 young...

Low vitamin D linked to asthma exacerbations.(Clinical Rounds)
July 1, 2008... PHILADELPHIA -- Children with asthma and on treatment with inhaled corticosteroids who had insufficient blood levels of vitamin D had an increased risk of asthma exacerbations during 4 years of follow-up in a study with 305 children. The...

Watchful waiting best in neurofibromatosis type 1.(Clinical Rounds)
July 1, 2008... LA JOLLA, CALIF. -- The way Dr. Lynne M. Bird sees it, the $1,500 gene sequencing test for neurofibromatosis type 1 in children is rarely necessary because it usually does not change clinical management. [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] She...

'Rx: physical activity' urged to combat childhood obesity.(Clinical Rounds)
July 1, 2008... GENEVA -- Increasing physical activity levels in children and adolescents is just what the doctor should order to reverse the rate of childhood and adolescent obesity, according to Dr. Denes Molnar, professor and head of the department of...

Newborn screening for X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy on the horizon.(SPECIAL NEEDS: REALIZING POTENTIAL)
July 1, 2008... It is a given that no pediatric neurologist wants to see a young boy present with severely symptomatic adrenoleukodystrophy. This devastating demyelinating disease affects the brain, spinal cord, adrenal glands, and testes, and in its most...

When to drop the medical jargon.(ON THE LEARNING CURVE)
July 1, 2008... As medical students, we all learn to communicate with other medical professionals; we learn the "lingo" of the health care field. A statement such as, "Don't forget to sign out during rounds that patient X needs a stat CBC and Chem 7, and may...

Behind the Medicaid Safety Act.(HEALTH POLICY: THE FINE LINE)
July 1, 2008... I recently received an e-mail asking that I contact my congressman in support of H.R. 5613. This is a complicated bill. As someone with experience, I still had difficulty understanding the context of the proposed legislation, even with the...

Congress reverses Medicare's physician pay cut.(Practice Trends)
July 1, 2008... After several delays, Congress has acted to reverse a scheduled 10.6% cut to physician fees under Medicare and thus avert an estimated 5.4% cut that would have taken effect in January 2009. The legislation (H.R. 6331), which passed the...

Child mental health web site.(Practice Trends)(Website overview)
July 1, 2008... The Child Health and Development Interactive System has launched a new Web site, www.chadis.com, which features a demonstration video and a listing of mental health assessment tools for different age ranges. Managed by Total Child Health Inc.,...

FDA launches drug-safety surveillance system.(Practice Trends)
July 1, 2008... The Food and Drug Administration has developed a new national electronic surveillance system that will allow it to search and analyze claims data and other clinical databases for possible postmarket adverse events for drugs and medical devices....

Medical schools take stand against industry gifts.(Practice Trends)
July 1, 2008... Medical schools and teaching hospitals should prohibit their physicians, faculty, residents, and students from taking gifts and services from drug companies, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Industry support for...

Pediatric hospitalists cut costs, length of stay.(Practice Trends)
July 1, 2008... HONOLULU -- Patients on a pediatric hospitalist service spent a mean 38% fewer days in the hospital and had 29% lower direct costs, on average, than did patients on traditional house staff services, according to a 1-year study of more than 900...

Court overturns gun ban.(Policy & Practice)
July 1, 2008... The U.S. Supreme Court last month struck down the District of Columbia's ban on handgun ownership in a landmark 5-4 decision holding that the District's law violated the Second Amendment. The D.C. ban, one of the strictest in the nation, made...

Head start to cut enrollment.(Policy & Practice)
July 1, 2008... Faced with an effective $1 billion cut in funding since 2002, costly new administrative requirements, and a lack of congressional action on supplemental funding, Head Start programs across the United States will be forced to cut enrollment by...

States miss breast-feeding measure.(Policy & Practice)
July 1, 2008... Only four states--Alaska, Montana, Oregon, and Washington--have met all five Healthy People 2010 federal targets for breast-feeding, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which bases its results on a 2007 survey of...

Feds: THC levels are at a new high.(Policy & Practice)
July 1, 2008... The federal government says that levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in marijuana are at the highest-ever recorded amounts, and that the potency may be contributing to increasing numbers of teenagers seeking treatment for dependence. The...

Performance-enhancing drug bill.(Policy & Practice)
July 1, 2008... Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) has introduced a bill to help eliminate the use of performance-enhancing drugs by high school athletes. The High School Sports Anti-Drug Act would require the Secretary of Education to award grants to states to...

Blogging offers an outlet for opinion, creativity.(The Rest of Your Life)(Reprint)
July 1, 2008... When Dr. Allen Roberts launched his medical blog, www.grunt doc.com, in May of 2002 with encouragement from a colleague, he was not sure what he was getting into. "I resisted for a year," said Dr. Roberts, an emergency medicine physician...