Pediatric News articles from June 2005

Pediatric News archives from June 2005

Pumping up: tone down in preteens.(News)
June 1, 2005... ORLANDO, FLA. -- "When will Suzie be old enough to lift weights?" an eager parent asks the pediatrician. It's important to remind parents that strength is only one aspect of a young athlete's performance, David Bernhardt, M.D., said at a...

AHA Scientific Statement targets childhood obesity: AAP will soon issue clinical guidelines.(News)(American Heart Association)(American Academy of Pediatrics)
June 1, 2005... A new scientific statement from the American Heart Association is among the first of many resources aimed at helping clinicians in the prevention and treatment of obesity in children. The AHA Scientific Statement on Overweight in Children...

Data support that allergic disease is on the rise.(News)
June 1, 2005... SAN ANTONIO -- The prevalence of allergic disease has increased dramatically over the past 10 years, with dust mite sensitivity leaping furthest ahead, according to a new study. "There have been numerous reports of increases in the rates of...

Recurrent infections with MRSA: treatment efficacy is moderate.(News)
June 1, 2005... PORTLAND, ORE. -- Recurrent infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus are common in children, and the effectiveness of the available treatments is "modest at best," Sarah S. Long, M.D., said at a conference sponsored by the...

Lipoprotein (a) levels high in obese black youth.(News)
June 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Elevated lipoprotein (a) levels are common among obese black children, Daniel L. Preud'Homme, M.D., and his associates reported in a poster at a conference on cardiovascular disease epidemiology and prevention sponsored by the...

Study finds half of obese children are hypertensive.(News)
June 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Almost half of the obese children presenting to one behavioral weight control program had blood pressure in the hypertensive or prehypertensive range, according to data presented at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic...

Look for sleep problems in obese children, teens.(News)
June 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- A sleep history should be included in the routine evaluation of obese children, Daniel L. Preud'Homme, M.D., said in a poster presented at a conference on cardiovascular disease epidemiology and prevention sponsored by the...

How to distinguish diaper psoriasis from seborrheic dermatitis.(News)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... BAL HARBOUR, FLA. -- Diaper-area psoriasis, also known as napkin psoriasis, is a fairly common finding in children, Amy Paller, M.D., said at the annual Masters of Pediatrics conference sponsored by the University of Miami. Although...

Many children live around substance abuse.(News)
June 1, 2005... About half of children in America nearly 36 million of them--live in homes where a parent or other adult uses tobacco, drinks heavily, or uses illicit drugs. That's one of the sobering facts contained in "Family Matters: Substance Abuse...

Tobacco addiction: teens more susceptible.(News)
June 1, 2005... LOS ANGELES -- Adolescents appear to become addicted to cigarettes more easily than adults, according to a study of 220 ninth-graders who smoke. Other studies have suggested this susceptibility to addiction but have not been able to...

Childhood visual health needs improving.(News)
June 1, 2005... Efforts to improve the visual health of American children aren't headed in the direction to meet targeted goals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The national childhood vision objective for 2010 is to reduce the...

Dealing with invasive candidiasis in VLBW infants.(Infectious Diseases)
June 1, 2005... MIAMI -- Antifungal prophylaxis for very-low-birth-weight infants could decrease overall incidence of invasive infections and mortality, considerations that may outweigh valid concerns about emerging resistance, according to a poster...

Summertime hazards.(ID Consult)(parasites)
June 1, 2005... Just in time for summer, I thought I'd offer some pointers on parasites. Of course, parasites exist year round. But as the weather gets warmer and our patients head outside to play in the dirt or splash around in the toddler pool, the...

Lilly halts pediatric Xigris trial for severe sepsis.(Infectious Diseases)(Eli Lilly & Co.)
June 1, 2005... Eli Lilly & Co. has halted a trial of Xigris in pediatric patients with severe sepsis, because the drug failed to show efficacy over placebo, according to a Food and Drug Administration MedWatch report. An interim analysis showed that...

Nosocomially acquired case of KD reported.(Infectious Diseases)(Kawasaki disease )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... SAN DIEGO -- An 11-month-old Asian American boy acquired Kawasaki disease during an extended hospital stay, Wilbert H. Mason, M.D., reported in a poster session at an international Kawasaki disease symposium. In a later interview, he said...

Outpatient PID treatment dicey with adolescents.(Infectious Diseases)(pelvic inflammatory disease )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Los ANGELES -- Adolescents treated for pelvic inflammatory disease are not likely to complete a 14-day course of antibiotics nor return for 72-hour evaluation, according to a study designed to see if implementation of a rigorous institutional...

Food-borne illness down despite salmonella cases.(Infectious Diseases)
June 1, 2005... The incidence of several major food-borne infections declined markedly between 1996 and 2004, preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest. For the first time in 2004, the national incidence of...

Freezing may not sterilize food.(Infectious Diseases)
June 1, 2005... INCLINE VILLAGE, NEV. -- Freezing a food does not always kill all the bacteria in it. Covering boiling water helps kill all the organisms in the pot. And houseflies can carry pathogenic Escherichia coli. Those are some of the...

Interpreting serology tricky in Epstein-Barr mono.(Infectious Diseases)
June 1, 2005... PORTLAND, ORE. -- It's easy to misinterpret the results of serology tests for Epstein-Barr virus, so these results should not substitute for clinical judgment in suspected cases of Epstein-Barr mononucleosis in children, Sarah S. Long, M.D.,...

Reasons for vaccine refusal.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Approximately 69% of 277 parents of non-vaccinated children cited concerns that vaccines might cause harm, said Daniel A. Salmon, Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins University, and his colleagues (Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 2005;159:470-6). In a...

One swab is enough.(Clinical Capsules)(testing for strep)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Use of two throat swabs did not significantly improve the sensitivity of the OIA MAX test for group A streptococcus in a randomized study of 363 children aged 5-18 years with acute pharyngitis, said Elias N. Ezike, M.D., of the Children's...

Group B strep poorly diagnosed.(Clinical Capsules)(streptococci)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... A differential diagnosis in adolescents with purulent vaginal discharge should include group B streptococci, said Liana R. Clark, M.D., and Marisa Atendido of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (J. Adolesc. Health 2005;36:437-40). The...

Pocket pets may pack Salmonella.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified 28 cases of Salmonella enteritidis serotype typhimurium associated with pet rodents including hamsters, mice, and rats between December 2003 and October 2004 (MMWR 2005;54:429-32). The...

Physicians often neglect proper chlamydia treatment follow-up.(Infectious Diseases)
June 1, 2005... LOS ANGELES -- Physicians mostly fail to follow up with adolescent patients they treat for a chlamydia infection, as recommendations state they should, according to a study conducted with the records from five, Northern California pediatrics...

Condom use linked to shorter duration of HPV infection.(Infectious Diseases)
June 1, 2005... LOS ANGELES -- Condom use does matter in human papillomavirus infections, because it is associated with a shorter persistence of infection in females, according to a study of 57 sexually active female adolescents. The study, which followed...

HHV-6 infection peaks between 9 and 21 months, according to new study.(Infectious Diseases)
June 1, 2005... The peak age of acquisition of primary human herpesvirus 6 infection is between 9 and 21 months, according to results of a population-based study of 277 children followed from birth to 2 years. Of the 277, 130 (47%) of the children were...

The nose knows.(Letters From Maine)(using smell as a diagnostic tool)(Column)
June 1, 2005... The receptionist usually scribbles an abbreviated version of the patient's chief complaint at the top of the billing form to give me a heads-up on the diagnostic challenge awaiting me, but Sheila was still learning the job and had left the...

Black Box warnings questioned.(Letters)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... It is important for readers and their patients to understand that in clinical studies, neither Elidel nor Protopic has been associated with an increased risk for systemic infections or malignancies ("Black Boxes Added to Labels for Elidel and...

Dermabond advantages misstated.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2005... A recent article incorrectly stated that "wounds treated with Dermabond can withstand wetness, which is indispensable for patients who want to swim" ("Dermabond Is Popular Alternative to Sutures," April 2005, p. 42). The manufacturer's...

Drug industry funds influence FDA.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2005... In 1992, in an effort to speed up drug approvals, Congress authorized the Food and Drug Administration to collect funds from the brand name drug manufacturers. I recently completed my doctorate in public administration. My thesis explored...

Pain relievers.(Opinion)
June 1, 2005... "They're high fiber, low carb, low fat, and sugar free! Are you sure cigarettes are bad for me?" [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "The pharmacist called about your first electronic prescription, he still can't read it." [ILLUSTRATION...

Cyber technology extends a bully's reach.(Behavioral Pediatrics)
June 1, 2005... HOUSTON -- In the age of 24-hour technology, bullying no longer stops at the playground border. Cyber bullying is a form of harassment using text messages, e-mail, and Web sites. This high-technology approach allows children and...

Insomnia in ADHD kids poses Tx challenge.(Behavioral Pediatrics)
June 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- Insomnia is a real and pressing concern for children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and their families, Judith A. Owens, M.D., said at a psychopharmacology update sponsored by the American Academy of Child and...

ADHD in young children.(Behavioral Consult)(attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder)
June 1, 2005... Pediatricians love the innocence of young children so much that they may be reluctant to see in them the signs of the same serious problems they are used to diagnosing in older children. I think that's the case with attention-deficit...

Rutgers Web site answers teens' questions on sex.(Behavioral Pediatrics)(Sex, Etc.)
June 1, 2005... LOS ANGELES -- If one goes to Google on the Internet and types in the word "sex," the first Web site listed is the place where about 60,000 adolescents a day go for their sex information, with the kinds of questions they are not likely to want...

Consider SLOS in children presenting with autism.(Behavioral Pediatrics)(Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome )
June 1, 2005... GRAPEVINE, TEX. -- Physicians need to be alert to a cause of autism that might not be immediately apparent in milder cases, a Colorado pediatrician warned. Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS), a disorder caused by a defect in the cholesterol...

Fissured tongue is common in down patients.(Clinical Rounds)
June 1, 2005... FLORENCE, ITALY -- More than 60% of children and young adults with Down syndrome had notable skin and mucous membrane conditions in a study presented at the 13th Congress of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. "With increasing...

40 specific disorder summaries on the way.(Clinical Rounds)
June 1, 2005... GRAPEVINE, TEX. -- In response to the expansion of newborn screening to more than 40 specific disorders, three medical groups are composing single-page summaries of the disorders, to help physicians convey information to families, a development...

Use presumptive benefit of newborn screening for mental retardation.(Clinical Rounds)
June 1, 2005... GRAPEVINE, TEX. -- Newborn testing for mental retardation should be conducted to provide earlier access to intervention programs for the child and information on the future reproductive risk for the parents, according to a child development...

Tx lessens behavioral problems in refractory epilepsy patients.(Clinical Rounds)
June 1, 2005... Controlling seizures often lessens behavioral and neuropsychological problems that are ubiquitous in children with refractory epilepsy, said Marc Boel, M.D., of University Hospitals Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium. Among 573 such children...

Birth defects were top cause of infant deaths in 2000.(DATA WATCH)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Birth Defects Were Top Cause of Infant Deaths in 2000 Rate per 100,000 live births Congenital malformations, deformations, chromosomal abnormalities 142 Disorders...

Articles that will affect clinical care.(Clinical Rounds)(care standards for febrile infants)(protecting children from second hand smoke)(treating hypertension in children and youth)
June 1, 2005... PORTLAND, ORE. -- Joseph A. Zenel, M.D., offered what he considers the most significant developments in pediatric medicine to be published in 2004 at a conference sponsored by the North Pacific Pediatric Society. These articles share the...

Asthma guidelines for children said to misguide.(Clinical Rounds)
June 1, 2005... RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF. -- Current asthma guidelines, widely promoted to encourage more aggressive asthma management, actually result in missed diagnosis and undertreatment for children with asthma, Joseph D. Spahn, M.D., said at a pediatric...

The best of beyond chicken soup.(BEYOND CHICKEN SOUP)(folk remedies for various conditions)
June 1, 2005... Over the years I've learned to ask for families' recipes for healing. I am convinced that most of these home remedies actually do something positive. Perhaps some represent ancient folk wisdom that that science is only now beginning to test....

Study: Kawasaki doesn't impact quality of life.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... SAN DIEGO -- Health-related quality of life in adolescents and young adults with Kawasaki disease is excellent regardless of coronary sequelae, according to results from a large cross-sectional study of Japanese patients presented at an...

Meditation benefits black teens with BP problems.(Clinical Rounds)(blood pressure)
June 1, 2005... VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Transcendental meditation may improve vascular function in African American teenagers with highnormal blood pressure, Vernon A. Barnes, Ph.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society. ...

Meeting with health care team helps parents deal with congenital heart defects.(Clinical Rounds)
June 1, 2005... GRAPEVINE, TEX. -- A conference on congenital heart defects where parents could interact with the whole medical and health care team strengthened trust and aided in parental knowledge about dealing with their child's heart defect. Baylor...

Head start: CV risk reduction program in preschoolers.(Clinical Rounds)(cardiovascular)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... ORLANDO, FLA. -- It's never too early to make lifestyle changes aimed at reducing cardiovascular risk, a new German study shows. A group of German preschoolers had significantly improved cardiovascular risk profiles as well as...

Boostrix, Asmanex Twisthaler.(New & Approved)
June 1, 2005... Boostrix (tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis vaccine, adsorbed; GlaxoSmithKline Inc.) The Food and Drug Administration approved Boostrix, the first combination vaccine that provides adolescents with a booster...

More reason to buckle up the kids.(Clinical Rounds)
June 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- New emergency department data offer more reasons why children should buckle up in the car. The odds of hospital admission for children involved in car accidents were 14 times greater among children who were unrestrained,...

OCs said to pose no heart risk for adolescents.(Clinical Rounds)(oral contraception)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... LOS ANGELES -- Hormonal contraception does not appear to affect cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents, Jennifer G. Kapella, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the Society for Adolescent Medicine. In a study that enrolled 50 adolescent...

Parental atopy increases risk in children.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... SAN ANTONIO -- A finding of atopy in a parent is a clue to the increased likelihood of atopy in his or her child--even if the child is as young as 1 year of age, according to a new study. But allergies may differ between parents and...

Cervical screening guidelines evolving for adolescents.(Clinical Rounds)
June 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- With revisions to the consensus guidelines for the management of women with cervical cytological abnormalities expected in 2006, experts are taking a hard look at ways the guidelines might be tailored to be more age specific. ...

Cold packs for vulvar contusions.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- A vulvar injury in a child is likely to heal without major intervention, even if a large hematoma is present and the patient complains of severe pain, David Muram, M.D., said at a gynecology conference sponsored by Mount Sinai...

Summer comeback expected for the contraceptive sponge.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... More than a decade after it was taken off the market because of manufacturing issues, the contraceptive sponge has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration and is expected to be available this summer. The Today Sponge, which is...

In teens, most abnormal cervical cytology regresses.(Clinical Rounds)
June 1, 2005... WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. VA. -- Most abnormal cervical cytology in adolescent women will be low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, and will regress to normal by the follow-up exam, Andrea Wininger, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the...

All work and no play? No way!(The Rest of Your Life)
June 1, 2005... A few years ago, Jerry Rogoff, M.D., became so engrossed in a wood-working project that he lost track of time. An intercom system links his Vermont home to a workshop on the property. At some point in the day, his wife's voice resonated...

A pediatrician masters the ski slopes.(Practice Trends)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Ski racer Suzanne C. Boulter, M.D., flies downhill faster than most other snow skiers her age, and she has the credentials to prove it. In 2003, she won the women's Masters National Championship in Park City, Utah, in the 55- to 59-year-old...

Avoid pitfalls of electronic records implementation: staff input is essential since these are the people who really know what goes on in your practice.(Practice Trends)
June 1, 2005... BOSTON -- To successfully implement an electronic health record system, set clear and specific goals and involve your clinical and administrative staff in all of the planning, Jerome H. Carter, M.D., said at a congress sponsored by the American...

Barriers to sharing data between systems inhibit EHRs.(Practice Trends)(electronic health records)
June 1, 2005... BOSTON -- Interoperability is key to the success of electronic health records, but there are barriers to sharing data between systems, said David Brailer, M.D., national coordinator for health information technology. The major challenges...

What patients are willing to pay per month for e-mail consultations.(DATA WATCH)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... What Patients Are Willing to Pay per Month for E-Mail Consultations $1-$5 42% $6-$10 33% >$10 25% Note: Based on a nationwide survey of 2,014 adults from March 27 to April 2, 2002; 37% said they would be willing...

Risks of losing insurance.(Policy & Practice)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... For parents, losing employer-based health insurance means their children could be uninsured for long periods of time, the American Academy of Pediatrics reports. Among an estimated 3 million children whose parents lose employer-based insurance...

Data on children's hospitals.(Policy & Practice)
June 1, 2005... Hospitalizations at children's hospitals account for only one-third of pediatric inpatients. Examining data from the 2000 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids' Inpatient Database, Richard Wasserman, M.D., and a team of researchers found...

Foster care, fewer meds.(Policy & Practice)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Children in foster homes often lack medications for chronic conditions, Heather Forkey, M.D., and her colleagues at the University of Massachusetts report. By looking at health care data on 75 foster children, they found that more than 80% went...

Vaccine underinsurance.(Policy & Practice)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Just because you have insurance doesn't mean you're covered for immunizations, a survey of 995 Americans conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, indicated. As many as 5 million privately insured children and 36...

Depression and marijuana use.(Policy & Practice)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... The evidence for a link between marijuana use and depression is getting stronger, according to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. The office's National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows that, among persons aged 18 years...

Pertussis transmission begins at home.
June 1, 2005... How do infants get pertussis? They get it from their family. That's right--their moms and DADS, brothers and sisters, even grandma and grandpa! Nearly 75% of the time, a family member is the source of pertussis disease in infants (1)...

W.Va. sees improvement after passage of reform.(Practice Trends)(West Virginia )
June 1, 2005... The malpractice environment may be starting to improve for physicians in one state 2 years after a comprehensive medical liability reform bill was enacted there. "It's probably too early to see a huge improvement," said Frederick C. Blum,...

Being on call.(Efficient Pediatrician Practices)
June 1, 2005... One of the true joys of practicing pediatrics (not!) is having the responsibility for patient care 24/7--and that includes being on call at night after the office is closed. Being available all night and all weekend is a responsibility that we...