Pediatric News articles from March 2009

Pediatric News archives from March 2009

HepA vaccine: more adoptee contacts.(INFECTIOUS DISEASES)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ATLANTA -- Hepatitis A vaccination should be given to all previously unvaccinated nontraveling individuals who will be in close personal contact with an internationally adopted child, the Advisory Committee on...

Stimulus law to target health IT, primary care: EHR incentives linked to Medicaid volume.(NEWS)(electronic health records)
March 1, 2009... The newly enacted economic stimulus law will infuse tens of billions of dollars into the health care sector, providing incentives for using health information technology, increasing funds for primary care training, and launching initiatives in...

Hyperthyroidism presents as cardiac symptoms.(NEWS)
March 1, 2009... Cardiac symptoms in a child should raise a high index of suspicion of hyperthyroidism, based on the results of a single-center study that also found prominent behavioral and mood issues in many children with the diagnosis. Hyperthyroidism...

National child development study begins recruitment.(NEWS)
March 1, 2009... Resarchers in North Carolina and New York are beginning to recruit volunteers as part of a huge federal study that will examine the relative effects of genes and environment on children's development. The researchers plan to track 100,000...

Delaying vaccines risks serious infection.(ID CONSULT)
March 1, 2009... Here's an important message for the vaccine-hesitant parents in your practice: Delaying immunizations places your infant at risk for serious infection. Physicians who care for children have been increasingly encountering parents who are...

Gardasil prevents HPV infection in teen boys.(INFECTIOUS DISEASES)
March 1, 2009... ATLANTA -- The human papillomavirus vaccine was efficacious in preventing persistent infections and genital warts caused by HPV strains 6, 11, 16, and 18 in a Merck-sponsored study of 4,065 males aged 16-26 years. The findings were...

No apparent tie between MCV4, Guillain-Barre: despite reassuring new data, the jury is still out on potential link.(INFECTIOUS DISEASES)
March 1, 2009... ATLANTA -- The jury is still out regarding a potential link between the quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine and Guillain-Barre syndrome, but new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provide some reassurance in favor...

ACIP updates vaccine storage guidelines.(INFECTIOUS DISEASES)
March 1, 2009... ATLANTA--Clarifications to existing vaccine guidelines aimed at ensuring appropriate vaccine storage temperatures were approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The new...

13-valent PCV poised to replace 7-valent version.(INFECTIOUS DISEASES)
March 1, 2009... ATLANTA -- Wyeth Pharmaceuticals is in the process of planning the transition from routine childhood immunization with the 7-valent Prevnar to use of a 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine that is still under investigation. The Food...

FDA panel votes on the strains for the next flu vaccine.(INFECTIOUS DISEASES)
March 1, 2009... SILVER SPRING, MD. -- The influenza B strain in the current influenza vaccine in the United States should be replaced for the 2009-2010 influenza vaccine, according to a preliminary recommendation by a federal advisory panel, which based its...

Who should be the face of pediatrics?(LETTERS FROM MAINE)
March 1, 2009... Even if you are just a casual fan of professional football, you may have noticed this past season, on the back of every player's helmet, the letters "GU" and the number "63" in a dark circle. This commemorated Gene Upshaw, the longtime...

Address acne, but use a gentle touch.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... There was much that was wonderful about the advice from Dr. Alfred T. Lane, especially the concept of "touching" patients with acne ("Treatments for Acne, Beginning With Touch," October 2008, p. 34). However, I strongly disagree with Dr....

Correct dosing for strep.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... Dr. Michael E. Pichichero wrote an article about short-course therapy for strep ("Embrace Short-Course Therapy For Strep," ID Consult, December 2008, p. 11). He identified three antibiotics: azithromycin, cefindar, and cefpodoxime. He...

Avoid push toward tummy time.(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... I was appalled by the recent article, "Tummy Time Key to Prevent Delays" (Guest Editorial, October 2008, p.24). I am a board-certified pediatrician and a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego, with 31...

Recess tied to improved classroom behavior.(BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE)(Clinical report)
March 1, 2009... Third graders who had at least some recess during their school day were better behaved, according to a longitudinal study of schoolchildren. Teachers rated children who had at least one 15-minute free-play session every day as better...

Risk of GI disorders increased with autism.(BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE)
March 1, 2009... Children with autism spectrum disorders had a 5.3-fold greater probability of having a gastrointestinal disorder than did their nonautistic siblings, in a large study of families enrolled in the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange Consortium. ...

Interventions beyond the community.(BEHAVIORAL CONSULT)
March 1, 2009... When dealing with a troubled teenager in your practice, you and the family may find yourselves working with various outside sources, beginning perhaps with a teacher or school guidance counselor, school psychologist, family or behavioral...

Psychiatric illness in children with special needs.(SPECIAL NEEDS: REALIZING POTENTIAL)
March 1, 2009... Our understanding of comorbid mental illness in children and adolescents with special needs has increased dramatically over the past few decades. Several studies from multiple countries have demonstrated that individuals with intellectual...

Top 10 reasons for hospital admissions for children.(DATA WATCH)
March 1, 2009... Top 10 Reasons for Hospital Admissions for Children Number of discharges Pneumonia 162,000 Acute bronchitis 140,000 Asthma ...

Presymptomatic testing of minors.(GENOMIC MEDICINE)
March 1, 2009... Your first patient of the day, June, is a bright and mature 16-year-old who prematurely lost her favorite maternal aunt to metastatic breast cancer. Before her death, June's aunt informed June that her cancer was related to a mutation in the...

NAFLD raises risk of liver transplant, death.(CLINICAL ROUNDS)(Clinical report)
March 1, 2009... SAN FRANCISCO -- Children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease have 14 times the risk of dying or requiring a liver transplant, compared with children with normal livers, according to a retrospective, longitudinal, hospital-based cohort study....

Most newborns are now screened.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
March 1, 2009... All 50 states and the District of Columbia now require that every newborn be screened for most life-threatening disorders, although Pennsylvania and West Virginia still are in the process of implementing their expanded programs, according to a...

CPSC enforces lead law.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
March 1, 2009... The Consumer Product Safety Commission has begun enforcing a strict new limit on lead reaching children: that consumer products intended for those 12 years and younger cannot have more than 600 parts per million of lead in any accessible part....

Foster children's health care varies.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
March 1, 2009... Access to health care for foster children varies dramatically from state to state, according to a Government Accountability Office report on health practices in foster care. Some states have increased Medicaid payments to encourage physicians...

AAP backs drinking age campaign.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
March 1, 2009... The American Academy of Pediatrics has thrown its support behind federal legislation that would back a minimum legal drinking age of 21 and provide new tools for health care providers to reduce underage drinking. The bill (H.R. 1028),...

Pediatrician to head CDC.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
March 1, 2009... Pediatrician Richard E. Besser has been named acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, succeeding Dr. Julie Gerberding, who stepped down with the change in administrations. Dr. Besser previously served as the...

Developing leadership, part 2.(ON THE LEARNING CURVE)
March 1, 2009... Last month, as an introduction to leadership development, I discussed the need to clarify one's own goals and objectives before looking outward and guiding others. As leaders, there are many additional opportunities for personal reflection that...

Creation of national health insurance exchange proposed.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
March 1, 2009... A national health insurance exchange that would allow individuals to choose among private plans or a new nationwide public plan is the cornerstone of an expert panel's proposal to cover nearly all Americans within 2 years and slow the growth of...