Pediatric News articles from May 2005

Pediatric News archives from May 2005

Medicaid ruling in Okla. benefits kids.(News)
May 1, 2005... Oklahoma's Medicaid payments to providers are inadequate to ensure quality care of low-income and disabled children, a federal district court judge has ruled. Judge Claire Eagan's decision in Oklahoma Chapter of the American Academy of...

Vital signs.(Illustration)
May 1, 2005... Top 10 Diagnoses by Pediatricians in 2004 Routine child health exam 22.0% Otitis media 6.9% Acute URI * 5.4% Attention-deficit disorder 3.6% ...

Combo vaccine counters effect of other vaccines: Pnc9-MenC less effective than MenC alone.(News)
May 1, 2005... An experimental vaccine that combines coverage for nine strains of pneumococcus and a single meningococcal strain appears to be less effective than a meningitis vaccine alone, and also decreases the immunogenicity of some other vaccinations...

Tacrolimus, pimecrolimus black box challenged.(News)
May 1, 2005... MAUI, HAWAII -- The American Academy of Dermatology and other professional groups maintain that insufficient evidence exists to justify the Food and Drug Administration's announcement that it will add a black box warning to the labels of...

A penicillin skin test is expected to return to the market within 1 year.(News)
May 1, 2005... San Antonio -- A penicillin skin test is expected to return to the market in about 1 year to fill the gap that was left when the original manufacturer, Hollister-Stier, halted production of PrePen in September 2003. The announcement, which...

Health savings accounts, other products can promote better health behaviors.(News)
May 1, 2005... Health savings accounts and other consumer-directed insurance products can help lower health care utilization and encourage better health behaviors, according to an industry expert. Consumers "begin to recognize that the behaviors that they...

Endothelial function evaluation helps Kawasaki management.(News)
May 1, 2005... SAN DIEGO -- Systemic arterial endothelial dysfunction was significantly related to higher levels of triglycerides and fasting blood glucose, but not to other cardiovascular risk factors in a long-term follow-up study of patients with Kawasaki...

HHS funds speedy vaccine development.(News)(Department of Health and Human Services)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently awarded $97 million to Sanofi Pasteur to speed development of a manufacturing technique that could cut the time it takes to get an influenza vaccine to market. But the technique, which...

Diagnose septic hip arthritis with four predictors: hydration and antibiotics are major components of treatment, along with surgical drainage, irrigation.(News)
May 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Septic arthritis of the hip can be diagnosed in a child using four predictors, Peter D. Pizzutillo, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. The predictors are: sudden onset of...

Prostheses don't help with unilateral congenital below elbow deficiency.(News)
May 1, 2005... The prostheses routinely used for children with unilateral congenital below elbow deficiency do not appear to improve function or quality of life--a finding that Michelle A. James, M.D., said "calls into question" the standard practice of...

M. genitalium present in 11% of sexually active teens.(News)
May 1, 2005... LOS ANGELES -- Mycoplasma genitalium infection had an incidence of 11% in the first study to investigate the epidemiology of this newly recognized sexually transmitted disease in female adolescents, Aneesh K. Tosh, M.D., said at the annual...

High-risk patients did get flu shots this year; CDC officials said despite the shortage, survey found those who needed it most did get vaccine.(Infectious Diseases)
May 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Despite the severe shortage of influenza vaccine this winter, most elderly, young children, and others at risk were able to find and receive shots, officials said at the National Immunization Conference sponsored by the Centers...

Two flu vaccine doses up to 55% effective in influenza-like illness.(Infectious Diseases)
May 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Two doses of influenza vaccine were up to 55% effective against influenza-like illness and 85% effective against pneumonia or flu, Mandy Allison, M.D., said at the National Immunization Conference sponsored by the Centers for...

Don't miss out on vaccinating asthmatic kids for influenza.(Infectious Diseases)
May 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Missed opportunities for immunizing asthmatic children occur frequently during the influenza season, as documented in a Michigan study, Kevin J. Dombkowski, Dr.P.H., and his colleagues reported in a poster presentation at the...

RotaTeq found effective at expiration date.(Infectious Diseases)
May 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Merck's experimental RotaTeq vaccine was effective against moderate and severe rotavirus at the end of its shelf life, which appears to be 18 months, lead investigator Umesh Parashar, M.D., reported at the National Immunization...

How to stop a pertussis outbreak.(Infectious Diseases)
May 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Wisconsin health authorities were able to put a stop to a spiraling outbreak of pertussis by advocating faster testing and use of antibiotics in all suspect cases, a state health department official reported at the National...

Varicella: rates are dropping, but it still can kill.(Infections Diseases)
May 1, 2005... Varicella is still around despite the vaccine--and in some cases it can still be fatal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Varicella vaccination is more than 95% effective against severe disease, and, since 1996,...

Abstinence pledges don't protect against STDs.(Infections Diseases)
May 1, 2005... Teens who take a sexual abstinence pledge delay their sexual debut for a few years, but they have just as many sexually transmitted infections as nonpledgers, probably because they are more likely to engage in noncoital sex and aren't as likely...

Cephalosporins OK in penicillin allergic.(ID Consult)
May 1, 2005... Recent guidelines for the treatment of acute bacterial sinusitis and otitis media advise physicians to do something that most of us were taught never to do: Use a cephalosporin in a penicillin-allergic patient. Unfortunately, those documents...

Candida resistance is rare in high-risk nurseries in the U.S.(Infectious Diseases)
May 1, 2005... MIAMI -- Resistance to Candida species is rare in high-risk nurseries in the United States, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presented in a poster at a meeting on fungal infections sponsored by Imedex....

Study assesses warfarin-antibiotic interactions.(Infectious Diseases)
May 1, 2005... SAN DIEGO -- Children on warfarin should get an international normalized ratio measurement within 2-3 days of starting antibiotic therapy, since they may experience significant changes in INR value, Kathy Hinoki, R.N., reported in a poster...

Limit use of fluoroquinolones to refractory, chronic conditions.(Infectious Diseases)
May 1, 2005... BAL HARBOUR, FLA. -- Fluoroquinolones must be used judiciously in children, Sarah S. Long, M.D., said at the annual Masters of Pediatrics conference sponsored by the University of Miami. These drugs are increasingly available, and they are...

Gonococcal resistance continues to spread.(Infectious Diseases)
May 1, 2005... PHILADELPHIA -- The rate of fluoroquinolone resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae doubled from 2.2% in 2002 to greater than 4% in 2003, and resistant isolates are now surfacing at several sites around the country, according to an official with...

Bronchiolitis management varies.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Significant variations in the use of diagnostic tests and medications for bronchiolitis persisted among hospitals even after controlling for covariates in 17,397 patients younger than 1 year who were hospitalized, reported Dimitri A....

OK to overlook hematuria?(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Diagnostic evaluation of microscopic hematuria in asymptomatic children may be unnecessary, said Jerry Bergstein, M.D., and his colleagues at Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis (Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 2005;159:353-5). A...

Heart rate impacts sepsis.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Abnormal heart rate characteristics (HRC) were significantly associated with sepsis in a prospective study of 678 consecutive infants, said M. Pamela Griffin, M.D., and her associates at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville (Pediatrics...

Fecal H. pylori test is effective.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The Helicobacter pylori fecal test is simple, appropriate, and accurate for screening of H. pylori-positive patients, reported Tamara Sabbi, M.D., of Belcolle Hospital, Viterbo, Italy, and her associates. In a prospective study of 250 patients...

Prevnar inappropriately withheld in high-risk kids.(Infectious Diseases)
May 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Physicians inappropriately delayed giving the third and fourth doses of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to high-risk children during the 2004 shortage, Stephen M. Tannenbaum, M.D., reported at the National Immunization Conference...

States' vaccine financing policy impacts receipt of PCV7.(Infectious Diseases)
May 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Whether or not a child receives at least three doses of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine depends upon the vaccine financing policy of the state he or she resides in, Shannon Stokley and her associates reported in a poster at the...

Metronidazole treatment questioned.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... The study described by Dr. Itzhak Brook showed minimal benefit for patients who took oral metronidazole for treatment of non-group A [beta]-hemolytic streptococcal tonsillitis ("Metronidazole Treats Non-GABHS Tonsillitis," February 2005, p....

Vaccinate and educate.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... Dr. Jerome A. Klobutcher argues that the availability of a human papillomavirus vaccine might cause an increase in rates of sexually transmitted infections because HPV-vaccinated individuals may feel impervious to STIs and may therefore engage...

Providing mental health care.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... Regarding Dr. Patrick Gillette's letter, I too am engaged in primary care psychiatry, and I believe all physicians are involved in some form of psychological or psychiatric evaluations with their patients ("Primary Care Psychiatry," Letters,...

Corrections.(Opinion)(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2005... The article, "Simple Question Screens for Academic Problems"(February 2005, p. 17), should have noted that the question was drawn from Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS), a standardized, validated, and copyrighted...

Begins at home.(Opinion)
May 1, 2005... The growing threat of pertussis--an often silent disease reservoir Long thought to be nearly eradicated, pertussis case reports are at a 40-year high. (2) Today pertussis is the only communicable disease that is on the rise in all age...

Preventive medicine for the mouth.(Editorial)
May 1, 2005... A crisis of supply and demand in oral care for infants is occurring, and primary care doctors need to be as proactive about disease prevention in the mouth as they are in the rest of the body. Most dentists are not comfortable seeing...

Time well spent.(Letters From Maine)
May 1, 2005... A few weeks ago visited my favorite otolaryngologist. He's my favorite because he doesn't cut first and ask questions later. He is also very good at explaining things to parents. Bob is about my age and had already been in practice for a couple...

Oral contraceptives not tied to teen depression.(Behavioral Pediatrics)
May 1, 2005... LOS ANGELES -- Oral contraceptive pills do not cause mood swings or depression in most adolescents. On the contrary, overall, it appears that oral contraceptives increase positive mood and decrease negative mood, Mary A. Ott, M.D., said at the...

Valproate may help child with bipolar disorder.(Behavioral Pediatrics)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... ATLANTA -- Valproate appears to have a beneficial effect on the manic symptoms of child and adolescent patients with bipolar disorder, but no large scale double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have tested the anticonvulsant in young people....

Setting rules of the roost.(Behavioral Consult)
May 1, 2005... All parents get the opportunity to establish an array of rules that define the dos and don'ts of family life, a system of government for the household. You'll find a very broad diversity of governing styles among the families in your practice,...

Young people should be told of family history of alcoholism.(Behavioral Pediatrics)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- A majority of parents in rural Kansas think children should know about problem drinkers in the family, reported Kimber Richter, Ph.D. Approximately 45% of alcoholism is genetic, and knowledge of family history might help...

Help parents to quell aggression in young children.(Behavioral Pediatrics)
May 1, 2005... BAL HARBOUR, FLA. -- Aggression is an increasing and troubling problem among young children, but there are things physicians can do to help parents address the matter, Barbara J. Howard, M.D., said at the annual Masters of Pediatrics conference...

Dance therapy helps in coping with autism.(Behavioral Pediatrics)
May 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Parents whose autistic children turn their lives upside down might turn to a movement therapist for help. Understanding children's nonverbal expressions can help to manage their tantrums and improve their socialization, Suzi...

Talk confidentially with teens about drugs.(Behavioral Pediatrics)
May 1, 2005... SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- Pediatricians need to talk seriously with adolescents about raves, the drug scene, family, and school to detect dangerous problems, an Arizona pediatrician advised physicians attending a pediatric update sponsored by...

Dextromethorphan abuse on the rise, especially as Coricidin.(Behavioral Pediatrics)
May 1, 2005... INCLINE VILLAGE, NEV. -- A 14-year-old intoxicated and confused girl is brought into the emergency department by her parents. She has nystagmus and is extremely ataxic. One of her friends reports that she may have taken some "skittles." ...

Study findings support tailored asthma care.(Clinical Rounds)
May 1, 2005... Children with mild to moderate persistent asthma who have low pulmonary function and/or elevated signs of allergic inflammation should be treated with inhaled corticosteroids. Other asthmatic children could receive a trial of either inhaled...

Chronic pediatric asthma can be predicted early: atopy in children, combined with early onset wheezing is considered the "strongest predictor" for persistent, severe cases.(Clinical Rounds)
May 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- If a child with what seems to be asthma appears in your waiting room, a skin test for allergies will tell you whether you are likely to see a lot more of this patient, according to Elena R. Reece, M.D. However, an even better...

Montelukast cuts intermittent asthma exacerbations.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... A daily dose of the leukotriene-receptor antagonist montelukast resulted in fewer viral-induced exacerbations and less use of inhaled steroids in children with intermittent asthma, according to results of a new study. "This study is the...

Dutch researchers find fluticasone propionate is not effective in infants.(Clinical Rounds)
May 1, 2005... Daily inhaled fluticasone propionate did not improve lung function in wheezy infants after 3 months of therapy, according to a Dutch study. This apparently is the first large, randomized, controlled trial investigating the effects of daily...

Sibutramine can offset pediatric weight disorders.(Clinical Rounds)
May 1, 2005... LAS VEGAS -- Sibutramine (Meridia), an adult diet drug, can help control the weight of children with hypothalamic obesity and other syndromes that make behavioral interventions ineffective, results from a small, double-blind, placebo-controlled...

Teens in recovery drop drugs but add pounds.(Clinical Rounds)
May 1, 2005... Adolescents in a substance abuse recovery facility gained an average of 11 pounds during the first 60 days of their stay, said Candace C. Hodgkins, a doctoral candidate at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and her colleagues. ...

Moderate exercise may benefit boys same as workout.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Walking at the moderate pace of 4 km/h appears as beneficial to fat oxidation as more strenuous exercise in pre-pubertal boys, according to Claudio Maffeis, M.D., of the Department of Pediatrics at University Hospital, Verona, Italy. ...

Zofran, Xopenex HFA metered-dose inhaler.(New & Approved)
May 1, 2005... Zofran (ondansetron injection, GlaxoSmithKline Inc.) The Food and Drug Administration approved two new indications for Zofran (ondansetron) injection: prevention of nausea and vomiting associated with general anesthesia in children as young...

Critical elements missing from the management of atopic dermatitis.(SUPPORTING HEALTHY SKIN IN PATIENTS WITH DERMATOSES)
May 1, 2005... Atopic dermatitis is one of the most common, chronic, and potentially debilitating inflammatory skin diseases. Acute symptom relief can be achieved with today's therapeutic options, but an approach that can safely manage the disease over the...

Blisters, bruises, burns, and cuts.(Beyond Chicken Soup)
May 1, 2005... Hardly anyone gets through childhood without a blister, bruise, burn or cut. These are all part of being a kid. In most cases, these areas of skin damage are minor. Most families have some clues about when it's important to seek immediate...

Side sleeping a SIDS risk in preemies, LBW babies.(Clinical Rounds)(sudden infant death syndrome)(preterm birth)(low-birth-weight infants)
May 1, 2005... RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF. -- Side sleeping--sometimes advocated as an alternative to the prone position for babies with reflux--was associated with an 80-fold increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome in preterm and low-birth-weight infants in...

Adenotonsillectomy no panacea for child's behavior.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF. -- Adenotonsillectomy significantly improved quality of life, daytime sleepiness, and daytime and nighttime breathing in children with obstructive sleep apnea, but it did not change their behavior, concentration, or school...

Girls' sports injury prevention should be a priority.(Clinical Rounds)
May 1, 2005... BAL HARBOUR, FLA. -- In the 1970s, only about 20,000 girls in the United States were involved in high school sports. Now more than 3 million girls participate in sports at that level, and that means pediatricians are seeing more sports-related...

Golf-related injuries come to fore in children.(Clinical Rounds)
May 1, 2005... As the number of children taking to the links has steadily risen, so too has the number of pediatric golf-related head injuries. Golf-related accidents were the second most common cause of sports-related injury, after bicycle use, among...

Many children do not use appropriate car seat restraints.(Clinical Rounds)
May 1, 2005... Fewer than half of children aged 4-8 years used an appropriate car seat restraint in 2003, according to a survey conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The low use of proper restraints for children in that age...

Behavioral therapy effective with constipation when other care fails.(Clinical Rounds)
May 1, 2005... PARIS -- Children with constipation who are resistant to standard care can benefit from behavioral therapy, said Daniel J. Cox, Ph.D., at the Second World Congress of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition. In a study of...

Inflammatory bowel disease tends to be diagnosed at a later age in African American children.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... PARIS -- African American children who have inflammatory bowel disease were likely to be older than other children at the time of diagnosis, Jolanda White, M.D., and her colleagues reported in a poster that was presented at the Second World...

DHA may bring attention benefit for children.(Clinical Rounds)
May 1, 2005... PARIS -- Children whose mothers received docosahexaenoic acid supplements for 4 months post partum performed better on standardized tests of sustained attention at 5 years of age compared with those whose mothers received placebo, Craig Jensen,...

5-ASA therapy can suppress Crohn's flares.(Clinical Rounds)(aminosalicylic acid )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... PARIS -- Almost half (46%) of 1,013 children treated with 5-aminosalicylic acid only for 4 weeks after diagnosis with Crohn's disease had no disease flare within the same year, according to a study sponsored in part by Procter & Gamble...

Child Well-Being Index 2005.(Policy & Practice)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Violence and risky behaviors among children, such as teen birth, smoking, and use of alcohol and illegal drugs, have declined dramatically in the last 30 years, but obesity is still a problem, according to the 2005 Index of Child Well-Being,...

Senator takes on junk food ads.(Policy & Practice)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) is taking on the food industry and broadcasters with legislation that would restore the Federal Trade Commission's authority to restrict "junk food" advertising to children under age 18 years, and give the Secretary of...

Television promotes bullying.(Policy & Practice)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Too much television can lead to bullying, a study of the viewing habits of young children from the University of Washington determined (Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 2005;159:384-8). "The early home environment, including cognitive stimulation,...

Bill on livestock antibiotics.(Policy & Practice)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) have introduced a bill to cut down on the amount of antibiotics used in livestock, citing evidence that increased antibiotic use in animals leads to reduced effectiveness in...

Uninsured projections.(Policy & Practice)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The plight of the uninsured won't likely be resolved anytime soon. More than 1 in 4 American workers--nearly 56 million--under age 65 will be uninsured in 2013 because of the increasing unaffordability of health insurance, a health affairs...

Standardized form helps make referrals easier.(Practice Trends)
May 1, 2005... NEW ORLEANS -- A simple form could help to ease communication between primary care physicians and the dermatologists to whom they refer patients, Wake Forest University researchers wrote in a poster presented at the annual meeting of the...

No 'silver bullet' for health care system.(Practice Trends)
May 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Consumer-driven health care may be all the rage right now, but there's no single cure for the nation's ailing health care system, several experts said at a health care congress sponsored by the Wall Street Journal and CNBC. ...

Computerized prescribing shows promise; medical errors could be reduced by more than 80% in some cases by computerized prescribing.(Practice Trends)
May 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Computerized prescribing could greatly reduce the number of medical errors, especially when it comes to adverse drug events, David Bates, M.D., said at a consensus conference sponsored by the American Association of Clinical...

Raising a child with special needs.(The Rest of Your Life)
May 1, 2005... It's been 10 years since Elyse May was born with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, but her mother, Michelle May, M.D., remembers the experience as if it were yesterday. While Dr. May suspected that her daughter had congenital adrenal...

Telephone triage and liability.(Efficient Pediatrician Practices)
May 1, 2005... Telephone triage is critical to every practice. The nuances of worry in a parent's voice can determine the recommended disposition of the call: The frantic first-time parent of a 2-year-old with a temperature of 102[degrees] F usually is--and...