Marian Freedman

The American Academy of Pediatrics’ (American Academy of Pediatrics) newly issued recommendations for supervising the health care of children with Williams syndrome are based on a review of the current literature along with the consensus of physicians and psychologists with expertise in managing this condition, which is caused by a deletion of part of chromosome 7.

When added to existing antiepileptic treatment, fenfluramine hydrochloride significantly reduced the frequency of convulsive seizures in children and young adults with Dravet syndrome and had a dose-response effect, according to a randomized trial in patients in whom seizures had not been completely controlled by their current treatment regimen.

A survey of 552 clinicians showed that fellowship training, resident supervision, years of independent practice, and practice location also influence the likelihood of routinely ordering a CXR in children who present with a first episode of wheezing.

Although the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends routine screening renal bladder ultrasound (RBUS) after a first febrile urinary tract infection (UTI), a comparison of this strategy with routine RBUS after a second UTI found that the AAP approach does not meet cost-effectiveness guidelines.

A study of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels that compared levels in normal-weight and obese middle schoolers found that overall distribution of HbA1c was similar in the 2 groups and that the adult-defined cutoff was seen in 2% of normal-weight youth.

Newborn infants with tongue-tie (ankyloglossia) are more likely to have severe breastfeeding problems than infants without the condition, according to an observational study carried out in Germany in newborn mother-infant pairs.

Children who received virtual reality (VR) education before undergoing chest radiography showed lower levels of stress during the procedure than their peers who did not receive the VR exposure, a randomized trial in 99 children found.

A study in 512 mother-child pairs from 6 major cities in Canada found that exposure to higher levels of fluoride during pregnancy was associated with lowered intelligent quotient (IQ) scores in their children at the age of 3 to 4 years.

Palivizumab appears to be effective for reducing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in high-risk infants, according to results of a study in Australia.

Teenagers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or parent-reported “trouble staying focused” are poorer drivers and make more driving errors than their peers during the teenagers’ learning permit period according to recent survey data.

Following the death of Michael G. Burke, MD, his long-time collaborator Marian Freedman and other colleagues shared their rememberances of Dr. Burke and the impact he had on pediatrics. 

Children who are prescribed montelukast for managing their asthma are nearly twice as likely to experience a neuropsychiatric event as asthmatic children who are taking other asthma maintenance medications.

Children with asthma who use a web- and mobile–web-based self-management tool show high and sustained self-monitoring and improved asthma outcomes, a study in asthmatic children showed.

Applying sunscreen as often as manufacturers recommend results in plasma concentrations of sunscreen’s 4 active ingredients that exceed the threshold for safety concerns established by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to a recent study.

Parents who use a web-based educational tool to boost what they know about measuring and managing fever gain significantly more knowledge than parents who follow solely written and verbal instruction, according to a trial in caregivers of children with fever.

A physician incentive program (PIP) that provides primary care providers (PCPs) with bonuses tied to specific goals to decrease pediatric emergency department (ED) use significantly decreases such visits, according to a retrospective analysis involving 1376 PCPs who participated in the PIP.

An evaluation of national and state-level trends in obesity prevalence among 2- to 4-year-old participants in the US Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) found that the changes in the 2009 WIC food packages to better align with dietary guidelines are associated with a decline in the risk of obesity among these children.

Young children whose parents are screened via telephone about their offspring’s development are far more likely to be referred for evaluation and to receive services than children who receive usual care from their primary care provider (PCP), a randomized trial involving 152 youngsters found.

Living in a dwelling that is close to greenspace reduces youngsters’ risk for behaviors associated with neurobehavioral problems. This relationship varies with the type of behavior, the child’s age, and the proximity of the greenspace, according to a study conducted in an ongoing prospective birth cohort.

When parents and children read a book together they have better collaborative experiences when the books are traditional print volumes than when they are tablet-based (electronic) books, according to a recent study in 37 parent-toddler pairs.

Adolescents who initially screened as being at highest risk for alcohol problems on a 2-question screen were more likely than their peers to have more drinking days and be at higher risk for alcohol use disorders at 1, 2, and 3 years after the screen, a large study showed. Participants were 12- to 17-year-olds treated for a non–life-threatening injury, illness, or mental health condition in 1 of 16 pediatric emergency departments.

More providers have been recommending human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to their adolescent male patients in recent years, and the effort seems to be paying off: HPV vaccination coverage among boys aged 13 to 17 years increased from 8.3% in 2011 to 57.3% in 2016, while the proportion of providers who recommended the vaccination to this patient group increased from 14.2% to 65.5%.

Children of women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than children of nonsmoking mothers, according to the first study to investigate the association between smoking and ADHD based on nicotine serum biomarker levels rather than self-reported smoking. Further, the investigation found that as the amount of smoking increases, so does the likelihood of ADHD.

A 1-year randomized trial in 886 adults living in the United Kingdom showed that electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are more effective for smoking cessation than nicotine-replacement therapy.

Children aged 24 and 36 months who spend a lot of time in front of screens do less well on standardized developmental screening tests than other children, a longitudinal group study conducted in Canada showed.

Moderate aerobic exercise seems to be an effective treatment for adolescents after sport-related concussion, according to results of a randomized trial conducted in 103 athletes aged 13 to 18 years who entered the study within 10 days of being injured.

Watching a short training video that addresses provider related barriers to vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) corrects common misperceptions about HPV and the vaccine, increases providers’ comfort in counseling vaccine-hesitant parents, and facilitates vaccine completion.

Release of school report cards on a Friday is associated with a significant rise in certified child physical abuse reports the following day, a retrospective study of a single academic year in Florida found. 

Whereas rates of screening for adolescent major depressive disorder (MDD) have increased in recent years, they still are insufficient to address the current mental health crisis among adolescents, an analysis of countrywide data for 413,080 12- to 14-year-olds showed.

Many 6- and 12-month-old infants do not yet sleep through the night, but Canadian researchers found no significant associations between this situation and infants’ mental and psychomotor development or their mothers’ mood.