Infectious Diseases

With all the talk over the past year about preventing human papilloma virus in girls, the fact that boys get HPV as well is often downplayed. A small study from researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, provided new insight into the under-recognized issue of HPV infection in young males.

Neonatal viral infections are four to eight times more common than systemic bacterial diseases, but often go unrecognized. “Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) is one of the most common causes of infant death and permanent disability in America,” said Michael Cannon, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta.

Nosocomial infections are a growing problem in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) along with methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci, multidrug- resistant gram negative organisms, Candida and respiratory virii.

The electromagnetic fields produced in incubators may create changes in newborns' heart rate variability, according to research published online May 1 in the Archives of Disease in Childhood -- Fetal & Neonatal Edition.

Vital signs were normal. The patient had left-sided periorbital edema with slight ecchymosis and enophthalmos. There was conjunctival injection of the left eye, but no hyphema was noted. Pupils were equal, round, and reactive. Extraocular muscles revealed some restriction with upward gaze. Tympanic membranes were intact without hemotympanum. Nasal and oral examination findings were normal.

A mother's diet around the time of conception may play a role in determining the gender of her baby, findings published April 22 in the online Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences suggest.

According to interim results of a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 2007-2008 influenza season was moderately severe, and two of three vaccine strains were not optimally matched with circulating viruses.

Genetic and environmental factors both have an impact on fears in middle childhood and early adulthood but they act in a dynamic way and change over time, according to a report published in the April issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Older adolescents who have a television in their bedroom are less physically active, have fewer family meals and a poorer diet compared to their counterparts without a bedroom television, according to a report published in the April issue of Pediatrics.

The maker of the antiviral drug Relenza (zanamivir) informed health care professionals this week of a potential risk of behavioral changes and delirium associated with the drug's use. Relenza is approved for the treatment of influenza A and B.

A review of the latest sexually transmitted infection screening recommendations in teens.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, together with Roche Laboratories, Inc., the maker of Tamiflu (oseltamivir), have informed health care professionals of neuropsychiatric events associated with use of the antiviral drug in patients with influenza. The Tamiflu package insert has been updated to reflect these safety concerns.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, together with Roche Laboratories, Inc., the maker of Tamiflu (oseltamivir), have informed health care professionals of neuropsychiatric events associated with use of the antiviral drug in patients with influenza. The Tamiflu package insert has been updated to reflect these safety concerns.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced plans this week to expand next year's flu vaccine by including three new flu strains, in the hopes of producing a vaccine that is more effective than this year's vaccine. Researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on this season's flu activity in the Feb. 15 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Due to new types of flu strains that have spread in the past weeks, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided to scrap last year's vaccine and start from scratch...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its immunization schedules from 2008, changing three recommendations....

The Pediatric Advisory Committee voted 9 to 5 to recommend a change in Tamiflu’s (oseltamivir) labeling.

A 15-year-old Hispanic boy with refractory T-cell acute lymphoid leukemia was hospitalized because of fever and pain and swelling of the right knee of 3 days' duration. The patient was taking nelarabine for a recurrence of his leukemia, which was diagnosed a year earlier. He appeared nontoxic. His temperature was 39.28C (102.68F). Other vital signs were within normal limits. The right knee was warm and tender, with mild restriction of movement.

A 16-year-old Asian American girl presented for evaluation of a cyst on the anterior neck that had become enlarged and inflamed over the past 9 months. She also had a productive cough for 1 month. There was no history of night sweats, weight loss, or fever.

One week after vaccination with diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis/inactivated poliovirus/hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumococcal conjugate, and rotavirus, this 2Z\x-month-old infant presented with a vesicular rash. No other children in the home had a rash. The infant's primary caregiver was the grandmother, who had shingles 2 weeks earlier.

A 23-month-old girl presented with an erythematous papular rash on her torso that extended in a linear pattern around to the back. The mother first noticed the rash while bathing the child 3 days earlier. The child had no associated itching, irritability, or fever, but she had mild rhinorrhea preceding the rash that resolved without treatment. The patient and her older sibling were cared for at home by their mother.

The Department of Health and Human Services is offering one-time pandemic flu response planning grants to the US health care community.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have launched a Web site to help prepare for this year's flu season.

Asthma inhalers, pediatric vaccination, and government funding of children's health insurance are the talk of the town this month.

ABSTRACT: The pre-middle school well child visit is now an important landmark on the vaccine schedule. The pre-kindergarten visit no longer has the distinction of being the last of the visits for "school shots." Pediatricians should emphasize this point at the 4- to 6-year-old well child visit so that parents are aware of the need for another series of vaccines in about 5 years.

ABSTRACT: College is a time of new exposures, risk-taking, and adventure. Thus, protection with proper immunization is paramount. Pediatricians should offer the recommended vaccines whether required for college entry or not. When the young adult comes to the office to have the college health form completed and signed, seize the opportunity to tout the benefits of pre-college vaccination.

ABSTRACT: Vaccination must be promoted before and on entry into elementary school. Not only does vaccination provide substantial health benefits to society, it is the law. The recommended childhood vaccination schedule changes on a yearly basis. Similarly, state vaccination requirements for school entry also may change yearly to accommodate these recommendations. Pediatricians need to remain abreast of the most recent vaccine information and to offer all vaccines at the appropriate well child visits. The goal is to limit the number or eliminate altogether the need for catch-up vaccines when the time comes for entry into elementary school.

This rash on a teenage boy's palms began on his hands and spread to his torso and upper and lower extremities over several days. He had no pain or pruritus. Two weeks before the lesions appeared, he had experienced fatigue, fever, and myalgia of 1 week's duration.