Vol 35 No 8

The early years in an infant’s life set the stage for building one’s ability to learn. Pediatricians play a pivotal role in providing early intervention for any factors that might affect a child’s school readiness and future life course.

Pediatricians need to understand both pathophysiology and management of concussion to correctly address the question of return-to-play for athletes after a jolt to the head.

Infants born to mothers who receive vitamin D supplementation while pregnant are at reduced risk of being small for gestational age and experience improved growth during infancy, with no increased risk of fetal or neonatal mortality and congenital malformation. These were major findings of a systematic review and meta-analysis of 24 randomized controlled trials involving 5405 participants.

A 33-year-old female, G3P1011, was transferred from an outside facility at 33 weeks and 6 days gestation for anticipated preterm delivery secondary to preeclampsia. On prenatal ultrasound, her fetus was diagnosed with an omphalocele and delivery was preferred at an institution with a neonatal intensive care unit to manage the infant.

Most parents of young children who are overweight or obese think their child’s weight is “just right,” according to a study conducted in Sweden. However, as their child grows older, more parents recognize when their child is too heavy-especially if he or she has reached the level of obesity.

Physicians, parents/caregivers, and school personnel must ensure that children are not harmed by medication errors in the provider’s office, at home, or at school.

Compared with their peers who spend no more than 2 hours each weekday exposed to digital media, school-aged children who are in front of screens for longer are less likely to be doing well overall, according to their parents. Furthermore, how much digital media exposure (DME) a child gets is inversely related, in a dose-dependent manner, to markers of childhood “flourishing.”

This month marks the return to school for your patients. Here are some tips to help both students and their parents get a good start.

An anxious mother brings her healthy 4-month-old daughter for evaluation of itchy pustules on both hands and feet. The eruption has persisted despite 2 courses of permethrin for scabies. The infant also was diagnosed with hand-foot-and-mouth syndrome and dyshidrotic eczema, but neither of these diseases fit clinically.

The startling increase in the number of adolescents thinking about and attempting suicide is a wake-up call for pediatric healthcare providers to take action and help these children at risk.

A new study examined whether nonpharmacologic interventions for ADHD could support new guidance for their use.