News

An interview-based study conducted in 372 parents visiting pediatric emergency departments with children aged younger than 4 years found that parents who used physical discipline were 2.8 times more likely than parents who did not use this form of discipline to report that their children engage in hitting, kicking, and throwing.

A healthy 12-year-old boy with eczema shows up at the office with an incredibly itchy rash on his legs that has exploded over the last 48 hours. He has a history of dry skin to which his mother regularly applies various moisturizers, including calendula oil.

Advances in care now make it possible for more premature infants to survive. Ironically, many of the very interventions employed to ensure their viability such as mechanical ventilation and long-term use of oxygen can put many of these infants at high risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

New guidelines have been published that address monitoring cystic fibrosis in children aged between 2 and 5 years and highlight the key issues for pediatricians in caring for young children during this critical stage of development.

Despite improvements in obstetric and neonatal care leading to increased survival of premature infants, little progress has been made in the prevention of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Pediatricians need to be aware of changing definitions, risk factors, prevention, and long-term health outcomes of this disease in their premature patients.

Integrating mental health services within the primary care setting would help to provide continuity of care and benefit a myriad of issues faced by children with mental illness and the pediatricians who care for them.

It’s that time again! Here are Dr Michael Burke’s favorite 10 articles he reviewed in Journal Club for Contemporary Pediatrics during the past 12 months that are most likely to change your practice, improve patient care, or illuminate future trends in pediatrics.

Recently, the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) cited a critical lack of pediatric residency training for behavioral and mental health problems and proposed more education in preventing, recognizing, and managing these conditions. Here’s why any change needs to start with a hard look at what our priorities are.

In this month’s article, Dr. Andrew Schuman focuses on improving the office visit experience for your young patients. By following his advice, you will be rewarded with parental loyalty, a busy and prosperous practice, and patients who look forward to their office visits.

Dr Bass’s article on “Factoring the Metabolic X Syndrome” in the latest issue of Contemporary Pediatrics provides us with information on the emergence of Metabolic X syndrome in the pediatric/adolescent populations, previously a syndrome seen only in adults. How can we, as nurse practitioners (NPs) prevent children from developing the symptoms for a diagnosis of Metabolic X Syndrome?

For Contemporary Pediatrics, Dr Bobby Lazzara discusses a recent study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine that looked at whether asthma in childhood contributed to the development of childhood obesity.

A large retrospective study of how infants with fever without a cause are evaluated found that physicians are selective in deciding which of these babies will have blood, urine, or cerebral spinal fluid cultures.

Results of a survey of more than 1360 parents conducted in pediatricians’ waiting rooms found that 75% of parents agree that pediatricians should advise about safe storage of firearms; those who disagreed were likely to be firearm owners.

After a cesarean delivery at 30 weeks, a 1430-gram premature female neonate was noted to have generalized thick, dark brown scale forming a tight membrane over her entire skin surface. Her mother was a healthy 19-year-old gravida 1 with normal prenatal screening ultrasound and laboratory studies. Family history did not reveal any congenital malformations or genetic disorders.

It’s been a while since Dr Schuman reviewed medical applications for mobile devices, and many readers have requested an update. So, he looked at his iPhone and iPad and put together his recommendations for the best applications for pediatric providers.

As pediatricians we are all too aware of our nation’s struggle with childhood overweight and obesity. Approximately 1 of every 5 children that we see in the office every day is obese. Despite tremendous efforts to reverse this trend, it is clear we are in this battle for the long haul.

Although there is debate surrounding the definition of metabolic X syndrome in pediatrics and there are few long-term studies of outcomes in children with metabolic syndrome, pediatric metabolic syndrome needs to be on the radar of all pediatricians interested in ensuring a healthy adult life for their patients.

New recommendations for infant exposure to peanuts to prevent peanut allergy address something many pediatricians have long suspected: Early exposure to peanuts, even in infants that have eczema, could prevent development of peanut allergy.

New hope for eczema

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced its approval of a new, corticoid-sparing ointment to treat mild to moderate atopic dermatitis in pediatric patients aged 2 years and older.

Testing glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) appears to predict children’s diabetes risk as well as fasting plasma glucose and 2-hour postload plasma glucose, according to a study on more than 2000 American Indian children.