Opioid abuse rates have reached epidemic proportions, doubling since the 1990s, and-despite the documented success of medication-assisted therapies in treating opioid addiction-less than half of teens with opioid abuse disorders receive such treatment.
A new study claims that about a third of pediatric readmissions could be prevented, and not many of them are tied to underlying chronic conditions.
Pediatricians may not recognize the growing problem of opioid abuse in their communities. As a result, physicians need to carefully examine their prescribing practices.
From 2006 to 2012, patients aged younger than 18 years made more than 21,928 visits to emergency departments (EDs) for poisoning by prescription opioids, such as methadone, codeine, meperidine, or morphine.
A new study demonstrated that in children with an apparent urinary tract infection, the proportion with pyuria varied significantly depending on the uropathogen associated with the infection.
Investigators identified 4 distinct fecal microbiota profiles in infants hospitalized with bronchiolitis and found that 1 of those profiles-dominated by Bacteroides-was associated with a higher likelihood of bronchiolitis than the others.
Investigators used a food frequency questionnaire to assess how often 3003 pregnant women drank artificially sweetened or sugar-sweetened beverages during their second or third trimesters. They then analyzed how this data correlated with the body mass index of these mothers’ babies at age 1 year.
About one-quarter of children who recently have been hospitalized live in food insecure households, which suggests that hospitalization presents a potential opportunity to identify these youngsters and help their families access nutrition assistance.
A father brings his 12-year-old son to the clinic for evaluation of a skin eruption that has been on the back of the boy’s neck for a year, but which just began to extend behind his ear. The rash is asymptomatic, and the otherwise healthy patient is annoyed that he has to spend a beautiful morning in a physician’s office.
In my practice, we are seeing patients and their families being increasingly interested in gaining a competitive edge with regard to athletics.One of the consequences of this is that our young athletes are running themselves down-pushing to be the best-at the cost of wear and tear on their bodies. Repetitive stress, fatigue, and poor technique lead to children suffering overuse injuries and put kids at risk for traumatic injury.
With the introduction of point-of-care (POC) molecular assays, pediatricians can diagnosis influenza A and B during the office visit with sensitivity and specificity comparable to reference assays.
A recent study in preterm infants found that exposure to midazolam, a commonly used sedative in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), was associated with macro- and microstructural alterations in hippocampal development and poorer outcomes consistent with hippocampal dysmaturation.
A recent study found that chest wall rigidity may be partially responsible for some of the deaths related to the intravenous injection of illicit fentanyl.
The mother of a 4-year-old boy, whose family recently emigrated from Haiti, brings him to the pediatric mobile clinic for evaluation of a rash that had begun 11 days earlier as an eruption of vesicular, pruritic papules on the bilateral lower extremities and had spread to the buttocks and medial thighs with sparing of the face. The skin eruption was followed by desquamation of the skin on his palms and soles.
In the throes of an opioid epidemic, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided in August 2015 to expand the indications for OxyContin, an extended-release form of the narcotic oxycodone, to children aged 11 years and older. The decision sparked outrage in those who fear the move might fuel increasing opioid addiction among young Americans.
Opioid use is now a significant problem for the pediatrician and the families served in pediatric practices. Whereas patients with a prior history of drug use, misuse, or suspicions of drug misuse have long been studied, monitored, screened, and treated for adverse outcomes, opioid-naïve patients with legitimate medical reasons for opioid prescriptions may represent a greater risk for opioid complications.
As problems with opioid use and abuse in the United States increasingly emerge to create what is being called a public health epidemic, clinicians are facing the great challenge of trying to provide optimal pain management for their patients while being mindful of the potential deleterious effects of the highly addictive opioids.
A look at the major discoveries and milestones in the opioid epidemic occurring in the United States.
Time and ability may put a damper on a pediatrician’s ability to assess a patient’s risk of a gun-related injury, even though most say prevention of firearm injuries is a priority.
For Contemporary Pediatrics, Dr Bobby Lazzara explains key findings from a study published in Pediatrics. The study looked at whether adolescents who engage in the nonmedical use of opioid medications are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors.
Roughly 20% of trials involving pediatric participants are discontinued early, and another 30% go unpublished after completion, according to a new report.
For Contemporary Pediatrics, Dr Bobby Lazzara explains key findings from a study published in Pediatrics. The study looked at whether children and adolescents who engage in nonmedical use of opioid medications are increasing their future risk of heroin use.
Many of today’s practicing PNPs grew up during the “difficult and rebellious” adolescent years when teenagers were trying alcohol, marijuana, drag racing, and attempting to access birth control. In retrospect, that adolescent lifestyle was simplistic in comparison to the complex, tumultuous adolescent life of today.
While late preterm infants may seem as though they’ve escaped the obstacles earlier preemies face, a new study reveals that later preterm infants who seem on part with their peers even at age 2 may have problems with reading and math by preschool.
Treating allergic rhinitis (AR) in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) appears to significantly improve not only AR, but also ADHD symptoms.
Despite concerns about ADHD stimulant therapy as a gateway for future drug abuse, a new study shows that teens treated with stimulants later and for shorter durations, and those treated with non-stimulant medications, have higher rates of later drug abuse than their peers who have used stimulant therapy longer.
A new report shatters earliest estimates that just 0.25% of teens have diabetes, placing that figure closer to 1% plus an estimated 17.7% with prediabetes.
Although new research hints that early motor delays could be a telltale sign that early cognitive intervention is needed, the authors of a new study stop short of making a clinical recommendation.
Here are 5 steps to assist pediatric care providers with the assessment of dyslexia in children and referral of these patients to the appropriate specialists.
By being vigilant to signs of dyslexia, dispelling the myths, and helping to coordinate care, pediatricians can help children with dyslexia enjoy success in school and in daily life.
