News

Births to teenaged girls took another impressive drop from 2012 to 2013, according to the annual report Health, United States, 2014, recently released by the National Center for Health Statistics.

The results of 2 recent studies indicate that although teenaged pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are significantly lower than in previous years, there is still much room for improvement.

Suicides among black children aged 5 to 11 years have increased significantly over the past 2 decades while suicide rates among white children have decreased significantly, a new study shows. Both trends have been masked by an overall stable suicide rate among elementary school-aged children.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) adolescents who are sexually active are at higher risk for unplanned pregnancies than their heterosexual peers.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a policy statement updating guidelines for releasing healthy term newborns from the hospital. The new guidelines aim to ensure that both baby and mother are ready to go home based on their unique situation.

More than two-thirds of teenagers who participated in a recent national survey said that the main reason they don’t use birth control is fear of parental discovery, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

From 2009 to 2012, the number of babies born in the United States with neonatal abstinence syndrome-symptoms of opioid withdrawal-almost doubled, pushing associated hospital costs to $1.5 billion, a new study reports.

Rapidly waning protection among teenagers who have received the tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis vaccine is apparently contributing to an upsurge in pertussis (whooping cough) in the United States, according to 2 recent studies.

Infants who sleep in sitting or carrying devices such as car seats, swings, slings, or bouncers run a risk of suffocation, warns a new study.

Although I’ve been writing articles for Contemporary Pediatrics since 1988, I have never received as much supportive e-mail as I have in response to my 2 maintenance of certification (MOC) articles published in the January 2015 issue.

Rashes and fevers are among the most common complaints seen in the pediatrician’s office. The differential diagnosis is often large and ranges from entities the pediatrician sees commonly such as erythema infectiosum to the less common diseases such as Kawasaki syndrome, to more potentially serious conditions such as vaccine preventable illnesses and everything in between.

As a pediatrician accompanying friends, family, or youth groups, or because of coincidental proximity to accidents, we may be looked on to provide initial medical care for injured or sick children (or adults) in a wilderness setting far from our usual practice, and far from our usual comfort zone.

Bipolar disorder is a serious mental health disorder that is often first diagnosed during young adulthood or adolescence. Symptoms of the illness, however, also can appear in early childhood.

Children born by acute or elective cesarean delivery are more likely than infants delivered vaginally to develop respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection requiring hospitalization.

In an unusual move, the Obama administration has put the force of the White House behind a push to preserve the power of antibiotics, including plans for wide-ranging impact on healthcare.

Improvements in air quality have positive effects on lung development.

Readers discuss some inconsistencies that they discovered in the February Puzzler, and the authors respond.

Adolescents of all ages have been getting less sleep during the past 2 decades than teenagers in earlier years, according to a nationally representative, cross-sectional survey of 272,000 youngsters from 1991 to 2012.

Eating peanuts in the first year of life dramatically reduces the likelihood that an infant at moderate risk for peanut allergy will develop the allergy, a randomized controlled trial in the United Kingdom showed.

The parents of a healthy 12-year-old boy bring him for a second opinion. He was diagnosed with pityriasis rosea 6 months ago, and new lesions, which are occasionally a little itchy, keep coming. What is causing these new lesions?

In my many years as a pediatrician, I have identified a number of “pearls,” or words of wisdom, that can help in the clinical setting.

Children with long QT syndrome need not miss out on the fun and health benefits of recreational and competitive sports, according to a new study that recommends loosening restrictions on participation.

Injected measles vaccine stimulates a significantly stronger immune response than inhaled vaccine, a new study reports.

Personal health records and electronic health records don’t meet the privacy and confidentiality needs of adolescents and their parents and will require significant changes to do so.

More adolescent girls are using long-acting reversible contraception-intrauterine devices and implants-although the rate of use remains low among girls aged 15 to 19 years, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Fewer than half of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were receiving behavior therapy just before the American Academy of Pediatrics released clinical practice guidelines in 2011, according to the first national study of behavior therapy, medication, and dietary supplements to treat ADHD in children aged 4 to 17 years.

“Insufficient evidence” exists to recommend for or against screening for iron-deficiency anemia in asymptomatic children aged 6 to 24 months, the US Preventive Services Task Force states in a draft recommendation.

A new 9-valent vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV) has shown nearly 100% efficacy against 5 additional strains of the virus when compared with quadrivalent HPV vaccine, and it is now recommended for routine vaccination by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.