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A congressional fact of life is the dangerous “Christmas tree” bill, which passes with so much on it that many things don’t get the scrutiny they deserve. The 21st Century Cures Act, signed into law by President Obama on December 13, 2016, is such a bill.

President-elect Donald Trump has announced he will nominate Seema Verma, MPH, a consultant with extensive work in Medicaid in several states, to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

The new “MACRA” system, underway as of January 2017, massively changes the way physicians are paid under Medicare and will impact pediatricians indirectly but substantially, say experts.

Will the Trump administration promote vaccine hesitancy or create policies that are less than vaccine friendly? Or will his doubts about vaccines encourage hesitancy?

A longitudinal study examined the relationship between prenatal or postnatal high-fat, high-sugar diet and symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children who demonstrated either early-onset persistent conduct disorder or minimal conduct problems.

A major dilemma for patients is simply how to access good care that is both convenient and affordable. To thrive in these challenging times, practices should consider all options to facilitate patient access. If you have an open mind, you may even consider changing your “traditional” practice to one that provides “direct primary care.”

A 22-month-old African American boy born at 38 weeks by normal vaginal delivery presents to a local hospital from a private pediatric office for failure to thrive. He was seen by his pediatrician until aged 1 month but was lost to follow-up. His delay in walking prompted his mother to reestablish care at age 22 months.

Skiing is an enormously popular winter sport for children, teenagers, and families. Here's a review of winter sports injuries and how to provide the best care.

Urolithiasis occurrence is increasing in both adults and children in the United States, with nearly 1 in 11 adults having a stone at some time in their life. Unfortunately, stone occurrence in children also appears to have increased from 1% to 2% in the 1950s to 1970s to almost 10%.

The article “National hospital initiative targets preventable injuries,” in the most recent issue of Contemporary Pediatrics, describes 35 years of impressive work by a nationwide coalition of concerned pediatricians and pediatric trauma surgeons who have championed hospital, school-based, and community-wide initiatives to reduce the prevalence and incidence of unintentional injuries in children.

This issue focuses on pediatricians like you who stand up for what they believe in - starting a business from scratch, fighting big insurance, or practicing in an economically disadvantaged community.

Parents are less likely to make dosing errors when giving their child liquid medications if they use an oral syringe--rather than a cup-- to measure the dose, a recent trial showed.

In a recently published essay to address this question, the authors suggest that pediatricians may present human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine as optional or less urgent than other adolescent vaccines because they do not often read or hear about their patients’ being affected by HPV-associated cancers, which generally strike older populations.

A frustrated mother carries her 2-month-old son into the office for evaluation of a diffuse bright red rash with dramatic hypopigmentation. Scalp, neck, axillary, and diaper areas are involved.

Unintentional injury is ranked number one among the 10 leading causes of death in children. In fact, injuries, ranging from car and bike crashes to poisonings and gunshot wounds, kill more children than anything else, starting at age 1 year to age 44 years.

Children who spent 2 consecutive years in classrooms outfitted with desks at which they worked standing (or while sitting on a stool) had a significantly lower body mass index (BMI) than their peers in classrooms with traditional standard desks, a recent study reported.

A study conducted in Berkeley, California, the first US jurisdiction to implement an excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), found that consumption of SSBs decreased 21% in that city after the tax was imposed.

A full-term male infant was born to a 33-year-old gravida 3, para 3 mother. The prenatal course was uncomplicated, without gestational diabetes; the mother received prenatal care at an out-of-state institution. At the delivery, however, the baby was notably macrosomic, with shoulder dystocia and perinatal distress requiring positive pressure ventilation.

At the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exibition (NCE) in October, I again presented 2 workshops on office technologies, sponsored by the AAP’s Section on Advances in Technology and Therapeutics. I made every effort to make this year’s workshop a unique experience, showcasing some new technology while including some of my old favorites.

Here is the state of pediatrics in 2016, according to our 4th annual Issues and Attitudes Survey.

In our 4th annual Issue and Attitudes Survey, it was clear that money was one of your "pain points" for 2016.

Between MOC, your workload, your stress levels, and other job demands, morale was another "pain point" that we heard loud and clear in our annual Issues and Attitudes survey.

Governmental regulations, insurance companies and their requirements, and other hassles have made your jobs more difficult in 2016, according to our 4th annual Issues and Attitudes survey.

Do NPs specifically ask parents about their childhood parenting experiences? Dr. Howard King’s article “How to help adult children of alcoholic parents” prompts us to ask about important information that most likely is not a part of our routine family history questions, and thus not a part of our child’s treatment plan.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of etanercept for treatment of children with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis will revolutionize the management of psoriasis in children.

As Election Day nears, the intensity of the campaign and level of emotion continues to rise beyond anything remembered. Children are remarkably resilient to all this input, at least on the surface, but one has to wonder what they are thinking and likely worrying about just below the surface.

For the 4th year, experts weigh in on key sessions from one of pediatrics premier gatherings. Here are highlights and insights on why they matter.

What would make pediatricians wonder if a parent in their office might be “an adult child of an alcoholic parent?” The following case could be viewed as representative.