News

Parents are often somewhat confused when it comes to obtaining specialist care for their children, according to a new poll.

Parenting influences the success of African American boys as they transition from preschool to kindergarten, according to a new study.

Pediatrician Andrew S. Garner, MD, PhD, describes how children's response to toxic stress stimuli in their environment alters the brain, putting them at risk for a lifetime of adverse health outcomes. Pediatricians, he says, are the natural sentinels to screen and to intervene.

The GAO is comparing children’s benefits under ACA-qualified health plans with those offered by CHIP.

Screening children and adolescents who experience syncope using characteristics in the history, physical exam, and electrocardiogram (ECG) accurately identifies which patients require further evaluation for cardiac problems, a new study concluded.

I have been an avid reader of Contemporary Pediatrics for years and have always found the articles timely and relevant to a practicing pediatrician like myself. There is one aspect of your publication that bothers me, however, and that is not consistent with your mission statement, which is, to present practical information to office-based pediatricians.

Compared with whites, blacks consistently have lower levels of total vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D) and elevated levels of parathyroid hormone (considered a sensitive marker of vitamin D deficiency), often leading to a diagnosis of vitamin D deficiency.

Vaccine-hesitant parents respond to strong provider recommendations.

The new Asthma Symptom Tracker (AST), which rests on weekly (instead of traditional monthly) use of the Asthma Control Test (ACT), facilitates monitoring of patients’ symptoms and rapid recognition and response to warning signs of deterioration in asthma control, a new study found.

As part of our yearlong celebration of Contemporary Pediatrics’ 30th anniversary, we are delighted to unveil a brand-new look with this issue.

You are called to the emergency room to see an ill-looking, 13-year-old boy with a severe flare of his atopic dermatitis associated with fever, malaise, and chills, which started a week ago.

When a child experiences a seizure for the first time, frantic parents turn to their pediatrician for answers about what just happened and what to do next. The conversation should begin by discussing exactly what a seizure is and what it is not.

Insurance companies are now beginning to compensate pediatricians for performing photoscreening, billed under Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code 99174. We applaud the efforts of the many pediatricians, pediatric ophthalmologists, and state chapters of the AAP who have aggressively petitioned insurance companies to cover this important service for our patients. -Andrew J Schuman, MD, Section Editor

Providing quality-of-life care for the sickest of children was a passion for pediatrician Gary Ceneviva, MD. As a critical care physician, he was troubled by what he saw. So in true pediatrician fashion, he did something about it.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved a unique test that can diagnose developmental delays and intellectual disabilities in babies postnatally.

Researchers have discovered a reliable biomarker for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a potentially deadly bowel infection that affects primarily extremely low-birth-weight (LBW) infants.

It seems that wide variation exists between hospitals in the United States when it comes to tonsillectomy perioperative care for children.

Researchers recently determined that acute otitis media is associated with an incremental increase in outpatient health care costs of $314 per child per year in the United States, which translates into approximately $2.88 billion in added health care expense annually.

About 10% of the more than 7 million emergency department visits resulting from injuries sustained at school are the result of intentional injuries and not accidents resulting from sports or other physical activity.

Prophylactic use of Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 during the first 3 months of life significantly reduces colic, regurgitation, and constipation, according to a recent study.

Pediatricians are reluctant to prescribe antidepressants to teenagers regardless of the severity of their depression, according to the results of a recent cross-sectional survey.

About one-third of parents of children with autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders try complementary and alternative forms of medicine (CAM), and those that do tend to be wealthier and more highly educated, according to a recent study.

It seems that cost and lack of information are at the heart of why more adolescents aren’t vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV), according to a recent review of the literature.

Unlimited cognitive activity after a concussion prolongs symptoms and recovery, a new study shows.

About 1 in every 5 middle school students engages in “sexting,” and those who do are more likely to be sexually active.

New research suggests that all antidepressants are created more or less equal when it comes to their association with suicide attempts in children.

One in every 3 annual healthy visits with adolescents contains no discussion about topics related to sexuality. When discussion does occur, it often lasts barely more than half a minute.

The leading cause of death for persons younger than the age of 24 years is unintentional injuries, according to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.