News

A young girl presents with several rings on her extremities.

Fifteen million children are exposed to intimate partner violence in their homes each year, and all pediatricians, whether they are aware of it or not, have cared for families in which there is overt or hidden physical or sexual abuse.

Acne flare-ups in adolescents respond best to treatment when patients and parents understand what acne is, follow their therapy guidelines, and have reasonable expectations about what therapy can achieve.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Plan B One-Step levonorgestrel pill for emergency contraception (EC) without prescription for women aged 15 years and older, although proof of age must be provided at the time of purchase.

Researchers have for the first time identified teenaged pregnancy as a predictor of obesity in women later in life.

The problem of teenaged prescription drug misuse and abuse is growing dramatically. A recent survey paints an alarming picture of medicine abuse among adolescents in the United States.

Recognizing that women have the right to decide to deliver their babies at home, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued a policy statement that advocates standards of practice for planned home births that are consistent with standards of practice for infants born in medical care facilities.

A new nationwide poll finds that parents are still giving over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold medicines to their children aged younger than 4 years, a practice that is contrary to advisories from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Universal newborn screening for critical congenital heart defects using pulse oximetry has been successfully implemented in New Jersey with minimal burden on hospitals staffs, according to the first analysis of process data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Infants with colic who cry inconsolably in the first months of life may be suffering from pain associated with migraine headaches, suggests new research that investigated a link between migraines in older children and colic in infancy.

Researchers have found that simple tests for levels of alanine and histidine in newborns’ urine can predict abnormal levels of gut bacteria before the onset of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).

Many physicians who treat adolescent girls with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) are uncertain about choosing hospitalization or outpatient care for their patients by using current guidelines, a new study has found.

Overall malignant melanoma diagnoses in children and adolescents have been rising steadily since 1973. A new study says that indoor tanning beds could be one factor for the increase of this skin cancer.

Adolescents exposed to tobacco smoke, whether through actively smoking or secondhand smoke, may show markers of kidney disease, according to a study from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

Physicians’ diagnoses of probable gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in infants who cry and spit up excessively often lead them to overmedicate healthy babies, according to new research.

Encouraging young children to serve themselves at meals is thought to develop social and motor skills, but a new study has found that when children served themselves using large-sized dinnerware they placed more food on their plates and ate more of it.

Adolescent girls who smoke or who are anxious or depressed are at higher risk for low bone mineral density in the hip and lumbar spine that could lead to osteoporosis and bone fractures as they grow older.

More than a half million US children now have lead poisoning despite progress made in eliminating lead exposure, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health care organizations are using temporary nurse practitioners and physician assistants to fill the gaps in their medical staffs associated with the nationwide physician shortage, especially in primary care, according to a survey of 2012 staffing trends.

A prescription was called into the local pharmacy for ciprofloxacin suspension (200 mg via G-tube bid [10 mg/kg/dose]). After the patient received 2 doses of the medication, the parents noticed that the G-tube was clogged off. What’s the problem here?

Most primary care practices for children are not yet ready for certification as medical homes, according to a new study that assessed practice characteristics associated with successful medical home programs.

A discussion regarding resident duty hours as we approach the 10th anniversary of resident duty hour restrictions.

IOM advises sustained federal commitment to research on schedule safety

Study offers strong evidence for using probiotics for colic

A 14-year study has confirmed that varicella vaccine is highly effective for preventing chicken pox and that it reduces the risk of herpes zoster in vaccinated children.

Teenaged birth rates among abused or neglected adolescent girls are more than double the birth rate of their peers who never experienced abuse and more than 3 times the rate for girls who were never neglected, according to a new study.

Children with obstructive sleep apnea that is left untreated are at increased risk for developing problems with behavior, learning, and adaptive functioning, according to a 5-year study.