A study of asthma medication use and asthma-related hospitalizations and emergency department visits showed that in children aged 5 years and older, greater cost sharing for asthma medications is associated with a slight reduction in medication use and higher rates of asthma hospitalization.
Anxiety is common in adolescents, who are often struggling to assert their identities at home, in school, and in social relationships. When significant anxiety impairs a teenager's ability to function normally, however, becoming familiar with the different diagnoses related to anxiety will help you decide whether treatment is necessary.
Children born to women with preeclampsia may have increased cardiovascular (CV) risk factors early in life, a meta-analysis suggests. What is the long-term outlook for these children?
Newborns with a decreased innate response to viruses have more viral respiratory infections in their first year of life than infants with a stronger immune response, a new study reports. What therapy might help protect newborns against viral infection, including seasonal influenza?
Occupational and other types of therapists are increasingly using sensory-based integration therapies to treat children with developmental and behavioral disorders. Are these therapies effective for children with sensory deficits?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reduced its recommended upper limit for blood lead levels in young children by half. What are the implications of the revised recommendations for clinical practice? More >>
The number of emergency department (ED) visits by US children aged younger than 18 years for battery-related accidents more than doubled from 1990 to 2009. What?s driving the rise in these power cell-related emergencies? More >>
Children born postterm are at increased risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and other behavioral and emotional problems in early childhood, according to a study from the Netherlands. What could explain these problems? More >>
A good number of US adolescents are already at risk for cardiovascular disease. According to new data, which risk factors should clinicians have to watch most carefully? More >>
So You Want to Be a Camp Doctor? Everything You Need to Know About Medically Supervised Summer Camps by Aarti Raheja, MD, medical director of Camp Bold Eagle, the Hemophilia Foundation of Michigan?s camp for children with bleeding disorders, and Gary L. Freed, MD, director, Division of General Pediatrics, University of Michigan Health Systems, Ann Arbor, and editorial board member of Contemporary Pediatrics.
Treatment of children in the emergency department (ED) varies according to medical insurance status, new findings indicate. Could the amount of ED use for children with or without private insurance explain the differences? More >>
Adenovirus infection is usually benign in healthy children, but it can be complicated by severe or fatal pneumonia, myocarditis, and hepatitis. Consider adenovirus infection in children with fulminant hepatic failure.
Nearly all adolescent girls with chronic pelvic pain that doesn?t respond to conventional medical therapy were found to have endometriosis. What accounts for the higher-than-expected rate of endometriosis in such adolescents?
Playing interactive musical games makes babies more social and also alters their brain responses and sound processing, according to a new study. How do music classes benefit infants as young as 6 months?
Adolescent migraine sufferers soon may be able to get the same relief as adults. Does the combination of sumatriptan and naproxen sodium stack up against teenage migraine pain and its associated symptoms?
High levels of maternal antibodies directed at a dietary antigen during pregnancy increase the risk for schizophrenia and other nonaffective psychoses in offspring. Which food-derived antigen was the culprit in this study?
Completion rates among young women for the 3-dose series of quadrivalent vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV) declined sharply between 2006 and 2009, a study has found. Why aren?t young women returning for subsequent vaccinations?
Pulse oximetry is highly specific and moderately sensitive for detecting critical congenital heart defects in asymptomatic newborn babies, according to a new meta-analysis. Does it meet criteria for universal screening?
Antibiotic side effect? Diffuse abdominal pain, vomiting, and anorexia led to this initial misdiagnosis in an adolescent male. The full story, here.
Children who are bullied by their peers when they are younger are up to 3 times more likely to harm themselves in adolescence. A new study has found several indicators that clinicians can use to help identify young patients most at risk for self-harm.
Adolescents who admit to using the recreational drugs "speed" and "ecstasy" are at risk for signs of depression a year later, research from Canada suggests. How does the risk for depression in these teens compare with peers who are nonusers?
Giving codeine or other opiates after tonsillectomy for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome can have fatal or life-threatening consequences for young children, 3 case reports suggest. Why are certain children particularly susceptible to severe complications?
Oral drug therapies used to treat type 2 diabetes in children and teens who are overweight are not controlling this metabolic disease effectively, says new research. Will adding lifestyle interventions help more than drug therapy alone?
An implanted rod that lengthens under noninvasive magnetic control to treat the spinal curvature of scoliosis is showing success at the 2-year testing mark. What can this experimental treatment mean for your patients with scoliosis?
UVR Exposure and Melanoma : Providing safer skin practices for children Dermcase : Out, out damned brown spot Childhood aggression : Psychosocial, pharmacotherapy treatments Recognizing childhood glaucoma in the primary pediatric setting Updates : Measles, Teenage depression, Intussusception, Vitamin D, BP readings, Bacteremia
Summer camp is one of the cherished memories of childhood and is especially meaningful for children with chronic medical conditions. Being a part of the camp experience for these children can be a very satisfying part of your personal and professional development.
Evidence from a pilot study suggests that blood biomarkers obtained from teenagers may identify those at risk for early onset major depressive disorder.
A new Australian study suggests that an adequate maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy is important for optimal language development in offspring.
Pediatricians play central roles in coordinating and sustaining collaborative care for all aspects of their patients, including mental health.
Pediatric emergency department physicians usually can accurately predict the likelihood of an intussusception diagnosis on the basis of history and physical examination, a new study shows.