News

Paraphimosis

A 2-year-old boy presented with paraphimosis.This condition occurs when retraction of the foreskin behind the corona of the penis forms a tight ring that impairs blood and lymph flow from the glans and prepuce. Untreated, paraphimosis can lead to pain, urethral obstruction with urine retention and hydronephrosis, or tissue ischemia (with ulceration, penile gangrene, and auto-amputation of the penis).

Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, the newly appointed head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), promised pediatricians at the AAP conference that he aims "to focus on pediatric research as a very important priority."

Although the exact cause of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has not yet been determined, a new study provides evidence that tobacco and lead exposure may increase a child's risk of developing the condition.

An 11-year-old girl presents to the clinic with a lesion under the tongue of 3 weeks' duration. She complains of a "mass sensation" while eating and speaking but has no difficulty with swallowing.

Spock emerged from the 1970s (and his 70s) a radical, being arrested dozens of times at protests. He said he felt that his political activism was another way of practicing pediatrics.

A10-year-old boy was brought to a medical mission clinic in Roaring Creek, Belize, for evaluation of bald spots on his head. The mother reported that the bald areas seemed to be worsening because of the child's uncontrollable desire to pull out his hair.

One week earlier, a 14-month-old girl with a history of eczema was evaluated because of a diffuse rash of excoriated lesions, some of them purulent. She was afebrile. Worsening eczema with secondary infection was diagnosed. Treatment with oral clindamycin was prescribed. At follow-up, the lesions had worsened. The child had multiple excoriated papules, some of which had coalesced into plaques. She also had two 5-mm vesicles on her right shoulder. Eczema herpeticum was diagnosed clinically. Culture of the vesicles later grew herpes simplex virus (HSV).

Neuroblastoma

A 9-month-old girl was brought to the emergency department (ED) byher mother for abdominal distention, progressive failure to thrive, diarrhea,and occasional vomiting.

This thumb anomaly in a 16-month-old boy was noted within the first month of life. The mother heard an occasional popping sound when trying to straighten the thumb. The infant also had subcoronal hypospadias. He was otherwise healthy.