Over the years, children’s sleep has consistently fallen short of recommendations, although it has never been established exactly how many hours children of different ages should be sleeping. One new study shows that actual sleep time is decreasing, whereas another suggests that current guidelines may not accurately reflect the amount of sleep children need for optimal school performance. Find out why children never seem to get enough sleep, despite changing guidelines.
One in 10 children younger than 18 years lives with a parent who has experienced an alcohol-use disorder in the past year, setting them up for subsequent biological, psychological, and environmental problems. There are a number of resources available to practitioners to help identify these children and to help them and their families.
An ongoing study that could lead to an imaging biomarker for autism as early as 6 months, before the onset of observable behavioral symptoms, may also eventually provide practitioners an avenue for earlier intervention in autism spectrum disorders
Use of electronic health record (EHR) computer-assisted decision tools can increase identification, diagnosis, and counseling for overweight and obese children and adolescents, a study of a large pediatric population suggests. Find out how these tools can help overcome barriers to weight management for your patients.
The California Department of Public Health and the California Family Health Council have launched a new project that is designed to reduce the rate of transmission of sexually transmitted diseases among teens by making free condoms available year round. Could such an initiative work in your state? Learn about the details of this innovative program.
Preterm infants born with extremely low birth weights have an increased risk of death during the first years of life. Find out why it is important to identify and try to correct modifiable factors that account for increased mortality in very premature infants after hospital discharge.
Clinicians can avoid exposing asymptomatic infants to ionizing radiation by substituting ultrasound for plain radiography as a reliable screening modality for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). New research allays clinicians’ growing concerns about using radiation in very young children to detect this common congenital birth defect.
A multicomponent meningococcal B (4CMenB) vaccine induces an immune response in healthy infants and can be given safely with other routine vaccines, according to a European multisite, randomized study. Read why study results suggest that 4CMenB can be incorporated into various immunization schedules.
Children younger than 1 year and children on Medicaid are the most likely to suffer serious injuries because of physical abuse, according to an analysis of data from a US database. The study was the first to provide estimates on the number of US children hospitalized as a result of serious injuries from physical abuse. Learn what data identified poverty as a major risk factor for abusive injuries.
Spanking used as discipline for children is increasingly linked to long-term negative behaviors in adults and even physical alterations of cognitive areas of the brain, say researchers from Canada. Their analysis of 20 years of published research suggests that physicians should reexamine the issue of physical punishment from a medical perspective and advise parents to seek alternative methods to modify their children’s behavior.
Children with burns covering 60% or more of their total body surface area (TBSA) are at increased risk for complications and death and should be transferred immediately to specialized burn units, according to a new study. What critical factors determine prognosis in children with severe burns?
Child psychiatrists and neuroscientists at Washington University found that children who are nurtured and shown love and affection from the earliest days of their lives have brains with a larger hippocampus, the key part of the brain involved with memory, stress response, and learning. Find out more about how this study and its provocative findings add to previous studies of nurturing.
Assessing underlying risk factors for childhood stroke is important to survival and quality of life. New findings suggest that recent minor acute infections of the ear, upper respiratory tract, and urinary tract can pose a high risk of ischemic stroke in children. These are common pediatric occurrences, so how can you identify patients at risk?
The teacher of a 6-year-old noticed suspicious bruises on the child’s leg and notified Children’s Protective Services. Arrangements were made to see the child at school. The social worker noted 2 complete and 2 partial hand imprints on the child.
Measles outbreaks are at their worst level in more than a decade, with almost all transmissions caused by imported cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises on steps clinicians can take to keep an imported measles case from transmitting to an outbreak.
Undiagnosed chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis is an important but underappreciated cause of frequent school absence in secondary school children, British researchers report. Outcomes are better in children when their symptoms are identified in school-based clinics, but why?
Less than half of adolescents have been vaccinated against the hepatitis A virus, leaving a large segment of this population susceptible to the infection as they enter adulthood. Yet participation is higher when health care providers recommend the vaccine to their patients. Find out how you can make a huge difference for your teen patients by encouraging compliance.
Socioeconomic status but not race may influence a physician?s willingness to consider abuse as a cause of an unwitnessed fracture in a child and to report the incident to child protection services. Do the physicians in your practice make decisions based on stereotypes?
Identifying abusive head trauma : Knowing what to look for can save babies from future harm Dermcase : Tender, red skin in a 5-year old Puzzler : Persistent stridor in an otherwise healthy newborn Updates : Vaccination schedules, DSM-5 on Autism Speech Therapy for PVFM, Hemophilia B FWS in Infants, HPV Vaccinations
The American Academy of Pediatrics has updated its recommended immunization schedules for children and adolescents.
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Stretching infant formula by dilution or reduced feedings exposes babies to serious developmental risks, yet it can be a monthly temptation for families receiving supplemental nutrition assistance. Find out how families forced to resort to formula stretching can be better identified and what other options can be offered to them.
Certain characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may change as a child ages. An analysis of a national survey of children’s health found that children with a current diagnosis of ASD were more likely to have a co-occurring neurodevelopmental or psychiatric condition, such as learning disability or depression, than those with a past (but not current) diagnosis of ASD. This is important information to have when arriving at an ASD diagnosis.
The latest data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey show that the overall prevalence of obesity in children may be leveling off at about 17%, in contrast to the rapid increases seen in the 1980s and 1990s. Another study showed that the availability of junk foods had little effect on weight gain in middle-school children. Learn why efforts to promote healthy eating may have to extend beyond the classroom.
Half of teen mothers who became pregnant unintentionally say that they did nothing to prevent the pregnancy, according to data from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey. The data show that misperceptions still abound regarding contraception and pregnancy, and it is never a bad idea to have frank talks with your patients-boys and girls alike.
Results of a survey of AAP members show that most US pediatricians bypass an ECG before starting children on stimulant medication for ADHD, opting for a routine cardiac history and physical examination instead. Find out how perceived barriers to cardiac screening influence clinical practice.
Common household chemicals such as those found in nonstick cookware, food packaging, and fabrics-even microwave popcorn bags-can reduce the immune response to routine childhood immunizations. According to newly released study results, the more children are exposed to perfluorinated compounds, the less likely they are to have a good immune response to vaccinations. These results may not entirely surprise you, but they might help you to figure out what is wrong when a child’s vaccination didn’t seem to work.