News

Though high school students reduced sexual risk behaviors between 1991 and 2007, the prevalence of such behaviors remained unchanged between 2005 and 2007, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published in the Aug. 1 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

While the infant mortality rate was 9% lower in 2005 compared to 1995, since 2000 the rate has not changed significantly, according to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Tanita Corporation's BD-815U pediatric scale is designed for premature infants.

Camper Alert bracelets by Hope Paige Designs feature contact information in case kids get lost.

Adiri's National Nurse Ultimate Baby Bottle is polycarbonate-and BPA-free and meant to help transition from breastfeeding.

First-day-of-life pulse oximetry screening may have high specificity and sensitivity for critical congenital health defects.

Vitamin D deficiency may be predicted by breastfeeding without vitamin D supplementation.

A list of combined hormonal contraceptive formulations available for extended menstrual cycling use.

One way to encourage a 2-year-old patient to walk during an exam.

A healthy 16-year-old presents with a raised, two-year-old scar-like lesion on his scalp which has caused hair loss.

A reminder not to replace a physical examination and clinical judgment with radiographic diagnostic tests.

North Carolina state senator and former pediatrician Bill Purcell has focused on health issues such as tobacco control and motorist safety.

In taking care of minors, pediatricians need to be alert to possible child abuse, and navigate the land mines of parental consent.

A discussion of influenza vaccines, inactivated and live cold adapted attenuated virus; influenza virus and the immune response in children; and the differences in immune response elicited by both types of vaccine.

Readers comment on a method to distract pediatric patients, and the unproven Tylenol test

Continuous antibiotic prophylaxis in children with vesicoureteral reflux may be ineffective.

The Commonwealth Fund reported results of a national survey that show the state-by-state disparities in children's health care.

Links to useful websites about Down syndrome.

An overview of disorders related to allergic symptoms in the pediatric patient, such as rhinitis, otitis media, asthma, and atopic dermatitis, as well as guidence regarding when to refer to an allergist.

Links to useful websites about allergy conditions.

A 15-year-old boy with two episodes of syncope shows a healthy history; could a gastrointestinal tract condition be a culprit?

The buzz surrounding extended cycling is prompting more young girls to ask if they too can have fewer or no periods. But given the nuances of each method, pediatricians may find that fulfilling these requests may be easier said than done.

Four hours of intrapartum penicillin G prophylaxis may not be necessary in women positive for group B streptococci, according to research published in the August issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

More than 100 countries condone the use of torture and have often recruited the medical community as participants without consequence, according to an editorial published online July 31 in BMJ.

The 1999 Master Settlement Act, which outlawed tobacco advertising on billboards and transit furniture, and a voluntary pledge by outdoor advertisers not to advertise alcohol and tobacco within 500 feet of schools, playgrounds and churches are frequently flouted, according to study findings published online July 29 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The European Working Time Regulations -- which reduced the maximum working week to 56 hours in 2007, will further reduce it to 48 hours in 2009, and require a minimum of 11 hours rest in any 24-hour period -- have adversely affected clinical care, and the quality of life and training for junior medical staff in the United Kingdom, according to an editorial published online July 31 in BMJ.

A survey of more than 400 pediatric physical, occupational, and speech therapists has found that two-thirds of therapists reported seeing a rise in early motor delays in infants in the past six years.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) report News and Numbers, children ages 4 and younger were hospitalized more than 34,000 times in 2006 due to skin infections, a 150% increase since 2000.

1. A 4-year-old girl was brought to the emergency department by her parents on a Sunday afternoon. Because of a clinical history of right upper quadrant pain and trace hematuria, abdominal radiographs were obtained. What do they show?

The management of pediatricmigraine incorporates lifestyle strategieswith acute therapy and preventivemeasures. Lifestyle changes that candiminish the frequency and intensity ofmigraines include maintaining regularsleeping, eating, and exercise habits;staying well hydrated; dealing withstress; and avoiding dietary triggers ofmigraine. Acute treatment represents arace against the clock: the longer aheadache continues to smolder, the harderit is to treat. An over-the-counteragent may help in the very early stagesof headache: if it does not, however,it must be followed within an hour by atriptan. Patients with significantmigraine disability may need preventionmedications or alternative therapies.