News

Parents of autistic children are more likely to be hospitalized due to mental illness than their counterparts whose children are not autistic, according to study findings published in the May issue of Pediatrics.

A ketogenic diet high in fat and low in carbohydrates reduces seizures in epileptic children with daily seizures who have failed other treatments, according to research published online May 3 in The Lancet Neurology.

The debate over growth and puberty attenuation in children with profound developmental disabilities continues. From the medical perspective, growth reduction by dramatically increasing circulating estrogen levels is not innovative, said Michael Kappy, MD, PhD, of The Children’s Hospital, Denver.

Sucrose and pharmacotherapy have long been the backbone of pain management in the neonatal intensive care unit. Two posters presented Sunday afternoon at PAS suggest that other methods may be equally effective in some settings.

Prenatal exposure to a range of maternal infections, including vaginal yeast infections, cystitis, pyelonephritis, diarrhea and cough, is associated with an increased risk for epilepsy, according to the results of a study published in the May issue of Pediatrics.

Habitual snoring among children is associated with a higher risk of nocturnal enuresis, while mild increases in sleep pressure caused by elevated plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide also play a role, researchers report in the May issue of Pediatrics.

The number of US measles cases in 2008 is the highest since 2001, and most of these cases originated outside of the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The firestorm of activity surrounding pediatric use of over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold continues with a new study calling for, among other things, increased focus on “packaging engineering.” At this year’s Pediatric Academic Societies’ meeting, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, researchers Daniel S. Budnitz, Melissa K. Schaefer, Nadine Shehab, and Adam L. Cohen, echoed the findings of previous reports citing unsupervised ingestions of cough and cold meds as a main source of emergency department (ED) visits in the pediatric population.

“I got it covered,” or “Yeah, I know,” are only two of the responses pediatricians and parents may encounter when probing asthmatic teens about their ability to control their condition. But a study presented at this year’s PAS conference, puts that level of control into question. Led by Maria Britto, MD, of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC), Ohio, the CCHMC researchers reported that 74% of adolescents dramatically overestimated their ability to control asthma, especially compared to the teens’ own reports of symptoms, use of rescue medications, and activity limitations. The study included 201 adolescents with an average age of 16.2 years who were observed during clinical visits.

Recently, the number of patients with food allergies is reported to be on the increase. In addition to the well established food allergens of egg, cows milk, wheat, and nuts seafoods, vegetables and fruits have joined the list of the most common allergens. Clinical symptoms of food allergy take various forms, and can include atopic dermatitis, asthma, anaphylaxis and sometimes death.

This workshop introduced the principles of child health equity as a new approach to practice, child advocacy, health policy generation, research and professional education. The interactive workshop was led by Dr Jeffrey Goldhagen, University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville, Fl and Thomas F. Tonniges, Boy’s Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE.

End of life decisions are never easy. But deciding to withhold or withdraw treatment from children adds more layers of emotional and ethical complexity. “Treatment decisions are easier when an infant is clearly dying,” said Jonathan Hellman, MBBCh, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Canada, at the PAS meeting in Honolulu.

It’s been over four years since the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) influenza vaccine recommendations were expanded to include six-23-month-olds, and two years since the recommended expansion for 24-59-month-olds. So how diligent have pediatricians and family medicine (FM) docs been in applying these recommendations? A study by researchers at the University of Colorado, Denver School of Medicine, found that adherence among pediatricians has been almost universal, with family medicine docs trailing behind. Using responses to e-mail and mailed surveys, researchers found that 95% of peds surveyed routinely vaccinated six-23 month olds for the flu, with only 72% of FM docs routinely vaccinating patients in this age group. Surprisingly, in the 24-59 month old age group, adherence among peds was 80%, with only 42% of FM docs vaccinating this group.

Q. What is the Spanish translation of dropperfuls? This is one of the questions pharmacists around the country are encountering when generating Spanish versions of medication labels for pediatric patients. Although medical translation software exists, pharmacists are finding gaps in the softwares’capabilities; there are simply words and phrases that do not have a Spanish equivalent. This raises concern over exactly how pharmacies are overcoming this challenge and, ultimately, the accuracy of the translations being generated. Investigators Iman Sharif and Julia Tse from the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, examined this issue and presented their results at this year’s PAS conference in Hawaii.

This year’s presentation on the media and children played to an overflow audience. Victor C Strasburger, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, highlighted what pediatricians already know about the impact of media on children and adolescents, and discussed some things they may not know and what they need to find out. Although there are many studies discussing the effect of the media on children’s attitudes and behavior, they are not found in pediatric journals.

It was standing room only at a presentation on probiotics given at this year's PAS conference.

Peanut allergy is a growing problem, particularly in developed countries, and all patients with peanut allergy need immediate access to epinephrine and antihistamines as well as an emergency management plan, according to a seminar published in the May 3 issue of The Lancet.

The availability of physician jobs for medical graduates in the United Kingdom is the subject of a Head to Head feature in the May 3 issue of BMJ.

Although young women often see their obstetrician-gynecologists or primary care physicians for pelvic exams, Pap smears and urinalyses, chlamydia testing is often not performed at the same time, according to study findings published in the May issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

The Washington University Medical Center campus in St. Louis will house a new hospital that will be part of the Shriners Hospitals for Children health care system.

Nurse Advice New Mexico provides 24-7 access to nurses via the telephone for those covered by Medicare and Medicaid, managed-care organizations, and anyone else.

The first FDA-approved device to measure airway inflammation in asthma patients.

A pesticide-free, over-the-counter treatment for lice, eggs, and nits.

A doctor-designed aspirator that can clear the nasal passages of newborns, infants, and toddlers.

Child BMI could decrease thanks to less TV time and computer use.

The benefits of nonpharmacologic therapy for infant GERD.

Investigating a potential link between MMR vaccine and immune thrombocytopenia purpura.

Resources for podiatry.

Resources for child ADHD.

Child and adolescent psychiatrists may reach out to their pediatric counterparts for assistance in ruling out medical causes for behavioral problems, evaluating medication risks, and more. What should you know and do to be ready?