If we don't ask, they aren't going to tell: Screening for domestic violence
September 1st 2005Let all the families you care for know that domestic violence is an issue of concern to pediatricians by screening for it-consistently. Here's how to do that, and how to manage dilemmas that can arise as a result.
The District provides a lively mix of American history, music, theater, and dining
September 1st 2005When Pierre L'Enfant first viewed the land along the banks of the Potomac in 1791, he must have been a little disappointed. He faced a daunting design task. Much of the land was uninhabitable swampland ceded from Maryland and Virginia. (Later, the land originating in Virginia was given back to that commonwealth.) There are several hills (other than Capitol Hill), but you'll never get any higher than 420 feet above sea level no matter where you go in the District of Columbia.
If we don't ask, they aren't going to tell: Screening for domestic violence
September 1st 2005Let all the families you care for know that domestic violence is an issue of concern to pediatricians by screening for it-consistently. Here's how to do that, and how to manage dilemmas that can arise as a result.
Papular lesions and thickened nails on the feet: A "Don't Walk" sign?
September 1st 2005Your patient is a 14-year-old boy who complains of bilateral foot pain of several weeks' duration. Sometimes, he tells you, the pain is so bad that he cannot bear weight and has to crawl from place to place. As you talk with him, you note that all 10 fingernails are abnormally thick and raised.
"The time is out of joint": Pain, paresthesias, and weakness in a preadolescent
September 1st 2005Your patient is a 10-year-old Latino girl brought to the clinic by her very concerned mother. The complaint is leg and joint pain-severe enough to make walking difficult. The visit comes after your colleague at the clinic saw the girl about a month ago for an unusual rash described in the record as a brownish, linear, papular eruption, possibly urticaria pigmentosa.
Nurses are in a prime position to prevent pediatric medication errors
September 1st 2005The inability to calculate therapeutic dosages for children accounts for the majority of pediatric drug errors, according to Ronda G. Hughes, PhD, MHS, RN, and Elizabeth A. Edgerton, MD, MPH, of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. But there are practical ways for nurses-who often have primary responsibility for ensuring patient safety in the hospital and are usually the providers who administer the medications-to reduce the likelihood of a mistake.
Hepatitis A vaccine approved for use in young children
September 1st 2005The FDA announced in August that it has expanded the indication for Merck's approved hepatitis A vaccine (Vaqta) to include patients 12 months and older. Previously, Vaqta was approved for children 2 years and older. The change is the result of an open-label study of children with no evidence of hepatitis A infection.
Acne is a pox on big moments in teenage girls' lives, poll shows
September 1st 2005In a recent survey by the American Counseling Association (ACA), eight in 10 adolescent girls said that acne makes them feel embarrassed, unhappy, or less attractive. The survey, underwritten by Dermik Laboratories, polled 738 girls between 13 and 17 years old. Its goal was to raise public awareness of the impact of acne during important moments in a teenager's life.
Patient education resources on flu available on the Web for in-practice use
September 1st 2005"Kids Need Flu Vaccine, Too!," a toolkit developed by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, now includes new material—available online—to help educate parents about influenza and the importance of annual flu vaccinations for infants and children.