Lately, I've spent a lot of time talking about the alleged link between thimerosal in pediatric vaccines and autism. Most of you have been asked by parents whether immunizations pose a risk of autism as well, and some parents are so frightened by rumors, press reports, and information on the World Wide Web that they forgo immunizations for their children altogether.
Let 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.
I recently saw a 9-year-old girl who had a five-month complaint of functional abdominal pain. Her parents were skeptical of the diagnosis. They told me their daughter was a model student, had lots of friends, and was engaged in a (reasonable) number of extracurricular activities. The girl was not uncomfortable during the visit and seemed eager to please her parents.
It was established on cheap swampland that was once thought uninhabitable, but it became the capital of "the last best hope of man." Its wide avenues, streets, monuments, and buildings play witness to the steady march of time and history.
When 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.
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Majority Leader Frist jumps ship on stem-cell research, and a decision on OTC status for Plan B is imminent—maybe
Looking for ways to manage nocturnal enuresis? Here are 14 personal pointers drawn from a quarter century of experience.
Another article about tobacco use counseling? Before you roll your eyes and move on, take a look at this practical strategy, which includes a new twist that can work for counseling about any risky behavior.
Breast is best but success isn't a given. These guidelines help you encourage mothers to breastfeed and give them the support they need to do well--without short-changing reimbursement.
Pediatricians working with social agencies and government have made huge strides on behalf of children in the last hundred years. But much work remains.
Let 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.
Your 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.
Your 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.
The 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.
The 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.
In 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.