Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Pediatrics for September 2007. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Gas Trapping Linked to Wheezing Among Preemies
FRIDAY, Sept. 28 (HealthDay News) -- In very prematurely born infants, wheezing at age 1 is associated with gas trapping and could be due to abnormalities of the small airways, according to the results of a study published in the September issue of the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
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Family Life Associated with Biological Impact on Asthma
FRIDAY, Sept. 28 (HealthDay News) -- The severity of asthma symptoms experienced by young people is affected physiologically by their family environment and behaviorally by their community environment, researchers report in the October issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
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Vitamin D Deficiency Common in Babies of Moms at Risk
FRIDAY, Sept. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Newborn infants of mothers with dark skin or those wearing concealing clothing, such as a veil, are at high risk for vitamin D deficiency at birth, according to study findings published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood in September.
Infants of Diabetic Mothers Have Low Iron Stores
THURSDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Babies of diabetic mothers have significantly lower iron stores than babies born to women without diabetes, a condition that suggests fetal response to chronic intrauterine hypoxia, researchers report in the September issue of the Archives of Disease in Childhood -- Fetal and Neonatal Edition.
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Young Girls' Smoking Habits Influenced By School
THURSDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Smoking bans that cover all school personnel on or near school premises should be a component of smoking prevention measures targeted at adolescents, and particularly girls, whose attitudes toward smoking may be more susceptible to school influences, according to the results of a Canadian study published in the September issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Teen Binge Drinking Increases Risk of Problems As Adults
THURSDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Teens who binge drink are more likely to have considerable problems as adults, including problem drinking, drug use, homelessness, criminal convictions and lower education, according to a report in the October issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
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FDA Issues Warning on 'Organic Pastures Raw Cream'
THURSDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes -- the organism that causes Listeriosis -- prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to issue a consumer warning Sept. 21 against consuming raw cream labeled as "Organic Pastures Grade A Raw Cream," which is packaged in one-pint plastic bottles coded "SEP 14" through "SEP 21."
Vaccine Preservative Not Linked to Neurological Deficits
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Early mercury exposure from thimerosal is not associated with later deficits in neuropsychological outcomes in children, although autism spectrum disorders were not examined, according to a report in the Sept. 27 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Unhealthy Children Get Lower Quality Health Care
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Parents of children in poor health report lower quality of health care and more related problems than their counterparts with healthier children, according to study findings published in the September issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. However, parents of those with chronic conditions report fewer care-related problems.
Larger Children at Risk in Meningococcal Infections
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Larger, better nourished children with invasive meningococcal infections are more likely to have severe cases of the disease and are more likely to die from it than smaller children with poorer nutrition, according to the results of a prospective observational study published in the September issue of the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
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Diabetes Risk Linked to Omega-3 Intake in Childhood
TUESDAY, Sept. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Consumption of omega-3 fatty acids is associated with reduced risk of type 1 diabetes in children, according to a two-part study reported in the Sept. 26 Journal of the American Medical Association.
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FDA Issues Warning on Baby's Bliss Gripe Water
TUESDAY, Sept. 25 (HealthDay News) -- A Minnesota case of cryptosporidium illness in a 6-month-old infant prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to issue a consumer warning Sept. 20 against consuming Baby's Bliss Gripe Water, apple flavor, which has a code of 26952V and an expiration date of October 2008 (shown as "10/08" on the label).
High-Altitude Ancestry Found Helpful for Fetal Growth
TUESDAY, Sept. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Multi-generational high-altitude populations appear to have more protection against hypoxia-associated reductions in fetal growth than populations who are relatively new to a high-altitude region, according to the results of a study published in the September issue of the Archives of Disease in Childhood -- Fetal and Neonatal Edition.
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Familiar Doctor Linked to More Satisfaction for Urgent Care
TUESDAY, Sept. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Patients who receive urgent medical care from family physicians or after-hours clinics affiliated with their physicians are more likely to be satisfied with the encounter than patients who use other sources of urgent care, according to research published in the September/October issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
Flu Vaccine Rates Dropping in United States
FRIDAY, Sept. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Influenza vaccination rates for Americans dropped during the 2005-2006 flu season to levels below those prior to the 2004 flu vaccine shortfall, according to a report in the Sept. 21 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Methamphetamine Use in Pregnancy Detectable in Hair
FRIDAY, Sept. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Mothers who use methamphetamine during pregnancy can transfer the drug through the placenta to their babies, according to a report in the September issue of the Archives of Disease in Childhood -- Fetal and Neonatal Edition.
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Intracapsular Tonsillectomy Linked to Fewer Complications
THURSDAY, Sept. 20 (HealthDay News) -- The incidence of post-operative complications, such as severe bleeding and pain, is significantly lower with intracapsular tonsillectomy than with traditional tonsillectomy, according to the results of a study published in the September issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery.
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Adolescent Girls More Likely to Survive Traumatic Injury
THURSDAY, Sept. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Adolescent girls who experience severe trauma are more than twice as likely to survive as adolescent boys subjected to equivalent trauma, according to a report published in the September issue of the Archives of Surgery.
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FDA, AHRQ to Investigate the Cardiac Risk of ADHD Drugs
THURSDAY, Sept. 20 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality have launched a two-year study to examine the cardiovascular risks of prescription drugs used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Blood Glucose, Child Conduct Linked in Type 1 Diabetes
THURSDAY, Sept. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Glycemic status is associated with aggression and other conduct problems in children with type 1 diabetes, researchers report in the September issue of Diabetes Care.
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FDA Warns Against Procter & Gamble Hand Sanitizer Ads
THURSDAY, Sept. 20 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned Procter & Gamble against marketing its foaming hand sanitizer, Vicks Early Defense Foaming Hand Sanitizer, to schoolchildren because the company claims that it kills germs that cause colds.
Repeat Prenatal Low-Dose Corticosteroids Probably Safe
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Repeat doses of prenatal corticosteroids do not significantly increase the risks for major adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes or delayed growth in children, but higher doses may be linked to an increased rate of cerebral palsy, according to two studies published in the Sept. 20 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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FDA Approves FluMist for Use in 2- to 5-Year-Olds
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the FluMist intranasal influenza vaccine for children ages 2 to 5. The vaccine should not be given to any patient with asthma or children under 5 with wheezing as it may increase the risk of wheeze.
Medical Schools Vary in Approach to Case Reports
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Most medical school institutional review boards (IRBs) don't treat individual case reports as "research," as it's defined by the United States Government Code of Federal Regulations, according to a research letter published in the Sept. 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Risk May Outweigh Benefit of Prenatal Screen for Gaucher's
TUESDAY, Sept. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Prenatal screening for Gaucher disease, an inherited disorder with a variable phenotype, results in the pregnancy termination of a modest number of affected fetuses, including some that are likely to have had asymptomatic or mild disease, according to a report published in the Sept. 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Congenital Heart Defect Boosts Mortality Risk Later On
TUESDAY, Sept. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Children who undergo surgery for congenital heart defect have a higher risk of death due to cardiac and non-cardiac causes later in life than their peers who have not had a congenital heart defect, according to study findings published online Sept. 9 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Cholesterol Screening Should Be Done in Childhood
FRIDAY, Sept. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Cholesterol screening is most effective when done in childhood, and experts recommend that children be screened at age 15 months at the time of childhood immunizations, according to a report published online Sept. 13 in BMJ.
Risk of Childhood Asthma Higher in Affluent Countries
FRIDAY, Sept. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Children with atopic sensitization for asthma who live in affluent countries are more likely to develop symptoms of the disease, according to the results of a large cross-sectional study published in the Sept. 15 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
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Less Intensive Eye Patching for Amblyopia May Be OK
FRIDAY, Sept. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Children with amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, who receive three to six hours of daily eye occlusion have similar visual improvement as those who receive six to 12 hours per day, according to a report published online Sept. 13 in BMJ.
Gene is Key to Immunity from Herpes Encephalitis
FRIDAY, Sept. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Human Toll-like receptor 3 is essential for natural immunity against herpes simplex-1 infection of the central nervous system, but not other infections, suggesting that it evolved in response to this specific viral challenge, according to research published in the Sept. 14 issue of Science.
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Chlorine in Pools Can Pose Chemical Poisoning Risk
FRIDAY, Sept. 14 (HealthDay News) -- A 6-year-old boy was severely poisoned by over-exposure to chloramines in a motel indoor swimming pool in 2006, highlighting the danger posed by pools with poor ventilation and inadequate water chemistry management, according to a report in the Sept. 14 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Pneumocystis Pneumonia Prophylaxis Thresholds Identified
FRIDAY, Sept. 14 (HealthDay News) -- In non-HIV immunocompromised adults whose risk of Pneumocystis pneumonia is greater than 3.5 percent, prophylaxis is warranted despite the risk of severe side effects. Because the risk of side effects is lower in children, prophylaxis may be warranted at an even lower incidence level in these patients, according to study findings published in the September issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
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Short Interpregnancy Interval Raises Preterm Birth Risk
THURSDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Short pregnancy intervals are associated with an increased risk of preterm birth after adjusting for age and other factors, researchers report in the September issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
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Auto Crashes in Young Cost Billions in Health Care
THURSDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Motor vehicle crashes are a major source of hospitalizations and health care expenditures among people age 20 and under in the United States, according to research published in the September issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Purging Disorder Differs from Bulimia Nervosa
THURSDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Purging disorder, a compulsion to self-induce vomiting without previous binge eating, is an eating disorder in its own right and is distinct from bulimia nervosa, according to a report in the September issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
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Weight Program Reduces Harmful Behavior in Girls
THURSDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- A school-based program to prevent obesity is effective in reducing harmful weight-control behaviors in adolescent girls, such as self-induced vomiting and use of diet pills, researchers report in the September issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Contact Lens Culture Can Identify Keratitis Organisms
THURSDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with microbial keratitis whose corneal scrapings are culture negative, a contact lens culture may help identify the causative organism, according to study findings published in the September issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.
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Breastfeeding Does Not Reduce Allergy, Asthma Risk
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Neither extended nor exclusive breast-feeding have an impact on the risk of allergy and asthma development in children, according to research published online Sept. 11 in BMJ.
Carvedilol Not Linked to Better Heart Outcomes in Youths
TUESDAY, Sept. 11 (HealthDay News) -- In what one editorialist called a disappointing finding, carvedilol does not offer significant improvement in clinical heart failure outcomes for children and adolescents with systolic heart failure, according to study findings published in the Sept. 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Hip Synovectomy Helps Young Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients
TUESDAY, Sept. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Open hip-joint synovectomy is safe for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis patients and often benefits hip mobility up to five years after surgery, according to a report in the September issue of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
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Children's Blood Pressure on the Rise in United States
MONDAY, Sept. 10 (HealthDay News) -- The incidence of high blood pressure and pre-high blood pressure among U.S. children and adolescents is on the rise, which may result in an increased risk of early organ damage and cardiovascular disease, according to study findings published online Sept. 10 in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
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Adult Troubles Can't Be Blamed on Single-Parent Childhood
MONDAY, Sept. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Children who grow up in single-parent households develop more problems as adults than those who do not, but those problems are associated with factors other than single parenthood, according to the results of a 25-year longitudinal study published in the September issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
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Less Sleep in Early Childhood May Impact Learning
FRIDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Children who slept fewer than 10 hours a night as infants are more likely to be described as hyperactive-impulsive and to score lower on cognitive performance tests than children who consistently slept 10 hours or more, according to a report published in the Sept. 1 issue of Sleep.
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U.K. Doctors Deviating from Asthma Guidelines
FRIDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Prescription records suggest that physicians in the United Kingdom are overprescribing oral beta-agonists and inhaled combinations of long-acting beta-agonists and steroids in children with asthma, according to research published online Sept. 4 in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
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Food Additives May Increase Hyperactivity in Children
FRIDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Artificial food color and additives found in food, candy and drinks may increase hyperactivity in children at least up to age 9, according to the results of a randomized study published online Sept. 6 in The Lancet.
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Many Patients' Mental Health Needs Unmet Worldwide
FRIDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Patient usage of mental health services for anxiety, mood and substance use disorders is low worldwide, especially in less-developed countries, researchers report in the Sept. 8 issue of The Lancet. Delivery of adequate service is also low in many countries worldwide, including the United States.
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Tympanometry Preferable for Middle Ear Effusion Diagnosis
FRIDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Spectral gradient acoustic reflectometry (SGAR) is "slightly less" discerning than tympanometry in diagnosing or ruling out middle ear effusion in children under 2, according to research presented in the September issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
U.S. Teen, Young Adult Suicide Rates Are on the Rise
FRIDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Youth and young-adult suicides steadily declined for 13 years in the United States, then jumped by 8 percent in 2003-2004, particularly among teenage girls, according to a report in the Sept. 7 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Mutation Linked to Impaired Synaptic Transmission
THURSDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) -- A mutated protein -- the neuroligin-3 synaptic cell adhesion molecule -- increases inhibitory synaptic transmission in mice, which could have implications for how autism spectrum disorders develop in humans, according to the results of an animal study published in the Sept. 6 issue of Science.
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Gene Variant Linked to Increased Human Stature
THURSDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) -- A common variant in the HMGA2 oncogene is associated with increased height in children and adults, according to the results of a study published online Sept. 2 in Nature Genetics.
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Airway Function in Infancy Predicts Obstruction in Adults
THURSDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Poor airway function in infancy is associated with an increased risk of childhood respiratory infections and impaired airflow in young adulthood, according to a report in the Sept. 1 issue of The Lancet.
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Bipolar Diagnoses Among Youth Increase Dramatically
THURSDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) -- The number of young people diagnosed with bipolar disorder in the United States has increased dramatically -- nearly 40-fold -- in recent years, and the medications they receive to treat the disorder are similar to those adults receive, researchers report in the September issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
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Movies Linked to Adolescents' Risk of Smoking Later On
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Adolescents' exposure to movies that feature characters who smoke is associated with their risk of becoming established smokers, according to the results of a study published in the September issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Family Involvement Boosts Teens' Odds of Beating Bulimia
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Adolescents with bulimia nervosa who receive family-based treatment may be more likely to become binge-and-purge abstinent, according to a report published in the September issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
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Most TV Food Ads for Children Portray Unhealthy Items
TUESDAY, Sept. 4 (HealthDay News) -- The vast majority of advertisements for food that children and adolescents see on television are for products high in fat, sugar or sodium, researchers report in the September issue of Pediatrics.
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Children's Television Viewing Linked to Short Attention Later
TUESDAY, Sept. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Television viewing during childhood is associated with attention difficulties during adolescence, according to the results of a longitudinal study that followed a cohort from age 5 into their teenage years. The research is published in the September issue of Pediatrics.
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Collaborative Care May Be Best for Pediatric ADHD Patients
TUESDAY, Sept. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) get more effective treatment if the physicians responsible for their care make full use of collaborative consultation services, including access to mental health professionals, researchers report in the September issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Children Show Signs of Stress Long Before School Starts
TUESDAY, Sept. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Children entering primary school have higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol months before school begins, U.K. researchers report in a study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
Nicotine in Breast Milk Affects Infants' Sleep Patterns
TUESDAY, Sept. 4 (HealthDay News) -- The breast milk of lactating smokers contains significant amounts of nicotine that has short-term effects on their infants' sleep/wake patterns, according to a report published in the September issue of Pediatrics.
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Parents' Concerns About Asthma Meds May Lower Use
TUESDAY, Sept. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Parents of children with asthma have concerns about the medications their children take, although they feel those medications are necessary, and their degree of concern is associated with the consistency with which they administer those medications, according to a cross-sectional survey published in the September issue of Pediatrics.
About 2.4 Million U.S. Children Have Attention Deficit
TUESDAY, Sept. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Almost 9 percent of American children between the ages of 8 and 15, roughly 2.4 million youngsters, have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Parental Smoking May Damage Women's Reproductive Health
MONDAY, Sept. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Women who were exposed to secondhand smoke before birth or during their childhood may experience poorer reproductive health as adults, researchers report in the Sept. 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.
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Teenagers Use of Cell Phones At Night Interrupts Sleep
MONDAY, Sept. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Adolescents frequently use their cell phones after "lights out" at night, and those who do so are more likely to feel tired, according to study findings published in the Sept. 1 issue of Sleep.
