Remind Patients—and Parents—that Even ‘Natural’ Therapies Can Be Hazardous

Remind Patients—and Parents—that Even ‘Natural’ Therapies Can Be Hazardous

Too many patients assume that a supplement labeled as “natural” is unlikely to cause possibly dangerous side effects. That risk is compounded when the person taking the supplement is a child. The potential for negative side effects and toxicity is underscored in an article just published by the Journal of the American Medical Association. In it, the authors cite data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing a 530% increase in pediatric melatonin …

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Peak Vacation Season Ups the Risk for Drowning. Are You Prepared to Help the Victims?

Peak Vacation Season Ups the Risk for Drowning. Are You Prepared to Help the Victims?

With schools out and temperatures peaking all over the country, many families are heading to the beach and diving into the pool for relief from the heat. More frequent exposure to water means greater risk for drowning, however, especially for young and inexperienced swimmers. JAMA Pediatrics just published a safety guide to help parents understand where the greatest risks lie—and how to avoid them—on its patient page. It offers good common-sense advice for parents, such …

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Follow-Up: Details of Acute Pediatric Liver Ailment Emerge as Cases Continue to Mount

Follow-Up: Details of Acute Pediatric Liver Ailment Emerge as Cases Continue to Mount

Though new cases of the mysterious liver ailment that’s been preying on children for several months continue to emerge, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies around the world are now presenting a clearer picture of what we’re dealing with. Whereas previous reports referred generally to a “liver ailment” that appeared hepatitis-like, the CDC and others are now specifying that it is, in fact, unexplained acute hepatitis. Unfortunately, there’s still no …

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A Dead Child, a Grim Reminder: Trust Your Gut If Something Seems Off About a Child’s Injuries

A Dead Child, a Grim Reminder: Trust Your Gut If Something Seems Off About a Child’s Injuries

News outlets in New Mexico have renewed calls for governmental investigation into the death of a 4-year-old boy under gruesome circumstances, particularly into how state youth protective services missed obvious signs of abuse that should have triggered intervention. As reported by the Albuquerque Journal, 2 months before James Dunklee Cruz died he was brought to an urgent care center with an injured shoulder, a black eye, and bruising on his penis—all at the hands of …

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Pediatric Elbow Fractures: A Clinical Review

Pediatric Elbow Fractures: A Clinical Review

Urgent message: Though the most common fracture seen in pediatric trauma patients, elbow fractures can be difficult to identify in younger patients. Familiarity with elbow anatomy, ossification centers, and fracture patterns is essential for optimal outcomes. Amy Grover, MD CASE VIGNETTE A 7-year-old previously healthy female presents to urgent care with a chief complaint of left elbow pain after a fall on outstretched arm. She had immediate pain, swelling and difficulty moving her arm. Her …

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Update: Transplants, Deaths, and No Answers Regarding Sudden Pediatric Liver Illness

Update: Transplants, Deaths, and No Answers Regarding Sudden Pediatric Liver Illness

While it’s still a rare occurrence, a liver ailment that appears to affect children has infectious disease experts mystified—and concerned, given that five children have died and 16 of the 109 afflicted have had to undergo liver transplant. Nearly a hundred have been hospitalized. It’s not a local or regional problem, either, as cases have been confirmed in 25 states and U.S. territories. Right now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is looking at …

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COVID Isn’t the Only Virus to Guard Against—Especially in Children Right Now

COVID Isn’t the Only Virus to Guard Against—Especially in Children Right Now

While the world’s attention continues to be consumed by the ever-fluctuating COVID-19 situation, another deadly virus has started making its way around the globe. And, unlike SARS-CoV-2, this one has shown to be a threat to children from the start. As the World Health Organization confirmed the death of at least one child from acute hepatitis of unknown origin, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging clinicians here to be vigilant for symptoms …

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Concerns Persist About Giving COVID-19 Vaccine to Kids Who’ve Had MIS-C. Should They, Though?

Concerns Persist About Giving COVID-19 Vaccine to Kids Who’ve Had MIS-C. Should They, Though?

Though relatively rare, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) has struck fear in the hearts of families across the United States for years now. And in households where a child did recover from MIS-C, questions have abounded as to whether administering COVID-19 vaccine would provide protection from future problems with the virus or leave children at greater risk for severe outcomes. A study of children in Texas and Italy, however, suggests that there’s no additional …

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Adolescent Overdose Deaths Are Up—but Usage Is Not. If You Don’t Know Why, How Can You Help?

Adolescent Overdose Deaths Are Up—but Usage Is Not. If You Don’t Know Why, How Can You Help?

What at first appears paradoxical—that illicit drug use among U.S. adolescents was relatively stable between January 2010 and June 2021 while overdose deaths increased—has a perfectly rational, if disturbing, explanation according to a new research letter published by the Journal of the American Medical Association: It’s the substances themselves that make the difference. In 2010 30.2% of 10th graders admitted to using illicit drugs; by 2020 the figure was 30.4%, though by June 2021 only …

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Testing for STIs Isn’t Keeping Pace with Sexual Activity Among Younger Patients

Testing for STIs Isn’t Keeping Pace with Sexual Activity Among Younger Patients

We’ve told you about an uptick in sexually transmitted infection among adults since relaxation of social distancing rules in municipalities across the U.S. Unfortunately, that trend could soon extend to younger patients as well, if data newly published in the journal Pediatrics is any indication. Despite national guidelines that recommend annual testing for certain STIs in specific segments of the adolescent population, only 20% of sexually active high school students say they were tested for …

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