Pediatrics News and Research

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

Study demonstrates ways in which quality measurement from EHRs can be improved

Health care providers and hospitals are being offered up to $27 billion in federal financial incentives to use electronic health records (EHRs) in ways that demonstrably improve the quality of care. The incentives are based, in part, on the ability to electronically report clinical quality measures.

16 Jan 2013

Study highlights the risk that female teenagers face when they go online

A new study highlights the risk that female teenagers face when they go online - a risk heightened for teen girls who have been victims of abuse or neglect.

15 Jan 2013

Children with chronic medical conditions more likely to use alternative medicine

Children who regularly see specialists for chronic medical conditions are also using complementary medicine at a high rate, demonstrates recently published research from the University of Alberta and the University of Ottawa.

15 Jan 2013

Obese youngsters at far greater risk than had been supposed

While a great deal of research on childhood obesity has spotlighted the long-term health problems that emerge in adulthood, a new UCLA study focuses on the condition's immediate consequences and shows that obese youngsters are at far greater risk than had been supposed.

15 Jan 2013

Donor liver wastage on the increase

US researchers have found that the expansion of liver transplantation criteria to include post-cardiac death donors is associated with an increase in the proportion of unused donor livers.

14 Jan 2013

Less than 45% of children are vaccinated against flu: Study

This year's flu season is in full swing with 41 states now reporting widespread illness. Unfortunately, not enough children are getting the flu shot even though health officials recommend that all children 6 months and older get the vaccine. According to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, less than 45 percent of children were vaccinated against the flu during a five-year study period.

11 Jan 2013

Placing peanut protein under a patient's tongue helps dampen allergic reactions

Of all foods, peanuts are the most frequent cause of life-threatening and fatal allergic reactions. New research at National Jewish Health provides additional support for a strategy to reduce the severity of reactions to peanut- repeatedly consuming small amounts of the very food that causes those reactions in the first place, a practice called immunotherapy.

11 Jan 2013

SLU researchers to test new screening method for MPS disorders among infants

Researchers at Saint Louis University have received a five-year, $2.5 million National Institutes of Health grant to test a new method of screening newborns for a group of rare, but serious genetic disorders that affect approximately 200 babies born in the U.S., each year.

11 Jan 2013

Tips for parents to safely help relieve child's flu symptoms

Doctors' offices are teeming with patients suffering from one of the worst outbreaks of cold and flu season in recent years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that flu is at an elevated level across the nation. Though virus symptoms vary by age, children are especially vulnerable since they are unable to take over-the-counter medications to help alleviate symptoms.

10 Jan 2013

UMDNJ develops rapid detection test for Exserhilum rostratum

A rapid detection test for Exserhilum rostratum, the fungus primarily responsible for 39 deaths among patients injected last year with a contaminated steroid medication, has been developed by a research team led by David S. Perlin, PhD, Executive Director of the Public Health Research Institute (PHRI) at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School.

10 Jan 2013

Loyola uses FilmArray Respiratory Panel to screen infectious diseases

Cold, allergies, the flu or something else? Thanks to advanced technology, physicians at Loyola University Health System receive confirmation of their patient's respiratory illness within one hour. Loyola is one of only two hospitals in lllinois to use the FDA-approved FilmArray Respiratory Panel, which screens for 17 viral and 3 bacterial pathogens in about 60 minutes.

10 Jan 2013

Researchers uncover genetic causes of von Willebrand disease

In 2006, the lab of Dr. David Ginsburg at the Life Sciences Institute put a call out for siblings attending the University of Michigan to donate blood for a study of blood-clotting disorders.

10 Jan 2013

Tips to keep kids safe while playing outside in the cold

Cold winds, icy rain and, in some places, snow—Old Man Winter is here. With the snowball fights, snow forts and snowy hills come some serious dangers. In addition to ducking from flying snow balls and avoiding out-of-control skiers, parents need to be on the lookout for dangerously low body temperatures and frostbite related to cold weather exposure.

10 Jan 2013

Moms more likely to use TV to entertain and soothe fussy infants

Moms, especially those who are obese, are more likely to use TV to entertain and soothe infants who are more fussy and active, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The finding adds to the growing body of knowledge that may help explain the escalating rate of obesity and inactivity in U.S. children, and has led to behavioral and educational strategies that may help mothers combat these effects.

9 Jan 2013

Sublingual immunotherapy can effectively treat peanut allergy

Peanuts are one of the most common triggers of severe food-induced allergic reactions, which can be fatal, and the prevalence of peanut allergy is increasing. However, there is currently no clinical treatment available for peanut allergy other than strict dietary elimination and, in cases of accidental ingestion, injections of epinephrine.

9 Jan 2013

Babies born to obese mothers have low levels of vitamin D

Women who are obese at the start of their pregnancy may be passing on insufficient levels of vitamin D to their babies, according to a new Northwestern Medicine- study.

8 Jan 2013

Study finds school debt keeps some young doctors from specializing

The research suggests that financial concerns may keep some residents from going into medical specialties that don't offer high compensation.

8 Jan 2013

Study shows timely reminders increase immunization rates among preschool children

New research from the Children's Outcomes Research Program at Children's Hospital Colorado shows that timely reminders by state or local health departments are more effective at increasing immunization rates among preschool children than those from primary care practices.

8 Jan 2013

Newly discovered gene predicts HCV interferon response

Researchers have discovered a gene which interferes with the clearance of hepatitis C virus infection.

7 Jan 2013

Researchers find link between brain infections and climate in sub-Saharan Africa

The amount of rainfall affects the number of infant infections leading to hydrocephalus in Uganda, according to a team of researchers who are the first to demonstrate that these brain infections are linked to climate.

7 Jan 2013