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May 3, 2012 |
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM PAS 2012
Contemporary Pediatrics was among the thousands of attendees at this year’s Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting held in Boston from April 28 to May 1. We heard about emerging research, new directions, and innovative applications directly from the experts. If you couldn’t attend, here’s a review of some exciting developments in pediatrics.
Clinical trials often ignore children. Children represent more than half of patients burdened with diseases being treated in nearly 2,500 clinical trials, yet only about 1 in 10 clinical trials focuses on pediatric patients. Researchers from Children’s Hospital in Boston looked at US drug trials initiated between 2006 and 2011. They compared both adult and children’s trials for number and quality and found that not only were pediatric trials fewer in number, but children’s trials tended to be single center rather than multicenter; they lacked sufficient safety data; and they relied more on government and nonprofit funding. Also surprising, the researchers found that the discrepancies held even in drug trials for common childhood illnesses.
Children behaving badly may have mental disorders. Unruly behavior and temper tantrums could be signs of a developmental brain disorder in young children, said Thomas Insel, MD, director of the National Institute of Mental Health and the featured speaker at the Presidential Plenary session on Sunday, April 29. He noted that early identification and intervention when behavior problems escalate would ensure that children are diagnosed properly and treated as soon as possible. Diagnosing mental disorders must be an integrated process that looks at both behavior and medical concerns, and practitioners should make use of cognitive and genetic testing as well as traditional questionnaires to screen for mental illness.
Bullying leads to depression in kids with special needs. New research finds that being bullied, excluded or ignored, or being diagnosed with a chronic medical condition takes a toll on the emotional well-being of children who already have special medical needs. Researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina investigated the effects of such stressors on children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, sickle cell disease, obesity, learning disabilities, and autism spectrum disorder. Children and parents completed screening questionnaires for anxiety and depression; the children also completed a screen tool that assessed for bullying and exclusion. Researchers found that among these children, bullying and ostracism by peers were the strongest predictors of depression or anxiety, even more than the challenges presented by their medical conditions or developmental diagnoses.
Neonatal abstinence syndrome tripled in last decade. Babies born addicted to their mothers’ opiate drugs are filling US hospital nurseries at a rate of about one baby every hour, according to a study that assessed national trends in neonatal abstinence syndrome and mothers’ use of prescription painkillers. Physicians from the University of Michigan said that overall use of prescription opiates spiked 5-fold between 2000 and 2009 and that withdrawal symptoms among newborns whose mothers used opiates during pregnancy tripled in the same time period. They called opiate use a national epidemic and a public health issue that should be addressed by educating health care providers and state systems to monitor for potential abuse.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
A reduced-carbohydrate diet led to favorable changes in metabolic parameters in peripubertal black girls who were obese, but did it have any effect on weight loss? » More
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An implanted rod that lengthens under noninvasive magnetic control to treat the spinal curvature of scoliosis is showing success at the 2-year testing mark. What can this experimental treatment mean for your patients with scoliosis? » More
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A new study looks at using text messages to remind families to have their children vaccinated for seasonal influenza. Could text messaging make a difference in a vaccination rate that is barely more than half overall and considerably lower in low-income populations? » More
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Starting enteral feeding early in preterm infants who are small for their age could result in earlier achievement of full enteral feeding without increasing the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis. » More |
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