Paediatrics
Inflammatory bowel disease in children increases cancer risk
Children diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease have an increased risk of cancer, especially gastrointestinal cancers, both in childhood and later in life, finds a study led by researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. The increase...Anti-TB drug should be given to children, study says
An innovative anti-tuberculosis drug that represents a reprieve for adults whose disease does not respond to other treatments should also be made available to children aged 12 or older, according to findings from a study reported in the US Centres...
Digit length may link to muscular strength in adolescent boys
August 30th, 2017 The ratio of the length of the second (pointer) finger and the length of the fourth (ring) finger – is favourably related to muscular strength in boys, found a small US study. A father-son research partnership has found that athletic prowess...
Probiotic mixture reduces sepsis by 40% in infants
August 23rd, 2017 A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study showed that sepsis and deaths in the first two months of infancy were reduced by 40%, following the administration for seven days of an oral probiotic mixture. A research team at the University...
Peanut allergy may be cured with probiotics and peanut oral immunotherapy
August 23rd, 2017 An oral treatment for one of the most deadly allergies, to peanuts, is still effective four years after it was administered, a study has found, an Australian study has found. Lead researcher Professor Mimi Tang said: ‘This is a major step forward...High levels of serotonin found in infants who died of SIDS
Blood samples from infants who died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) had high levels of serotonin, a chemical that carries signals along and between nerves, according to a study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. The...
Soccer beats swimming and cycling for bone development in boys
July 19th, 2017 Playing soccer can significantly improve bone development in adolescent boys after one-year's training, compared to swimming, cycling and non-sport playing, University of Exeter research shows. Adolescence is the key period for bone development,...Most parents make medication measurement errors
More than 80% of parents make measurement errors with their children's medications, of which a third were large errors, suggesting the need for tools to better match prescribed dose volumes in order to prevent accidental overdoses, reported New...All children with possible penicillin allergy test negative - small study
Children who, according to their parents, had possible penicillin allergy on the basis of non-specific symptoms all tested negative for actual allergy, a small US study found. The study involved 100 children ages 4 to 18 years who had low-risk...Vibrating device with cold pack for easing catheter insertion pain in kids
A vibrating device, used with a cold pack, relieves a child's pain while emergency department caregivers insert an intravenous (IV) catheter, equally as well as the currently used anesthetic, topical lidocaine. The device can be used quickly,...
Pretoria teaching hospital rife with paediatric medication errors
May 17th, 2017 The incidence of medication errors in the neonatal intensive care unit and paediatric wards at a Pretoria teaching hospital was higher than values reported elsewhere globally, with one in three resulting in 'some level of harm', found a study...
Serum test to identify abusive head trauma in infants
April 26th, 2017 A serum-based test, which needs to be validated in a larger population and receive regulatory approval, has been developed that would be the first of its kind to be used to detect acute intracranial haemorrhage in infants. Researchers at...
Booster vaccine during pregnancy cuts pertussis incidence in infants
April 11th, 2017 Among infants of women who received the Tdap pertussis booster vaccine during pregnancy, the risk of contracting pertussis was reduced by an estimated 91% during the first two months of life – the critical period before babies can receive their...Antibiotic treatment of acute appendicitis mostly safe for children
An analysis of several studies including 404 paediatric patients suggests antibiotic treatment for acute uncomplicated appendicitis is safe and effective in the majority of patients – but the risk that antibiotic treatment would fail increased in...Supportive touch and less painful procedures help prem babies
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) treatments save millions of infants born prematurely every year. But this treatment is not without cost. Painful procedures such as needle pricks can impact on early brain development, reports ScienceDaily. In...