Top Five Pediatric Stories of 2008
By Dr. Stacy Beller Stryer, M.D.
Reflecting on the past year’s successes and failures as a parent is an important and worthwhile exercise to do each January. In previous January blogs, I have published my own list of resolutions for the New Year to help you get your own creative juices flowing. This year, however, I have decided to talk about the top five news stories related to pediatrics in 2008.
The top news story in 2008 is the election of Barack Obama as our next President. President-elect Obama wants affordable, comprehensive and portable health care for everybody . His goal is for all uninsured children to be able to sign up for healthcare plans. He wants to expand Medicaid and state health insurance programs, and to develop a government-funded health insurance plan that will compete with other companies. President-elect Obama also wants comprehensive health education taught in schools.
A second important pediatric-related news story is the recall of cough and cold medicines, including decongestants, expectorants and antitussives, for children, particularly those ages 2 years and less. The reason for the recall is because studies have found that the risks of dangerous side-effects far outweigh the benefits. A study which came out last year from the Centers from Disease Control found that over 1500 children under age 2 visited the emergency room for serious side effects due to taking cold medicines in 2004 and 2005, and that 3 children died. In addition, insufficient studies have evaluated the efficacy and side effects in children. Actually, these medicines were previously developed based on studies done with adults.
Another important finding concerns the use of cigarettes. If you smoke and light up that cigarette only when you are outside your house or when your children aren’t home, you may still be harming them (OK – this was reported in the January issue of Pediatrics but I heard about it December 31st!). According to a recent study published in Pediatrics , this “third-hand smoke” causes toxins to remain everywhere, such as on clothes, hair, couch cushions, and carpets, for extended periods of time. The toxins include heavy metals, carcinogens, and radioactive materials that children may ingest, especially if they are crawling on the carpets. If this isn’t enough of a reason to quit smoking, I don’t know what is!
Unlike some other fatal illnesses, researchers have been able to decrease the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) significantly over the years when they discovered that placing an infant to sleep on his back significantly reduced the risk. Another study published last October in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine that placing a fan in an infant’s room during sleep decreased the risk of SIDS by 72%.
The last news story which made significant changes in pediatric practice this past year concerns the identification and treatment of elevated cholesterol levels in toddlers and children. In July, the journal Pediatrics published revised guidelines for pediatricians, including initiation of lipid screening in children, beginning at age 2 years, in those who have a family history of high cholesterol or early heart disease, or in those who are overweight, have diabetes, or smoke. The American Academy of Pediatrics has also begun to recommend a decrease in the fat content of milk in overweight children beginning at age 1 year. Finally, they now recommend medication as early as age 10 years in certain children with elevated lipid levels despite exercise and diet change.
There are many other important findings from 2008, but I thought that these were among the most important. Now stop reading and get back to your New Year’s Resolutions for 2009!
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