Tag - pediatrics

04May

Are Oral Steroids being overused for children with asthma?

Oral Corticosteroids have been shown to have definite benefit for children with moderate to severe asthma exacerbations, but no benefit and possible harm for minimal to mild exacerbations.  Recent research using data from Texas Children’s Health Plan has found very high rates of oral corticosteroid dispensing in the prior year for children with a diagnosis of asthma – close to 50% for children under 5 years, and close to 40% of children with asthma over 5 years.  There was large...

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13Feb

AAP Strongly Advises Against Codeine for Children

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recently released a Clinical Report strongly advising against codeine use in children. The rationale of the AAP is as follows: “Codeine is a prodrug with little inherent pharmacologic activity and must be metabolized in the liver into morphine, which is responsible for codeine’s analgesic effects. However, there is substantial genetic variability in the activity of the responsible hepatic enzyme, CYP2D6, and, as a consequence, individual patient response to codeine varies from no effect to...

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21Sep

Undescended Testicles and the Use of Ultrasound

Cryptorchidism or undescended testis (UDT) is the most common urological birth defect, occurring in 1 in 33 live male births. The most important reasons for surgical treatment of cryptorchidism include increased risks of testicular malignancy, infertility, testis torsion and/or inguinal hernia. The current standard of treatment for any UDT that fails to spontaneously descend by 6 months of age in the United States is orchidopexy (surgery to reposition the testis to the scrotum). Evaluation of UDT includes a thorough gestational...

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07May

5 Ways to Encourage Speech Development and Language Skills

Long before a child speaks their first word, a child is already communicating.  The first signs of communication happen during the first few days of life when an infant learns that a cry will bring food and comfort. The newborn also begins to recognize the sound of a parent or caregiver’s voice. As they grow, infants begin to sort out the speech sounds that compose the words of their language.   As the infant’s oral motor skills and voice advance, they...

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