Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics, Vaccine Studies / 15.10.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Ali Rowhani-Rahbar PhD, MD, MPH Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center, Oakland, California University of Washington Department of Epidemiology Health Sciences Seattle, WA 98195Dr. Ali Rowhani-Rahbar PhD, MD, MPH Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center, Oakland, California University of Washington Department of Epidemiology Health Sciences Seattle, WA 98195   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of your study? Answer: We found that the magnitude of increased risk of fever and seizures following immunization with the first dose of measles-containing vaccines during the second year of life depends on age.  Specifically, the risk of seizures attributable to the vaccine during the 7 to 10 days following vaccination was significantly greater among children 16-23 months of age (9.5 excess cases per 10,000 doses) than among children 12-15 months of age (4.0 excess cases per 10,000 doses). (more…)
Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, JAMA, Pediatrics, Probiotics / 10.10.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Valerie Sung MBBS(Hons) FRACP MPH
NHMRC PhD Candidate Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, and Community Health Services Research, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute Paediatrician, Centre for Community Child Health The Royal Children’s Hospital Parkville | 3052 | Victoria
 Australia MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Sung: The systematic review identified 12 studies (1825 infants)  that investigated the use of probiotics to treat or prevent infant colic (excessive crying of unknown cause in babies less than 3 months old). Three of the 5 treatment trials concluded probiotics effectively treat colic in breastfed babies; one suggested possible effectiveness in formula-fed babies with colic, and one suggested ineffectiveness in breastfed babies with colic. The three effective trials used the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri in breastfed babies only; in two of these trials, the mothers were on a dairy-free diet. Five of the 7 prevention trials suggested probiotics to be ineffective in preventing colic. (more…)
Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Gluten, Nutrition, Pediatrics / 08.10.2013

Ketil Stordal Researcher/consultant paediatrician National Institute of Public Health NorwayMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ketil Stordal Researcher/consultant paediatrician National Institute of Public Health Norway MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: The study identified 324 children with celiac disease from a cohort of 82 000. Start of gluten in the diet later than 6 months was associated with a 27% increased risk of celiac disease compared to those starting during the 5th or 6th month of life. Breastfeeding was not protective; the duration of breastfeeding was slightly longer among children with celiac disease (10.4 vs 9.9 months) and breastfeeding at the time of gluten introduction was not associated with the later risk of celiac disease. The participating mothers had submitted detailed data since pregnancy including infant feeding practices, and these were collected before onset of the disease. (more…)
Hospital Acquired, Infections, Outcomes & Safety, Pediatrics / 07.10.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Elias Iosifidis, MD, PhD Pediatric Infectious Disease Fellow Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Hippokration Hospital Thessaloniki, Greece MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Iosifidis: A large outbreak of VRE colonization was found in neonates hospitalized in an intensive care unit (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, NICU) after the implementation of an active surveillance program. Both high incidence of VRE colonization (or “colonization pressure”) and antibiotic use promoted VRE spread according to the results of the case control study. No proven sources of VRE were found (in local hospital or even in local livestock). A multifaceted management was implemented and included enhanced infection control measures, active surveillance cultures, cohorting of colonized patients, daily audits and optimization of antibiotic therapy. Although the outbreak had a biphasic pattern (monoclonal first wave followed by a polyclonal second wave) strict adherence to the aforementioned bundle of actions was proved essential for reducing VRE colonized cases. During the study period no new VRE infection occurred in neonates. (more…)
ADHD, Author Interviews, Mental Health Research, Pediatrics / 04.10.2013

Tanya Froehlich, MD, MS Associate Professor Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center 3333 Burnet Avenue, MLC 4002 Cincinnati, OH 45229MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tanya Froehlich, MD, MS Associate Professor Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center 3333 Burnet Avenue, MLC 4002 Cincinnati, OH  45229 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Froehlich: In a national sample of 2 to 5 year olds, the likelihood of psychotropic prescription peaked in the mid-2000s (at 1.5%), then stabilized in the late 2000s (to 1.0%). Increased psychotropic use in boys, white children, and those lacking private health insurance was documented. (more…)
Author Interviews, MRSA, Pediatrics / 23.09.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Martha Iwamoto, MD, MPH Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Iwamoto: We have been successful in decreasing invasive MRSA infections among infants younger than 3 months, mostly due to declines in hospital –onset infections in NICUs. However, more needs to be done among pediatric patients older than 3 months, especially those in the community settings and without recent healthcare exposures. (more…)
Author Interviews, CMAJ, Pediatrics, Psychological Science / 18.09.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gianluca Gini, PhD and Tiziana Pozzoli, PhD Department of Developmental and Social Psychology University of Padua, Padua, Italy MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Results of this meta-analysis show that bullied children are twice as likely as non-bullied children to experience psychosomatic symptoms (e.g., headache, stomachache, backache, abdominal pain, dizziness,  sleeping problems, poor appetite, bedwetting, skin problems, vomiting), especially in samples that included an higher proportion of boys.  Importantly, the same result was found not only with cross-sectional studies but also in a meta-analysis of six studies that employed a longitudinal design. (more…)
Author Interviews, CMAJ, Exercise - Fitness, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 18.09.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ronald J. Iannotti, PhD Prevention Research Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland Trends in Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, Diet, and BMI Among US Adolescents, 2001–2009 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Iannotti: Although average BMI percentile increased from 2001 to 2005 it did not increase from 2005 to 2009. This is consistent with some recent studies that suggest the increase in overweight and obesity may be leveling off. We suggest that we may be 'bending the curve'. During the same period, physical activity and consumption of fruits and vegetables increased while television watching and consumption of sweets and sweetened beverages decreased. We cannot say whether television watching was replaced with more time spent on computers but we did not find an increase in computer use from 2005 to 2009. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 11.09.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Elsie Taveras Massachusetts General Hospital for Children Division of General Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics 100 Cambridge St, 15th Floor Boston, MA 02114Dr. Elsie Taveras Massachusetts General Hospital for Children Division of General Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics 100 Cambridge St, 15th Floor Boston, MA 02114   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Taveras: The main findings of the study were that, overall, the body mass index of children in the intervention group dropped an average of 0.18, while it rose 0.21 in the control group. Children in the intervention group were sleeping about 45 minutes longer than children in the control group. Time spent watching television on weekends dropped about an hour per day in the intervention group, leading to a significant difference from the control group, which increased weekend TV viewing. Both groups had a small reduction in weekday TV viewing, with a greater decrease in the intervention group, as well. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Pediatrics / 11.09.2013

David R. Fulton, M.D. Associate Cardiologist-in-Chief for Administration Tommy Kaplan Chair in Cardiovascular Studies Chief, Cardiology Outpatient Services Department of Cardiology Children's Hospital Boston Boston, MA 02115David R. Fulton, M.D. Associate Cardiologist-in-Chief for Administration Tommy Kaplan Chair in Cardiovascular Studies Chief, Cardiology Outpatient Services Department of Cardiology Children's Hospital Boston Boston, MA 02115 MedicalResearch.com:   What are the main findings of this study? Dr. Fulton: The main findings of this study demonstrated that using a quality improvement methodology (SCAMPs), a diverse population of children and adolescents with chest pain could be managed  with relative uniformity and cost effectiveness in a multi-center collaborative.  Only 2 patients of the 1016 children who formed the basis for this review were shown to have a cardiac etiology.   The clinicians were able to screen and reach a diagnostic conclusion in a  large segment of this population using history, physical examination and ECG. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Pediatrics / 07.08.2013

Kirsten Ness, PT, PhD 
 Epidemiology and Cancer Control MS 735, Room S-6013 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 262 Danny Thomas Place Memphis, TN 38105-3678MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kirsten Ness, PT, PhD Epidemiology and Cancer Control MS 735, Room S-6013 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 262 Danny Thomas Place Memphis, TN 38105-3678 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?  Answer: Even though they report similar levels of physical activity, children who were treated for cancer and who survive at least five years, on average, do not perform as well as their siblings on tests of physical performance.  They have muscle weakness and decreased cardiopulmonary fitness. (more…)
Asthma, Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Smoking, UCLA / 06.08.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Virender Rehan, MD Professor of Pediatrics Chief, Division of Neonatology Director, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Director, Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Training Program Co-Director Perinatal Research Center Harbor UCLA Medical Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Torrance, CA, 90502 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Rehan: The main findings of the study include the likelihood of transmission of asthma to third generation offspring following maternal smoking during pregnancy even when child’s mother didn’t smoke. And these effects seem to be more profound in the upper airways of males compared to that in females. (more…)
Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 06.08.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mark D. DeBoer, MD Associate Professor of Pediatrics Division of Pediatric Endocrinology University of Virginia Health System P.O. Box 800386 Charlottesville, VA 22908 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. DeBoer: Preschool and kindergarten children drinking SSB (compared to infrequent/non-drinkers)  were more likely to be obese and among 2 year-olds had more unhealthy weight gain over the next 2 years.  SSB consumption is thus linked to higher weight status in children age 2-5 years. (more…)
Author Interviews, Pediatrics / 30.07.2013

Gary A. Smith, MD, DrPH Center for Injury Research and Policy, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio; The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio; and Child Injury Prevention Alliance, Columbus, OhioMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gary A. Smith, MD, DrPH
Center for Injury Research and Policy, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio; The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio; and Child Injury Prevention Alliance, Columbus, Ohio
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Smith: During the nine-year study period, more than 12,000 children were treated each year in U.S. emergency departments for injuries from choking on food, which equals 34 children each day.  Hard candy caused the most choking episodes (15 percent), followed by other candy (13 percent), meat, other than hot dogs (12 percent), and bones (12 percent). These four food types alone accounted for more than half of all the choking episodes in the study. (more…)
Diabetes, JAMA, Pediatrics / 20.06.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:  Dr. Ezio Bonifacio, Ph.D. Professor, Preclinical Stem Cells/Diabetes Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden Technische Universität Dresden MedicalResearch.com:  What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Bonifacio: Children who develop multiple islet autoantibodies are destined to develop diabetes. Only a minority will be diabetes-free 15 years after developing islet autoantibodies. This is regardless of whether they have a family history of type 1 diabetes. Progression to diabetes after seroconversion varied from weeks to decades, and 20% of children had diabetes within 2 years from seroconverting. Progression was fastest in children who developed their islet autoantibodies before age 3 years. MedicalResearch.com:  Were any of the findings unexpected? Dr. Bonifacio: Unexpected is probably not the right word. The Eisenbarth model of chronic disease proposes that diabetes will happen some time after autoimmunity and the findings show the reality of it. Perhaps the unexpected finding is that it is not always chronic and that for a number of children, intervention would need to be applied quickly. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics, Rheumatology, Vaccine Studies / 19.06.2013

Marloes Heijstek MD University Medical Center, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital Department of Pediatric Immunology and Rheumatology Room number KC 03.063.0 P.O. Box 85090 Lundlaan 6 3508 AB UtrechtMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Marloes Heijstek MD University Medical Center, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital Department of Pediatric Immunology and Rheumatology Room number KC 03.063.0 P.O. Box 85090 Lundlaan 6 3508 AB Utrecht MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Heijstek: The main findings of our study are that MMR booster vaccination does not affect JIA disease, does not cause flares of arthritis and induces high rates of protective immunity. (more…)