a SLACK Incorporated newspaper
|
|
3rd Annual Infectious Diseases in Children Symposium West |
 |
|
Don’t worry. This is still the same newspaper you know and read. But, as you peruse this issue of Infectious Diseases in Children, you may notice some changes.
News coverage of medical meetings and reports from AAP, FDA, NIH and CDC are still here, as is all the timely and relevant clinical information you need.
But as we’ve grown, our newspaper has become harder to navigate. So, we’ve streamlined our look.
The book is better organized and now mimics your local newspaper. This improved version has sections like Breaking News and Commentary, Vaccine-Preventable Diseases and Asthma, Allergy & Immunology. Each section is color-coded to help you identify areas of medicine that interest you.
Your favorites, like Dr. Brunell’s editorial, What’s Your Diagnosis? and Pharmacology Consult, will always appear in the front. Resident Rounds and the answer to What’s Your Diagnosis? will always appear near the calendar and classifieds. (No peeking!)
Clinical Practice Primer by Dr. Richard Schwartz is a new practical advice column that will appear every other month.
Finally, we’ve added News of General Pediatrics. Infectious diseases may be a large part of your pediatric practice, but they are not the only problems you see.
We hope these changes enable you to make better use of the time you spend with us. Please let me know what you think. You can reach me at 856-848-1000; mrosenthal@slackinc.com.
— Marie Rosenthal, Editor in Chief
BETHESDA, Md. — An FDA panel voted 6 to 5 against recommending approval of a combination vaccine that would protect against five diseases.
Although committee members felt the diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis, hepatitis B and inactivated polio vaccine (InfanrixDTaP-HepB-IPV, GlaxoSmith Kline) was efficacious, they had some questions about efficacy against pertussis and concerns about the largely homogenous study population. Most of the children studied were white.
Many people were looking forward to the arrival of this vaccine because it would have reduced the number of shots in the current vaccination schedule; however, the committee wanted its concerns addressed first.
Members were also concerned about the increased incidence of fever >38° C in infants receiving the vaccine. “If this is a vaccine that is going to be widely used … we’re talking about 4 million kids a year roughly. That’s about 200,000 extra kids a year who are going to have a significant fever,” said Steve Kohl, MD.
CHICAGO — Pediatric skin presentations can typify multiple look-alike diseases, both infectious and non-infectious, and a thoughtful diagnosis is essential in finding the culprit.
Anthony J. Mancini, MD, presented an overview of children’s dermatologic problems, and discussed the differential diagnoses of these common problems.
According to Mancini, pyogenic granuloma is an acquired, benign vascular tumor that is fairly common in children and can develop within a port wine stain or other vascular malformation. Biopsies show the lesions are neither pyogenic or granulomatous, making the name misleading.
ATLANTA — The CDC said Lyme disease increased between 1991 and 1999, but actual case numbers are hard to come by.
Experts suggest Lyme disease could be underreported where it is endemic and overreported where it is not. In addition, the case definition of Lyme disease could be unclear from region to region. Most cases continue to occur in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and North Central states.
The CDC is collaborating with health departments and organizations to increase prevention efforts. Throughout the year, community projects will be initiated with goals of reducing incidence to 9.7 per 100,000 population by 2010 in endemic states.
