Pediatrics
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This review examines the risk that passenger airbags pose for children and discusses behavioral and technologic measures aimed at protecting children from airbag deployment. Although airbags reduce fatal crash injuries among adult drivers and passengers, this safety technology increases mortality risk among children younger than age 12. The magnitude of the risk is multiplied when children are unrestrained or restrained improperly. ⋯ For future vehicles, a mandatory performance standard should be adopted that suppresses airbag deployment automatically if a child is located in the front passenger seat. Other promising improvements in airbag design also are discussed. Major changes in passenger airbag design must be evaluated in a broad analytical framework that considers the welfare of adults as well as children.
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The prevalence of pediatric obesity is increasing in the United States. Sequelae from pediatric obesity are increasingly being seen, and long-term complications can be anticipated. Obesity is the most common cause of abnormal growth acceleration in childhood. ⋯ Symptoms suggestive of a sleep disorder include snoring, restlessness at night with difficulty breathing, arousals and sweating, nocturnal enuresis, and daytime somnolence. Questions to exclude obstructive sleep apnea should be part of the history of all obese children, particularly for the morbidly obese. For many children and adolescents with mild obesity, and particularly for females, one can speculate that obesity may not be a great health risk