Pediatrics
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Review Practice Guideline
Pain reduction during pediatric immunizations: evidence-based review and recommendations.
The pain associated with immunizations is a source of anxiety and distress for the children receiving the immunizations, their parents, and the providers who must administer them. Preparation of the child before the procedure seems to reduce anxiety and subsequent pain. The limited available data suggest that intramuscular administration of immunizations should occur in the vastus lateralis (anterolateral thigh) for children <18 months of age and in the deltoid (upper arm) for those >36 months of age. ⋯ Pressure at the site, applied with either a device or a finger, clearly reduces pain. Finally, in the era of multiple injections, it seems that parents prefer that multiple injections be given simultaneously, rather than sequentially, if there are enough personnel available. Immunizations are stressful for many children; until new approaches are developed, systematic use of available techniques can significantly reduce the burden of distress associated with these procedures.
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The condition widely known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy comprises both physical abuse and medical neglect and is also a form of psychological maltreatment. Although it is a relatively rare form of child abuse, pediatricians need to have a high index of suspicion when faced with seemingly inexplicable findings or treatment failures. The fabrication of a pediatric illness is a form of child abuse and not merely a mental health disorder, and there is a possibility of an extremely poor prognosis if the child is left in the home. In this statement, factors are identified that may help the physician recognize this insidious type of child abuse that occurs in a medical setting, and recommendations are provided for physicians regarding when to report a case to their state's child protective service agency.