Pediatrics
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Comparative Study
Pulse oximetry screening at 4 hours of age to detect critical congenital heart defects.
The purpose of this prospective study was to assess the feasibility and reliability of pulse oximetry screening to detect critical congenital heart defects in a newborn nursery. ⋯ All neonates with a critical congenital heart defect were detected clinically, and no cases of critical congenital heart defect were detected by pulse oximetry screening. These results indicate that pulse oximetry screening does not improve detection of critical congenital heart defects above and beyond clinical observation and assessment. Our findings do not support a recommendation for routine pulse oximetry screening in seemingly healthy neonates.
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Comparative Study
Preventing unintentional scald burns: moving beyond tap water.
The goal was to examine in detail the mechanisms of significant scald burns among children <5 years of age, to discover insights into prevention. ⋯ Current prevention strategies and messages do not adequately address the most common mechanisms of scald injury requiring hospitalization. Easy access to a microwave oven poses a significant scald risk to children as young as 18 months of age, who can open the door and remove the hot contents. An engineering fix for microwave ovens could help protect young children from this mechanism of scalding. Involvement of older children in a subset of scald injuries is a new finding that may have prevention implications.
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Infancy is a time of rapid transition from a diet of virtually nothing but milk (either breast milk or infant formula) to a varied diet from nearly all food groups being consumed on a daily basis by most infants. Despite various recommendations about infant feeding, little is known about actual patterns of feeding among US infants. This article documents transitions in infant feeding patterns across the first year of life and determinants of key aspects of infant feeding. ⋯ Supplementing breast milk with infant formula while infants were still in the hospital was very common. Despite recommendations that complementary foods not be introduced to infants aged 4 months or younger, almost half of the infants in this study had consumed solid foods by the age of 4 months. This early introduction of complementary foods was associated with unhealthful subsequent feeding behaviors.
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Comparative Study
Strict glycemic targets need not be so strict: a more permissive glycemic range for critically ill children.
The goal was to determine whether a more permissive glycemic target would be associated with a decreased incidence of hypoglycemia but not increased mortality rates in critically ill pediatric patients. ⋯ Postoperative hyperglycemia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality rates in children after surgical repair of congenital heart defects. A more permissive glycemic target is associated with a lower incidence of hypoglycemia but not increased mortality rates in these patients.
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Our goal was to assess the impact of "Baby-Friendly" hospital practices and other maternity-care practices experienced by mothers on breastfeeding duration. ⋯ Increased "Baby-Friendly" hospital practices, along with several other maternity-care practices, improve the chances of breastfeeding beyond 6 weeks. The need to work with hospitals to implement these practices continues to exist, as illustrated by the small proportion of mothers who reported experiencing all 6 of the "Baby-Friendly" hospital practices measured in this study.