Infant phototherapy may increase risk for pediatric cancer
Stephen FellerSAN FRANCISCO, May 23 (UPI) -- Newborns treated with phototherapy to treat or prevent jaundice may be at increased risk for cancer, according to two retrospective studies of medical records. (Source: Health News - UPI.com)
Source: Health News - UPI.com - May 23, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Evidence of link between cancer, light therapy inconclusive but warrants consideration
Two new studies raise enough questions about a possible link between childhood cancer and light therapy for newborn jaundice that clinicians should exercise caution in prescribing it for infants whose jaundice will likely resolve on its own. The suggestion of a link, however, should not deter use of the treatment, also known as phototherapy, in babies who otherwise would be at risk of brain damage or hearing loss. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - May 23, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: news
Evidence of link between cancer & light therapy inconclusive but warrants consideration
(Dana-Farber Cancer Institute) Two new studies raise enough questions about a possible link between childhood cancer and light therapy for newborn jaundice that clinicians should exercise caution in prescribing it for infants whose jaundice will likely resolve on its own, according to an editorial in Pediatrics. The suggestion of a link, however, should not deter use of the treatment, also known as phototherapy, in babies who otherwise would be at risk of brain damage or hearing loss. (Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer)
Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer - May 23, 2016 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news
Lead poisoning from a ceramic jug presenting as recurrent abdominal pain and jaundice - Mohamed M, Ugarte-Torres A, Groshaus H, Rioux K, Yarema M.
We report a case of acute lead poisoning in a previously healthy 28-year-old man who presented with recurrent abdominal pain, jaundice, constipation, and w... (Source: SafetyLit)
Source: SafetyLit - April 16, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Tags: Home and Consumer Product Safety Source Type: news
What Is Life?
Zombies and the walking dead make for good copy, but do little to advance our understanding of life and death. Unfortunately, neither did the National Geographic with a cover article entitled, "The Science of Death: Coming Back from the Beyond." The article issues forth just about every misconception of life that permeates our national discussion. Sam Parnia, a critical care physician and author of the book Erasing Death, is quoted as saying that death "is a process, not a moment." So far so good. But then he makes a common but critical error in thinking, which gets to the heart of our problem. In discussing a victim of a...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - April 7, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: news
Liver brothers: Two lives linked by split-liver transplant
It is late in the evening on June 14, 2015. Kern Tyler and his wife Pasina Mazoka-Tyler sit in a waiting room at Boston Children’s Hospital, while their 11-month-old son Malambo Mazoka-Tyler, born with a life-threatening disease called biliary atresia, undergoes a liver transplant.
To arrive at this moment, they have traveled vast distances, visited multiple hospitals, sought the advice and counsel of numerous doctors, packed all their belongings and moved more than 7000 miles from their home in Zambia, Africa, to Boston, Massachusetts.
He had picked out what he wanted to wear, where he wanted to be buried, and he told ...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - April 4, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Emily Williams Tags: Our Patients’ Stories biliary atresia cystic fibrosis Cystic Fibrosis Center end-stage liver disease Heung Bae Kim Khashayar Vakili liver failure Liver transplant Liver Transplant Program Rima Fawaz Split liver transplantation Source Type: news
Liver brothers: Two lives linked by split-liver transplant
It is late in the evening on June 14, 2015. Kern Tyler and his wife Pasina Mazoka-Tyler sit in a waiting room at Boston Children’s Hospital, while their 11-month-old son Malambo Mazoka-Tyler, born with a life-threatening disease called biliary atresia, undergoes a liver transplant.
To arrive at this moment, they have traveled vast distances, visited multiple hospitals, sought the advice and counsel of numerous doctors, packed all their belongings and moved more than 7000 miles from their home in Zambia, Africa, to Boston, Massachusetts.
He had picked out what he wanted to wear, where he wanted to be buried, and he told ...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - April 4, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Emily Williams Tags: Our Patients’ Stories biliary atresia cystic fibrosis Cystic Fibrosis Center end-stage liver disease Heung Bae Kim Khashayar Vakili liver failure Liver transplant Liver Transplant Program Rima Fawaz Split liver transplantation Source Type: news
What is the Recurrence Risk for Clostridium difficile Infection?
Discussion
Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a common cause of nosocomial diarrhea.
Clostridium difficile is an obligate, anaerobic, gram-positive bacillus that is spore-forming and toxin producing. It is resistant to acid, heat, antibiotics and many antiseptic agents. Spores are acquired from the environment or by oral-fecal route. Once in the colon, the bacteria attach and proliferate making vegetative forms. Two main toxins are produced which disrupt the colonic integrity. Toxin A (TcdA) is an endotoxin that disrupts the mucosal cells. Toxin B (TcdB) is a cytotoxin that is 1000x more potent than TcdA and causes...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - March 28, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Authors: pediatriceducationmin Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news
Nigeria: Jaundice - X-Raying This Silent Killer of Infants
[Daily Trust] Imagine that you gather guests for the naming ceremony of your child ,but alas the celebration turns sour when you discover the baby is dying. This was Halima Dangana's experience. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)
Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine - March 22, 2016 Category: African Health Source Type: news
Can We Use a Transcutaneous Bilirubin Reading After Phototherapy?
Discussion
Unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia in the newborn is a normal occurence. After birth the infant must rely on its own relatively immature liver to detoxify metabolites, the infant’s gastrointestinal tract also is not yet working as well for excretion, the infant is usually slightly fluid deficient before breastfeeding and/or bottle feeding are well established, and there is increased breakdown of red blood cells as the fetus has a higher hemoglobin than an infant and thus an infant is relatively hemoconcentrated. The total bilirubin rises from 1.5 mg/dL to 6.5 mg/dL (+ or -2.5 mg/dL) over the first 3-4 days of...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - March 21, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Authors: pediatriceducationmin Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news
The Other Entrepreneurs: Giving Ailing Newborns a Fighting Chance From Vietnam
Every year, more than three million babies die in their first month of life. Most of these deaths could be prevented if appropriate technologies were available in the hospitals of the world's poorest countries. Nga Tuyet Trang, the founder of Medical Technology Transfer and Services, or MTTS, is trying to make this happen. After spending a year studying in Denmark in 2003, Nga returned home to Vietnam imagining a world where every infant, no matter where they were born, had an equal chance for a healthy life. Assembling an international team of specialists in biomedicine, mechanics, electronics and industrial design, she...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - March 17, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
International Perspectives: Clinical Kernicterus in Preterm Infants in Japan
In recent years, clinical kernicterus has been diagnosed in preterm infants on the basis of motor (kinetic) disorders such as choreoathetosis and dystonia, impairment in auditory neuropathy-type hearing, and abnormal pallidal signals on head magnetic resonance imaging. In Japan, it is currently estimated that at least 8 to 9 cases of kernicterus (approximately 2 per 1,000 cases) occur annually in preterm infants of less than 30 weeks’ gestation. Therefore, there is an urgent need to revise our jaundice management approach in preterm infants. Two major characteristics of Japanese preterm infants who develop clinical k...
Source: NeoReviews recent issues - March 1, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Morioka, I., Nakamura, H., Iwatani, S., Wong, R. J., Iijima, K. Tags: Pediatric Drug Labeling Update Articles Source Type: news
What Are Current Treatments for Postpartum Depression?
Discussion
Postpartum depression affects 10 to 20% of women after delivery, but less than half of these women are detected. Postpartum depression is defined as major depressive episodes with symptom onset during pregnancy or in the first four weeks following delivery. There is recognition that symptoms may begin later after delivery but the mother would not be diagnosed with PPD.
PPD is distinct from postpartum blues which occur in 50 to 80% of new mothers. They occur within 1 to 2 days of delivery and resolve within 10-14 days of delivery. Symptoms include anxiety, depression, irritability, tearfulness, poor sleep, and ...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - February 15, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Authors: pediatriceducationmin Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news
