dream magazine

patient of the month

videos

blog

news room

health tips

giving

 
 

Research briefs

Millions of children don't get enough vitamin D

RSV is a greater threat than flu

Glass thermometers still a safety hazard

Study of glass-table injuries prompts industry changes

Millions of children don't get enough vitamin D

babyfat

between the ages of 1 and 11 have vitamin D levels below what's considered healthy, and that black and Hispanic children are at particularly high risk. Vitamin D improves bone health and prevents rickets in children, and recent studies suggest that it also may prevent a host of common childhood illnesses, including respiratory infections, wheezing and winter-related eczema. While the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends at least 400 units of vitamin D a day, Mansbach believes further research is needed to determine the appropriate levels for children. For now, he recommends that all children take multi-vitamins with vitamin D, eat foods that are high in vitamin D and get sensible amounts of exposure to the sun.



Glass thermometers still a safety hazard

babyfat

A 12-year study of patients in Children's Emergency Department shows that glass thermometers are still an ongoing problem, both in terms of the risk of mercury exposure and injuries from broken glass. The number of injuries related to mercury-containing glass thermometers has gone down only minimally, despite the fact that their sale has been banned in Massachusetts since 2002. "Just because glass thermometers aren't sold doesn't mean people don't have them in their homes," says study co-author Lois Lee, MD, MPH. The study suggests that pediatricians discuss safer, non-glass thermometers with parents as part of well visits or while talking about fever management.



RSV is a greater threat to young children than flu

An analysis of patients in Children's Emergency Department (ED) over five consecutive flu seasons reveals that children age 7 and younger had more than twice as many ED visits for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) than for the seasonal flu. RSV can cause respiratory tract infections, and is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children under age 1. The study, led by Florence Bourgeois, MD, MPH, and Kenneth Mandl, MD, MPH, both of Children's Division of Emergency Medicine, shows that 23.6 percent of patients who underwent viral testing had RSV, while only 11.2 percent had influenza. "RSV has been underappreciated," says Bourgeois. "Based on our data, much more should be done in terms of prevention." Bourgeois recommends the same preventive measures for RSV that she does for influenza: frequent hand washing, using alcohol-based hand sanitizers and keeping children home when they're sick.



Children's study of glass-table injuries prompts industry changes

babyfat

A review of injuries caused by glass tables, performed by Children's in March 2009, has resulted in a consortium of industry leaders publishing new standards that recommend the use of tempered glass. The original study showed that half of the glass-table injuries logged by Children's Emergency Department would have been preventable or less severe with tempered safety glass. "To have industry standards be changed so soon after we published the study is a blessing and a testament to the importance of research," says Amir Kimia, MD, of the Children's Division of Emergency Medicine, who led the study. "It's my hope that the next glass-table injury I see in the ED will be my last."



 
 

Hear first-hand from children and their parents about what it's like to take part in medical research

Researchers explore why some otherwise healthy children with flu have become critically ill

Could medical records sound an alert about domestic abuse?

 

 

Email this page to a friend

  pen

Subscribe to e-Dream

 

Subscribe to our RSS feed

 

Contact Us

 

Stretching the limits

Online overload

Hard knocks

Seeking sight

Artificial intelligency

Fighting food allergies

Catching the lightning

Media myth-busters

Arresting autism

Saving Gracie

Staying lean in a down economy

Freedom of speech

Let's talk about sex

A new face, a new future

Breaking the silence

Trick or treat

The pain puzzle

The teenage brain

Out of the shadows

The new normal

Skin deep

Bridging the gap

Hearts in Ghana

Picky, picky, picky

Deciphering dyslexia

Go-go games

3 is the new 2

Extreme measures