June 2011

SPOY Alert! July 31, 2011
This year’s deadline for Specialty Practitioner of the Year comes a little earlier than usual (because of our earlier AARC Congress). You have until July 31 to nominate a fellow section member for that annual recognition award. This is a great way to reward the colleagues in your life who go above and beyond every day, so consider who you’d like to honor and then nominate him/her via our ONLINE NOMINATION FORM.

Early Lung Function Predicts Later Lung Function in CF Patients
A new study presented at the American Thoracic Society meeting in Denver suggests exposure to Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in early childhood doesn’t play a big role in lung function in adolescence among children with cystic fibrosis. Their findings show poor lung function early in life is more likely to predict poor lung function in the teenage years. The North Carolina investigators arrived at that conclusion after reviewing the medical records of 172 CF patients in the Colorado Newborn Screening Database. Kids with low lung function at age six also had low lung function in adolescence regardless of exposure to P. aeruginosa in early childhood. Results also linked low lung function in early childhood to a faster rate of lung function decline. Higher body mass indexes in early childhood were associated with better lung function later in life. READ PRESS RELEASE

Single Embryo Policy Would Save Lives, Complications, and Resources
Canadian researchers make the case for a mandatory policy of single embryo transfer in a study published ahead of print by the Journal of Pediatrics on April 9. The investigators reviewed data from a prospectively maintained database and their own hospital records, then calculated excess complications for their multiple gestation patients by comparing them with either universal single embryo transfer or a policy allowing transfer of two embryos in as many as 33% of women. Among the findings:

17% of the infants in their hospital were from multiple gestations after artificial reproductive technology, a significant increase in ten years.
Over a two year period, the excess NICU use that would have been saved by mandatory single embryo transfer included 3082 patient days and 270 patient ventilator days.
Extrapolated across Canada, a policy of single embryo transfer would prevent 30–40 deaths, 34–46 severe intracranial hemorrhages, and 13–19 retinal surgeries annually.
Such a policy would save 5424–7299 patient days of assisted ventilation and 35,219–42,488 patient days of NICU care.

READ ABSTRACT

Educational Video Might Reach More Parents of Asthmatic Kids
Could an educational video help parents with low or adequate health literacy better understand how to care for their child with asthma? Michigan researchers asked that question in a new study conducted among a convenience sample of parents of children age 2-14 who presented to the emergency department with asthma. Health literacy levels were determined using the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine tool. Low levels of health literacy were identified in 31% of the parents. Parents were then randomized to receive written asthma education materials or watch an asthma education video. Following the education, high asthma knowledge scores were noted for 33% of the parents in the low literacy group, with no difference seen between those who read the materials or watched the video. Among parents with higher health literacy, 59% achieved high knowledge scores—but only after they watched the video. The study was published ahead of print by Pediatric Emergency Care on May 26. READ ABSTRACT

Shorter Course of Antibiotics Best for Kids on Mechanical Ventilation
Johns Hopkins Children’s Center researchers who studied 150 children who developed a respiratory infection while on mechanical ventilation find a short course of antibiotics is just as effective, and significantly safer, than a longer course. Among the 150 children in the study, 118 met clinical criteria for a respiratory infection while the other 32 were treated on suspicion of infection. Results showed:

23% of the 82 children with confirmed infections who were treated with antibiotics for more than a week developed pneumonia compared to just 20% of the 36 children who received antibiotics for seven or fewer days.
Kids who received the longer course of antibiotics were five times more likely to develop drug-resistant infections.
Those who received multiple antibiotics were three times more likely to develop drug-resistant infections.
Children who remained intubated after infection diagnosis and initiation of treatment were four times more likely to progress to pneumonia than children taken off the ventilator.

The study was published in the May 5 edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases. READ PRESS RELEASE