Child Health and Safety

Children undergoing surgery naturally experience anxiety. Waking up from anesthesia can cause behavior changes that occur in twenty percent of children, known as emergence delirium. Researchers have found that giving children melatonin before surgery can significantly reduce post surgery anxiety and behavioral changes in children. Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that regulates circadian rhythm, and is produced in the brain.

Washington’s program that uses state and federal funds to buy vaccine for all children in the state is changing. Starting July 1, human papillomavirus vaccine will no longer be bought with state money. Next May, state funds will no longer be used to buy any childhood vaccine — allowing time to plan a smooth transition so there are no breaks in vaccinating kids.

New research shines a light on the phenomenon of “cyber bullying,” suggesting that nearly 1 in 10 children are bullied through electronic means such as text messages, and girls are more likely to be victims than boys are.

Other kinds of bullying remain much more common, however. Large numbers of kids continue to harass each other by spreading rumors, turning fellow students into outcasts and intimidating others through words and violence.

There is a bright spot: The findings suggest that parents have the power to prevent kids from bullying or being bullied.

Adult-child conversations have a more significant impact on language development than exposing children to language through one-on-one reading alone, according to a new study in the July issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Canada will not to take any risks and will decide to ban baby bottles that are made from rigit plastics and Bisphenol A. This will make Canada the first country in the world to adopt a regulation against Bisphenol A in the manufacturing of baby plastic bottles. France may also move toward this direction. The Secretary of State for Ecology Chantal Jouanno announced at the National Assembly on 14 June that she asked the French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA) to take the expertise on the effects of Bisphenol A (BPA).

Though talked about and debated by health care providers and in medical literature for decades, the issue of medical radiation and its safety has recently become headline news. With the large volume of information available, it can be difficult for parents and caregivers to figure out what is safe for children.

Coronary artery bypass surgery provides long-term benefits for children whose hearts and blood vessels are damaged by Kawasaki disease, Japanese researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Researchers followed 114 people for up to 25 years who had bypass surgery as children or adolescents (ages 1 to 19) to treat Kawasaki disease. The observational study found:

* The survival rate 25 years after surgery was 95 percent.

* Cardiac event-free rates 25 years after surgery were 60 percent.

The incidence of and outcomes associated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in hospitalized children have been incompletely characterized.

The researchers performed a retrospective, observational study using the Pediatric Health Information System, a database of clinical and financial data from >40 freestanding US children’s hospitals.

Using discharge coding data, they characterized S. aureus infections in children <18 years of age who were hospitalized during the period from 1 January 2002 through 31 December 2007.

If a child has muscle weakness, either diagnosed or undiagnosed, the parents must be aware of a condition called Malignant Hyperthermia. Recently, I met with two parents who have a child with undiagnosed muscle weakness. They are intelligent, caring parents who have sought doctors’ opinions in leading medical centers. Yet when I talked about the need for a muscle biopsy using a local anesthetic, rather than a general anesthetic, they looked puzzled.

The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, announced today that the Government of Canada is proposing new regulations to prevent the use of six chemicals (phthalates) in soft vinyl toys and child-care articles. Regulations are also being proposed to further reduce lead limits in consumer products.

"These regulations are yet another measure this Government is taking to help ensure that products intended for children are safe," said Minister Aglukkaq. "This is part of our overall efforts to ensure that families have confidence in the quality and safety of what they buy."