Pediatrics

Pediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. The age limit of such patients ranges from birth to 18. In countries where the age of majority is 18, this age limit may be from birth to age 17 (such as in Canada). A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician.

What is Pediatrics?

Pediatrics is the branch of medicine dealing with the health and medical care of infants, children, and adolescents from birth up to the age of 18. The word “paediatrics” means “healer of children”; they are derived from two Greek words: (pais = child) and (iatros = doctor or healer). Paediatrics is a relatively new medical specialty, developing only in the mid-19th century. Abraham Jacobi (1830–1919) is known as the father of paediatrics.

Pediatrics Training

Pediatric Skin Conditions

Subspecialties of Pediatrics

Pediatrician: Role, Education, Training, Subspecialties

Infections in Childhood

A Brief History of Pediatrics

Child and Adolescent Sports Injuries

Importance of Sensory Stimulation for Babies

Supporting Children with Mental Health Disorders

How Fast Food Affects Children's Health

Mental Health Disorders and Children

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Effects of Passive Smoking on Children's Health

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

Study finds increased risk of serious complications in children taking oral steroids

Children who take oral steroids to treat asthma or autoimmune diseases have an increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, and blood clots, according to Rutgers researchers.

17 Sep 2020

Children who experience neglect are more likely to have teen pregnancy

Children who experience neglect are seven times more likely than other abuse victims to have a teen pregnancy say University of Queensland researchers.

17 Sep 2020

Are children more likely to be SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic than adults?

he frequency of children carrying asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has been suggested to be higher than among adults. It is also suggested that asymptomatic children enhance viral spread. A new study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics in September 2020 explores the truth of this common belief.

14 Sep 2020

Should a COVID-19 vaccine be mandatory for children?

As the search for a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine continues, with some candidate vaccines nearing the completion Phase III clinical trials, a trio of experts weighs in with some sound reasoning as to whether any future vaccine should be considered mandatory for children. The viewpoint article is published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics in September 2020.

14 Sep 2020

Balancing COVID-19 risk with educational benefits in school reopening decisions

Now a new study by researchers at the Institute for Disease Modeling and published on the preprint server medRxiv* in September 2020 focuses on modeling the potential risk of COVID-19 for school students and staff if schools are re-opened in a range of scenarios. This could guide further research on the health and educational outcomes of school reopenings.

14 Sep 2020

Study demonstrates new method to synthesize gold nanoparticles in cancer cells

Dipanjan Pan, professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering at UMBC, and collaborators published a seminal study in Nature Communications that demonstrates for the first time a method of biosynthesizing plasmonic gold nanoparticles within cancer cells, without the need for conventional bench-top lab methods.

12 Sep 2020

Making gyms safer: Why the virus is less likely to spread there than in a bar

After shutting down in the spring, America’s empty gyms are beckoning a cautious public back for a workout. To reassure wary customers, owners have put in place — and now advertise — a variety of coronavirus control measures.

11 Sep 2020

Study sheds light on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Blacks

In a study published in JAMA today, Mount Sinai researchers report findings that shed some light on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Blacks, who have experienced rates of infection and death that are much greater, in some areas twice and three times more, than their proportion of the population.

11 Sep 2020

Over half a million reported child COVID-19 cases in the United States

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association have come up with a joint report on the number of children affected by COVID-19 across the United States. Over half a million children have been infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), they point out. Their report titled, "Children and COVID-19: State Data Report," was released on 3rd September 2020.

10 Sep 2020

Babies born in the fall more likely to experience all conditions associated with atopic march

Food allergies are on the rise, with more than five million children, about two kids in every school classroom, now suffering from allergy to at least one food.

9 Sep 2020

New project seeks to understand the origin and role of ecDNA in cancer development

A team of pediatric oncologists led by PD Dr. Anton G. Henssen has set out to further improve our understanding of the mechanisms involved in cancer development and disease progression.

8 Sep 2020

Study compares clinical features of COVID-19 and seasonal influenza in children

As the fall approaches, pediatric hospitals will start seeing children with seasonal influenza A and B. At the same time, COVID-19 will be co-circulating in communities with the flu and other respiratory viruses, making it more difficult to identify and prevent the novel coronavirus.

8 Sep 2020

Study finds some children to be at greater risk of privacy violations from digital platforms

As your preschooler plays an alphabet game, does a puzzle or dresses up a favorite character through an app on a phone or tablet, companies may be stealthily collecting their personal information for marketing purposes.

8 Sep 2020

With schools starting online, vaccinations head for recess

As co-director of school-based health centers at Bassett Healthcare Network, the pediatrician oversees about 21 school-based health clinics across the region — a poor, rural area known for manufacturing and crippled by the opioid epidemic.

8 Sep 2020

Researchers develop simple tool to assess impaired consciousness in clinical setting

The University of Glasgow's Sir Graham Teasdale, co-creator of the Glasgow Coma Scale, once again has teamed with Paul M. Brennan and Gordon D. Murray of the University of Edinburgh.

8 Sep 2020

Study shows how mutations in DNA packaging machines can drive cancer development

Like wrenches made of Legos, SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes tighten or loosen DNA in our cells to control how genes are turned on and made into proteins.

7 Sep 2020

MIS-C linked to COVID-19 damages children's hearts

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), believed to be linked to COVID-19, damages the heart to such an extent that some children will need lifelong monitoring and interventions, said the senior author of a medical literature review published Sept. 4 in EClinicalMedicine, a journal of The Lancet.

5 Sep 2020

Researchers identify biomarkers associated with bacterial infection mortality

David Gonzalez's "a-ha" moment came when a physician-colleague, George Sakoulas, MD, shared with him one of the biggest problems faced in clinical practice: How long it takes to diagnose a patient.

4 Sep 2020

COVID-19 virus and antibodies can coexist in young patients, shows study

With many questions remaining around how children spread COVID-19, Children's National Hospital researchers set out to improve the understanding of how long it takes pediatric patients with the virus to clear it from their systems, and at what point they start to make antibodies that work against the coronavirus.

3 Sep 2020

Surveys show strong, immediate impacts of pandemic on vulnerable families

In just a few months, the COVID-19 pandemic swiftly and substantially worsened mental health among U.S. hourly service workers and their children - especially those experiencing multiple hardships, according to new research from the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University and Barnard College.

3 Sep 2020