Gastrointestinal Conditions News

 Electronic medical records can help improve identification and follow-up of infants born to mothers with hepatitis C virus infection, according to study findings published in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

Most undiagnosed cases of celiac disease are not identified by the current recommended guidelines, according to recent study findings published in Pediatrics.

The onset of gastrointestinal disorders can be reduced if an infant is given a probiotic during the first 3 months of life, according to recent study findings published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Consumers who did not follow the recommended cooking instructions for frozen meals is thought to have played a role in a 2010 18-state Salmonella Chester outbreak linked to contaminated chicken, according to the CDC.

An effective norovirus vaccine would likely decrease morbidity but may need to target several genotypes, according to recent study results published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Infection and disease with Clostridium difficile have increased in children and adults in recent years. Use of antibiotics is an important risk factor for the development of C. difficile infection, and C. difficile is the most common cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of CDI have recently been published, and new therapies have been investigated.

Treatment with thalidomide improved clinical remission after 8 weeks in children and adolescents with Crohn's disease not responding to treatment, according to recent study findings published in JAMA.

NEW YORK — Margaret C. Fisher, MD, medical director at The Unterberg Children’s Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center and an Infectious Diseases in Children editorial board member, advises pediatricians at the 26th Annual Infectious Diseases in Children Symposium on how to recognize symptoms and diagnose various forms of hepatitis. She also recommends appropriate vaccinations when warranted in perinatal, pediatric and adolescent patient populations.

Symptomatic recurrence of Clostridium difficile infection occurred in more than 10% of hospitalized children, according to recent study results.

Mild Clostridium difficile infections in healthy children are often treated with metronidazole. However, optimal treatment in children with comorbidities or recurrent or severe disease is less clear, according to recent study findings published in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.