Otolaryngology News

Infectious Diseases in Children asked Ingrid Camelo, MD, pediatric infectious disease fellow, division of pediatrics infectious diseases at Boston Medical Center, Leslie Grammatico-Guillon, MD, PhD, guest researcher, pediatric infectious diseases, Boston University, and Vishakha Sabharwal, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics and attending physician, pediatrics infectious disease, Boston University School of Medicine, to discuss whether physicians should have to justify their use of antibiotics. Would this be an effective strategy to reduce unnecessary prescribing if included in electronic medical records, and is the potential frustration with the process worth the effort to curb antimicrobial resistance?

Healthy children aged younger than 3 years were at increased risk for post-tonsillectomy complications vs. children aged 3 to 6 years, according to findings recently published in JAMA Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.

Infants who experience bronchiolitis during respiratory syncytial virus season within their first 6 months of life are more likely to have otitis media, pneumonia and use antibiotics regardless of their mother’s asthma status, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in Orlando.

The FDA placement of a black-box warning on the use of codeine in children after tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy was able to decrease the amount of the drug used in the pediatric population after this operation; however, one in 20 are still prescribed the opioid after the operation.

Language outcomes in children with permanent childhood hearing loss are mitigated through the use of early intervention strategies such as early amplification and cochlear implantation once a diagnosis has been made.

Of the children who experienced bone or joint infection, 71% had the identical Kingella kingae bacterium present in their throats, suggesting that children with osteoarticular infections may benefit from examination for oropharyngeal infections to expedite diagnosis.

Although noise exposure does not impact the prevalence of hearing loss in children, racial or ethnic minority status and low socioeconomic status was associated with an increased risk, according to a study published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery

While the incidence and frequency of acute otitis media have decreased significantly following the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, risk factors – including day care attendance and family history of the condition – have remained the same.

The use of sign language for deaf children who receive cochlear implants by 3 years provides no observable benefits in the learning of spoken language before or after implantation, according to a study published in Pediatrics.

Risk for any mental disorder, OCD and tic disorders was higher among individuals aged 18 years or younger with streptococcal or nonstreptococcal throat infection, particularly for those with strep throat.