Current opinion in pediatrics
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Curr. Opin. Pediatr. · Aug 2013
ReviewBariatric surgical management of adolescents with morbid obesity.
Adolescent obesity continues to be a significant public health issue. To date, there are no medical therapies that provide significant, durable weight loss. Bariatric surgery has been shown in the adult and now the adolescent population to provide a reasonable alternative for weight loss. ⋯ With the growing number of morbidly obese adolescents in the United States coupled with the relative ineffectiveness of medical therapy in this group of patients, bariatric surgery consistently provides a means for significant weight loss and the resolution of substantial comorbidities. Its approval is slowly increasing, and the growing fund of knowledge in regard to complication rates and the efficacy of bariatric surgery will ultimately result in its more widespread acceptance.
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Curr. Opin. Pediatr. · Aug 2013
ReviewBabies breaking bad: neonatal and iatrogenic withdrawal syndromes.
This review will summarize the symptoms, evaluation, and treatment of neonatal and iatrogenic withdrawal syndromes. ⋯ Healthcare workers should be cognizant of the risk factors for neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), as well as its symptoms, so that nonpharmalogic and pharmacologic therapies can be initiated. With increased emphasis on pain control in children, it is likely that iatrogenic withdrawal will continue to be a concern, and healthcare workers should understand the similarities and differences between this and NAS.
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Curr. Opin. Pediatr. · Aug 2013
ReviewEvaluation and management of children and adolescents with gender identification and transgender disorders.
Gender identity development is poorly understood but impacted by central nervous system (CNS) factors, genes, gonadal hormones and receptors, genitalia, and social/environmental factors. Gender identity disorder (GID) is the diagnostic term to describe persons discontent with the sex they were assigned at birth and/or the gender roles associated with that sex. It is crucial that the diagnosis be verified as persistent, since gender confusion among those young persists among only a portion. ⋯ Although the concept of gender identity is a relatively new paradigm and remains an area of active and exciting investigation, findings reported here provide items of information for understanding and treatment of GIDs and illustrate the need for further research.
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To review the advances in the assessment, treatment, and evaluation of care for pediatric dehydration. ⋯ Dehydration burdens the healthcare system worldwide. Through advances in its assessment, treatment with antiemetics and intravenous fluids, and standardization of practice with clinical guidelines, this burden could be reduced.