Journal of paediatrics and child health
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Aboriginal women in the remote Fitzroy Valley region in Western Australia's Kimberley were concerned about high rates of alcohol use in pregnancy and its possible impact on child development. They successfully lobbied for restricted access to alcohol in 2007. In 2009 they developed a strategy for the diagnosis and prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and the support of parents and carers of affected children. ⋯ This commenced in 2010 following extensive community consultation and receipt of community consent. Data from this study are still being collected and will be used by the community to advocate for improved services and new models of health care. Prevention of FASD is important to optimise health and development for future generations of Aboriginal children and to ensure the transfer of culture and language from one generation to the next.
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J Paediatr Child Health · Mar 2012
Novel inpatient surveillance in tertiary paediatric hospitals in New South Wales illustrates impact of first-wave pandemic influenza A H1N1 (2009) and informs future health service planning.
To document the impact of pandemic influenza A H1N1 (2009) in New South Wales (NSW) children's hospitals. ⋯ PAEDS is a valuable surveillance tool that documented the impact of the H1N1 (2009) pandemic in NSW children's hospitals. High numbers of complications, often in previously well children, suggest an important role for early diagnosis, antiviral therapy and influenza vaccination. Observed regional differences identify areas potentially at greater risk in a subsequent wave.
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J Paediatr Child Health · Mar 2012
Case ReportsCardiac cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in a 13-year-old treated with doxorubicin microbead transarterial chemoembolization.
Increasing numbers of children are surviving into adulthood following surgery to correct or palliate congenital heart disease. This surgery can occasionally result in long-standing elevated right heart pressures and chronic hepatic venous congestion leading to cardiac cirrhosis. ⋯ A 13-year-old girl developed inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma and was treated with transarterial embolization with lipiodol and doxorubicin eluting microbeads. Promoting awareness of this association, even in younger patients, will hopefully result in better surveillance and screening of hepatic complications in survivors of complex cardiac surgery.
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A four-year-old girl developed anaphylaxis following ant stings at her parent's property in country New South Wales. The offending insect was identified by an entomologist as the green head ant. Ant sting anaphylactic reactions in Australia, the importance of identifying the offending insect following sting anaphylaxis and the signs of insect sting anaphylaxis are further discussed.