Archives of disease in childhood
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Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are common neurodevelopmental disorders that occur along a broad continuum of severity with impairments in social interactions, communication and behaviour. This review highlights recent advances in autism research that shed light on the causes of the disorder and that have implications for clinical practice. It focuses on (1) the rising prevalence of ASD with attention given to recent epidemiological studies, (2) important genetic discoveries that may affect clinical evaluation of children with ASD, (3) active areas of research in cognitive neuroscience that seek to explain the underlying mechanisms of a complex disorder and (4) important studies on clinical populations with implications for screening and early identification of infants and toddlers with ASD.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Once-daily amoxicillin versus twice-daily penicillin V in group A beta-haemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis.
Rheumatic fever is a preventable chronic disease preceded by group A beta-haemolytic streptococcal (GABHS) pharyngitis. ⋯ In this adequately powered study, once-daily oral amoxicillin is not inferior to twice-daily penicillin V for the treatment and eradication of GABHS in children with pharyngitis.
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Multicenter Study
The 6-minute walk test: normal values for children of 4-11 years of age.
The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) is an established measure of exercise capacity in adults and children with chronic cardiac or respiratory disease. Despite its widespread use, there are no normal values for healthy children under 12 years of age. We aimed to provide normal values for children between 4 and 11 years. ⋯ Performing a 6MWT is feasible and practical in young children. This study provides data on normal children against which the performance of sick children and the response to therapeutic intervention can be judged.
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To describe long-term somatic growth in terms of weight for age in children operated on for congenital heart defects who die late (after the first 30 postoperative days) and to study the relationship between postoperative weight gain and survival after surgery for congenital heart defects. ⋯ A decrease in weight for age during the first months after surgery for congenital heart defects of more than 0.67 z scores, corresponding to a downward percentile crossing through at least one of the displayed percentile lines on standard growth charts, is strongly related to late mortality in children operated on for congenital heart defects.