Prospective Assessment of Pill-Swallowing Ability in Pediatric Patients.

Difficulty with pill-swallowing ability (PSA) is common in children, yet formal evaluation is rare. The objective of this study was to prospectively evaluate and compare PSA of inpatient and outpatient children using the Pediatric Oral Medications Screener. We identified children aged 3 to 17 years admitted to a general or subspecialty pediatric service at a university hospital or outpatient clinic.

A Prospective Comparison of Transcutaneous and Serum Bilirubin Within Brief Time Intervals.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends screening newborns ≥35 weeks' gestation with total serum bilirubin (TSB) or transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) to detect hyperbilirubinemia. Retrospective studies show TcB measurements strongly correlate with TSB; however, few prospective trials document this relationship. Furthermore, Dräger's newest TcB instrument, JM-105, remains unstudied in the United States.