A single-blinded randomized clinical trial comparing polymyxin B-trimethoprim and moxifloxacin for treatment of acute conjunctivitis in children.

Objective: To perform a randomized controlled trial comparing moxifloxacin hydrochloride with polymyxin B-trimethoprim for the treatment of acute conjunctivitis.

Study Design: Patients ages 1-18 years old with acute conjunctivitis had cultures performed and were randomized to receive either moxifloxacin hydrochloride or polymyxin B-trimethoprim ophthalmic solution for 7 days. Response to treatment was determined by phone query on day 4-6 and by examination with post-treatment conjunctival culture on day 7-10.

The expanding role of the pediatrician in improving child health in the 21st century.

Children in the United States increasingly are at risk for health problems that are precipitated or exacerbated by social, community, and environmental factors. Currently, pediatricians are unable to sufficiently address these health conditions without expanding their roles beyond that of providing health care to individual patients. Thus, to improve child health, physicians must work within their communities to identify the needs of the population they serve and take appropriate action to influence the private and public policies that address these needs.

Reduced expression of NFAT-associated genes in UCB versus adult CD4+ T lymphocytes during primary stimulation.

The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the blunted allo-responsiveness of umbilical cord blood (UCB) T cells have not been fully elucidated. Protein expression of NFATc2 (nuclear factor of activated T cells c2), a critical transcription factor necessary for up-regulation of multiple cytokines known to amplify T-cell allogeneic responses, is reduced in UCB T cells. Affymetrix oligonucleotide microarrays were used to compare gene expression of primary purified CD4+ UCB T cells to adult peripheral blood CD4+ T cells (AB) at baseline, 6, and 16 hours of primary stimulation.