A national survey of first line antibiotic use in neonatal units - and the potential scope for iatrogenic sensorineural hearing loss prevention.

Objective: National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance for the management of neonatal sepsis recommends a first-line antibiotic regimen containing an aminoglycoside (gentamicin). Aminoglycoside exposure causes sensorineural hearing loss in individuals with a specific mitochondrial genetic variant (m.1555A>G).

Birth Weight and Risk of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Arizona, Illinois, and Kentucky.

Objective: To confirm the previously reported increased risk of leukemia among macrosomic children (those with birth weight >4 kg).

Methods: Birth certificates of Arizona, Illinois, and Kentucky children diagnosed as having acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) before age 5 years were matched with birth certificates from leukemia-free children of the same sex, race, and ethnicity who were born in the same county on or about the same day. Odds ratios (ORs) for ALL among children of low (<2.

Inverse Correlation of Lymphoid Leukemia Incidence and Anemia Prevalence among Preschool Children.

Objective: The relation between the prevalence of anemia and incidence of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia was explored using international cross-sectional data as well as US time-series data.

Methods: Lymphoid leukemia incidence rates for various countries from the International Agency for Research on Cancer were regressed on anemia prevalence rates from the World Health Organization in a cross-sectional analysis. Four decades of acute lymphoblastic leukemia incidence (from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program cancer registries) and anemia prevalence (from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) also were examined in a time-series analysis.

Sleep-disordered breathing is associated with higher carboxymethyllysine level in elderly women but not elderly men in the cardiovascular health study.

Context: Carboxymethyl-lysine (CML) results from oxidative stress and has been linked to cardiovascular disease.

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the association between sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) - a source of oxidative stress - and CML.

Materials And Methods: About 1002 participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) were studied.

A modified Bilirubin-induced neurologic dysfunction (BIND-M) algorithm is useful in evaluating severity of jaundice in a resource-limited setting.

Background: Severe neonatal jaundice with associated acute bilirubin encephalopathy occurs frequently in low- and middle-income countries, where advanced diagnostic technology is in short supply. In an effort to facilitate the physical diagnosis of acute bilirubin encephalopathy, we pilot-tested a modified bilirubin induced neurologic dysfunction scoring algorithm in a group of pediatric trainees (residents) and their mentors (consultants) in a resource-constrained setting.

Methods: Jaundiced Nigerian infants were examined by consultant and resident pediatricians.