Articles related to Pediatrics

The Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention (GINA) has published its annual report on asthma management and prevention. Key recommendations include that adults with asthma should receive combination therapy with an inhaled corticosteroid and a long-acting beta-agonist on an as-needed basis. The recommended option is low-dose budesonide-formoterol, or beclomethasone-formoterol as an alternative treatment. Short-acting inhaled beta agonists as rescue medication is discouraged.

This Children’s Oncology Group report recommends new guidance on administering radiotherapy among children with cancer. Questions are answered around imaging protocols, dose reduction, setup correction, and adaptive therapy.

The exact ways in which COVID-19 is impacting children, particularly those under age 12, is still being examined. Reported at the IDWeek conference, Arkansas health officials presented data demonstrating the severe impact that the fast-moving Delta variant of COVID-19 can have on children. Key findings: From January 2021, the Delta variant led to 42% more hospitalizations, 69% more ICU admissions, and a 300% increase in the use of mechanical ventilation.

In practice, “standard” duration of antibiotic therapy is often based on archaic studies. Newer evidence shows that shorter durations are often a better choice and that antibiotic resistance is more likely to develop with longer durations of therapy. Here are the recommendations applied to four commonly treated infections.

Bone marrow failure in children and young adults is often suspected to be inherited; however, in many cases, diagnosis remains uncertain. A new study involving 179 patients (from 173 families) found that implementing precision medicine at diagnosis can improve patient management, along with the use of family counseling. This study published in Blood expands the “portrait” of IBMF syndromes and explores some newly recognized disease entities.

In this series from Blood that tackles four cases studies, the outcomes of AML pediatric patients compared to children with ALL is explored, focusing on the emerging new treatments venetoclax (Venclexta; AbbVie/Genentech), CD33- and CD123-directed CAR T-cell therapy, CD123-directed antibody therapy, and menin inhibitors.