Energy Drinks: The New Eye-Opener For Adolescents

Clinicians should screen for energy drink use among their patients. Screening can identify symptoms related to toxicity and give patients greater understanding of the risks of high-dose and long-term energy drink use. When caffeine toxicity is suspected, immediate consultation with a regional poison control center or toxicologist is recommended. Clinicians should report all suspected cases of energy drink toxicity to a poison control center because the pooled data generated by poison control center and clinician-initiated surveillance will provide the data to drive federal analysis and legislation on these products.     

Sports and congenital cardiopathies]

The authors give recommendations regarding the eligibility to sport practice of children with cardiovascular abnormalities. Exercise testing is important to determine the consequences of the cardiovascular abnormality on the child's physical ability. Echocardiography with Doppler ultrasound is essential in order to assess the repercussion of valvulopathies, particularly on the function of the left ventricle. Holter electrocardiographic recording is useful in the case of a history of malaises or syncopes. These investigations allow those children who are at risk of cardiac accidents during sport practice to be recognised, and to choose the sport which is the most appropriate to their individual condition. There are few complete contra indications to all types of sports, essentially obstructive myocardiopathy, primary pulmonary hypertension, severe aortic stenosis, and coronary abnormality.     

Plasma Zinc Concentration and Catch Up Growth in Preterm Infants

Changes in plasma zinc concentration during the period of catch up growth were examined in 44 preterm infants. Blood samples were collected at birth, 6, 12 and 24 weeks. Plasma zinc concentration showed a mean of 13.6 μmol/l at birth and dropped to 9.8 μmol/l at 6 weeks and rose to 11.3 and 15.4 μmol/l at 12 and 24 weeks respectively. Plasma zinc concentrations showed significant correlation with weight velocity at 12 weeks. Male infants had significantly lower plasma zinc concentrations than females at 12 weeks. Infants of gestational age more than 32 weeks had lower plasma zinc concentrations at 12 and 24 weeks than those of earlier gestations. At the same time males were growing faster than females and also infants of gestational ages more than 32 weeks were growing faster than those born at earlier gestations. These observations, together with the finding that the decline in zinc occurred during the phase of rapid growth, suggest that growth is the predominant modulator of plasma zinc concentration.     

Sports and diabetes in children and adolescents

The triad of insulin, diet and exercise has been the basis for treatment of diabetes for several decades. However, the choice of sporting activities for young diabetics requires an understanding of: a) the energy metabolism and the adaptation to physical activity in the healthy; b) the metabolic adaptation during physical activity in the diabetic child; and c) the practical recommendations concerning diet and insulin that have to be learned by the children themselves. The healthy child utilises immediately available substrates, such as ATP and creatine phosphate in much the same fashion as the adult. However, the capacity for anaerobic degradation of glycogen and glucose seems limited in the muscles of children relative to that of adults. Consequently, the adaptation to resistance exercise should be undertaken with prudence in children and adolescents. The release of insulin tends to decrease during effort. Diverse hypotheses have been proposed to explain this phenomenon. However a low concentration of insulin is required: insulin is said to play a "permissive" role. In diabetic children, an adequate insulin therapy is required to allow the full benefit of muscular activity on glucose assimilation and to reach the same level of physical performance as the non-diabetic. In the case of insufficient metabolic control, exercise can provoke severe hypoglycaemic episodes, even after muscle activity has ceased, or increase glucose levels and lead to ketoacidosis. Regular physical training induces a reduction in postexercise proteinuria measured in diabetic adolescents but its role in metabolic control remains controversial.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

深圳地区先天性甲状腺功能减退症的治疗及远期随访

目的 探讨先天性甲状腺功能减退症(CH)患儿早期治疗效果和对生长发育的影响.方法 对2005年9月-2006年12月深圳市出生的新生儿进行足底血片促甲状腺激素(TSH)筛查,筛查阳性儿童召回,行血清促甲状腺激素(TSH)、游离三碘甲状腺原氨酸(FT3)、游离甲状腺素(FT4)检测.确诊CH 68例.平均27.1 d开始治疗,口服左旋甲状腺素钠片.定期检测患儿TSH、FT3、FT4,并根据临床表现调整药物剂量使FT4维持在正常高值水平.监测患儿体格发育如头围、身高和体质量.采用贝利婴幼儿发育量表方法进行智力发育评价.采用SPSS 12.0软件进行数据分析.结果 确诊患儿治疗1个月后临床症状完全消失,TSH、FT4维持正常水平.身高、体质量、头围等体格发育指标均在正常范围,均值50%,贝利婴幼儿发育量表测试中运动发育指数测定均在冲等水平,智力发育指数测定均基本达到同龄健康儿童.结论 早期诊治CH能明显改善预后,降低脑损害、智力低下的发生率.新生儿筛查是早期诊断CH的有效方法.     

"上顶下拖"法治疗中间位肛门闭锁

目的设计一种新的手术方法“上顶下拖”法，用于治疗中间位肛门闭锁。方法经腹于直肠内置—宫颈扩张器从上向下顶出直肠盲袋，会阴部游离并拖出直肠盲袋行肛门成形术。1990年至2003年用该法完成中间位肛门闭锁手术32例。结果32例全部成活。4例术后肛门狭窄、排便困难，经强力扩肛半年治愈，无明显肛门失禁病例。结论“上顶下拖”法治疗中间位肛门闭锁，手术操作简便、安全，术后肛门功能满意。     

川崎病145例回顾及随访分析

目的　探讨川崎病 (KD)患儿发病和冠状动脉改变特点 ,提出诊断及治疗中应注意的问题。方法　对KD 1 4 5例住院患儿进行回顾性分析及随访。结果　川崎病的主要表现为发热、皮肤、黏膜病变及淋巴结大 ,脏器损害以心脏、肺为主 ,并冠状动脉病变 64例 ,占 44 .1 %。结论　KD发病有增高趋势 ,PLT、血小板平均体积、血小板体积宽度对KD的诊断、抗凝药物治疗和预后判断均有价值 ,KD患儿应注意随访。     

Sports participation and health-related behaviors among US youth

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between sports participation and health-related behaviors among high school students. DESIGN: Cross-sectional design using data from the 1997 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Survey. PARTICIPANTS: A nationally representative sample of 14,221 US high school students. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of sports participation among males and females from 3 ethnic groups and its associations with other health behaviors, including diet, tobacco use, alcohol and illegal drug use, sexual activity, violence, and weight loss practices. RESULTS: Approximately 70% of male students and 53% of female students reported participating on 1 or more sports teams in school and/or nonschool settings; rates varied substantially by age, sex, and ethnicity. Male sports participants were more likely than male nonparticipants to report fruit and vegetable consumption on the previous day and less likely to report cigarette smoking, cocaine and other illegal drug use, and trying to lose weight. Compared with female nonparticipants, female sports participants were more likely to report consumption of vegetables on the previous day and less likely to report having sexual intercourse in the past 3 months. Among white males and females, several other beneficial health behaviors were associated with sports participation. A few associations with negative health behaviors were observed in African American and Hispanic subgroups. CONCLUSION: Sports participation is highly prevalent among US high school students, and is associated with numerous positive health behaviors and few negative health behaviors.