American Academy of Pediatrics, Oct. 8 to 11

The annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics was held virtually this year from Oct. 8 to 11 and attracted participants from around the world, including primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists, pediatric surgical specialists, and other health care professionals. The conference featured scientific sessions that focused on the latest advances in the care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults.

In a quality improvement study, Alexandra Byrne, M.D., of the University of Florida in Gainesville, and colleagues found that providing department-wide training on firearm safety and evidence-based recommendations, free firearm locks, and Be SMART© educational materials significantly improves firearm screening and anticipatory guidance during well-child checks.

The authors provided pediatric department-wide training on firearm safety and evidence-based recommendations for screening and anticipatory guidance. Free firearm locks and Be SMART© posters and caregiver education cards were provided to all University of Florida Pediatric Primary Care Clinics. Self-reported data were collected via anonymous electronic surveys at baseline and three to four months after each intervention. The researchers found that pediatrician firearm safety screening increased (from 37.8 to 72.4 percent), along with the provision of free firearm safety locks (from 9.6 to 79.3 percent). In addition, both counseling that the safest home is one without firearms and counseling on safe firearm storage also increased.

“Our study increased firearm screening and provision of free firearm locks, which we hope will result in safer firearm storage and decreased firearm injuries amongst children,” Byrne said.

Press Release

In a prospective observational study, Usha Sethuraman, M.D., of Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant and the DMC Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, and colleagues found that the levels of two cytokines (MIG and CXCL-10) are higher in children and adolescents with severe COVID-19 infection than in those with more mild-to-moderate infection.