Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics

In-depth knowledge on the effects of medicines in children came to prominence in recent years due to appreciable increase in publicly funded research and government initiatives towards providing financial incentives to industry. According to NCBI published article an independent analyses of the economic cost and return to industry of the pediatric exclusivity program showed that when research was conducted on nine drugs, the cost to industry ranged from $5 to $44 million, with a median of $12.3 million. The net return ranged from $9 to $508 million, with a median of $140 million, and the ratio return cost went from -0.68 to 73.63. This shows the great potential that this field bears. The last ten years have witnessed both a significant expansion of pediatric pharmacology research and a redefinition of the roles of public and private sources in supporting such research.

The aim of the study of Pediatrics is to reduce infant and child rate of deaths, control the spread of infectious disease, promote healthy lifestyles for a long disease-free life and help ease the problems of children and adolescents. It can be acknowledged that this can be reached by learning the major and primary subject on General Pediatrics. General Pediatrics includes the basic treatments involved for the betterment of pediatric health. The most significant problems can be due to nutritional deficiencies to the overall health of infants and children because growth and development can be seriously hindered by shortages in essential vitamins or nutrients.

The aim of the study of Pediatrics is to reduce infant and child rate of deaths, control the spread of infectious disease, promote healthy lifestyles for a long disease-free life and help ease the problems of children and adolescents. Pediatric infectious diseases are the diseases which will affect the child has a recurring or persistent disease caused by an infectious agent such as bacteria, a fungus, a parasite, or other rare infection. Some of the Pediatric infectious diseases include bone infections, skin infections, joint infections, blood infections. The major causes for Pediatric infectious diseases are the parasitic infection, bacterial infection and viral infections etc.

Pediatric Allergy is an important subject to be learnt in order to promote understanding and advance the treatment of respiratory, allergic, and immunologic diseases in children. It emphasizes the epidemiologic research on the most common chronic illnesses of children asthma and allergies as well as many less common and rare diseases. Swollen or enlarged adenoids and Tonsils are common in children.

Pediatric immunology is a branch of Pediatrics which deals with immunological or allergic disorders of children. Pediatric immunology plays major role in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the immune system and it has seriously involved in the development of new diagnostic tests and treatment. Some of the major pediatric immunology diseases are community acquired infections, vaccination complications, pediatric HIV and AIDS and congenital or acquired immune deficiencies.

A rheumatologist is an internist or pediatrician who received further training in the diagnosis (detection) and treatment of musculoskeletal disease and systemic autoimmune conditions commonly referred to as rheumatic diseases.

Young children readily transmit and acquire nosocomial infections. Children are vulnerable to endogenous infections as a result of the breakdown of their normal defenses by disease, invasive procedures or therapy. The prevention of transmission between patients and to personnel requires that certain measures be taken with all patients, and that additional precautions be taken with some infections, based on the route of transmission.

The hepatic disorders in children are a persistent issue address over years. Some US based medical colleges and hospitals specialize in this area with active faculty strength of over 60 pediatric gastroenterologists. More than 35,000 patients are seen annually in ambulatory programs in each of thesis individual hospitals. Mostly cases of acute liver failure, Alagille syndrome, Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), autoimmune hepatitis, Beckwith-Weidman syndrome, Bile acid synthesis defect, biliary atresia are received and treated. However, among the other hepatic disorders Budd-Chiari Syndrome, Caroni’s disease, Cirrhosis chronic liver failure, Crigler-Najjar syndrome, Cystic fibrosis liver disease, Glycogen storage disease (GSD), Hemochromatosis, Hepatoblastoma, Hypercholesterolemia, Metabolic diseases, Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, Organic acidemias, Primary hyperoxaluria, Primary sclerosing cholangitis, Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis Tyrosinemia, Urea cycle defects, Viral Hepatitis, Wilson disease are also gaining importance over the past few years.

Emergent management of Pediatric patients with fever is a common challenge. Children with fever account for as many as 20% of pediatric emergency department (ED) visits, and the underlying disorders in these cases range from mild conditions to the most serious of bacterial and viral illnesses.

Pediatric surgery is a combination of both Pediatrics and surgery. It is a branch of Pediatrics which deals with all the surgical operations of children. Pediatric surgery is responsible for the treatment of many disorders through surgical operations in children. Pediatric surgery can be mainly divided into sub categories, known as, Pediatric cardiothoracic surgery, Pediatric surgical oncology, Pediatric nephrological surgery, Pediatric neurosurgery, Pediatric urological surgery, Pediatric herpetological surgery, Pediatric orthopedic surgery, Pediatric vascular surgery and Pediatric oncological surgery.

Pediatric Cardiology is that branch of medicine concerned with the study of congenital cardiac malformations, acquired Pediatric heart diseases and abnormalities of the systemic and pulmonary circulations in the fetus, new born, child and young adult. Some popular Pediatric Cardiac Diseases are Cardiac Dysrhythmia i.e. an irregular heartbeat, which is either too fast as Bradycardia like or too slow as Tachycardia. If blood flow is not proper to the heart muscle then it is call Angina. Hypo plastic left heart syndrome is a complex and rare heart defect present at birth (congenital).

Pericarditis is an inflammation or infection of the pericardium, the thin sac (membrane) that surrounds the heart. There is a small amount of fluid between the inner and outer layers of the pericardium.

Researchers are engaged in a variety of laboratory and clinical research programs to extend their understanding of the developing nervous system and pathologic processes that underlie neurological disorders in children. The most common neurological disease is Pediatric epilepsy. Approximately 70% of children who suffer epilepsy during their childhood eventually outgrow it. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a diagnostic tool used for inherited metabolic disorders. To date, MRS has been limited to the assessment for cerebral lactic acidosis in mitochondrial disorders in children. Neuromuscular and genetic metabolic diseases are the most common genetic related disorders in children. The new frontier to improve outcomes in critically ill Pediatric patients with neurological illness is Pediatric Neurocritical Care.

Gastrointestinal disorders in children range from minor to life threatening, and short- to long-term or chronic. Neonatal Jaundice is one of the most common conditions needing medical attention in new-born babies. Gastrointestinal food allergies are not rare in infants and children. Nutrition is the process of consuming, absorbing, and using nutrients needed by the body for growth, development, and maintenance of life.

Herpetology is a branch of medicine concerned with the study, prevention, diagnosis and management of diseases that affect the liver, gallbladder, biliary tree and pancreas. The term is derived from the Greek words hepaticas and logia, which mean liver and study.

Most children are born healthy with no medical problems or birth defects. However, some children are born with differences in body structure, brain development, or body chemistry that can lead to problems with health, development, school performance, and/or social interaction. Pediatric geneticists are trained to identify the causes and natural history of these disorders. They may suggest tests and treatments that can help in understanding and caring for your child’s condition. Pediatric geneticists also can help families understand whether some conditions are hereditary (coming from the genes) and offer testing to family members who may be at risk for having children with similar problems. Pediatric radiology is a subspecialty of radiology involving the imaging of fetuses, infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. Many pediatric radiologists practice at children's hospitals.

Pediatric hematology is the branch of Pediatrics dealing with study, diagnosis, treatment and prevention different types of blood disorders including the study of bleeding and clotting disorders in children. Pediatric Oncology can be frightening to hear that a child has cancer or a blood disorder. It is acknowledged that neuroblastoma is the most common extra cranial solid tumor of infancy. It is an embryonic malignancy of the sympathetic nervous system arising from neuroblasts (pluripotent sympathetic cells). Researchers are looking for genetic source of childhood cancer. The common blood disorders in children are leukemia and lymphoma. Leukemia is a disease of the white blood cells.

Presenting global evidence for their utility in children, Prof. Sherman illustrated that evidence through randomized controlled trails have demonstrated that certain probiotic strains are more effective than placebo in a variety of conditions affecting the gastrointestinal tract. Multiple meta-analyses indicate effectiveness in reducing the duration of acute enteritis in preschooler’s and in reducing the frequency of necrotizing enterocolitis in pre-term babies. As probiotics exist naturally in some foods and are also available as dietary supplements in powder, capsule, and tablet forms. In 2002, the industry secured FDA designation of specific strains of B. lactic and Streptococcus thermophiles as substances generally recognized as safe (GRAS) in milk-based formulas for infants aged 4 months and older. Most probiotic bacteria are similar to the beneficial bacteria that occur naturally in the gut, including those of the Lactobacillus species (eg, L. acidophilus). Infants acquire other bacteria during their first months, mainly those of the bifid bacterium and Enterobacter species. Bifid bacterium species dominate in the gut of breast-fed infants, whereas Enterobacter microbes dominate in bottle-fed infants. This difference in species, which has been identified as key to breast-fed infants’ superior immunity to many infections, has spurred much of the medical and Pediatric communities’ interest in probiotics. Infant formula manufacturers have also taken interest.

Pediatric Nephrology specializes in the diagnosis and management of children with a variety of acute and chronic kidney-related disorders. The division evaluates and treats hypertension, hematuria, proteinuria, renal tubular acidosis, nephrolithiasis, glomerulonephritis and kidney failure. Pediatric Nephritis is clinically and genetically heterogeneous entity characterized by either relapsing and course with significant morbidity and mortality resulting from complications of the disease itself, and its therapy.

Pediatric psychology is a multidisciplinary field of both scientific research and clinical practice which attempts to address the psychological aspects of illness, injury, and the promotion of health behaviours in children, adolescents, and families in a Pediatric health setting. Psychological issues are addressed in a developmental framework and emphasize the dynamic relationships which exist between children, their families, and the health delivery system as a whole. Common areas of study include psychosocial development, environmental factors which contribute to the development of a disorder, outcomes of children with medical conditions, treating the comorbid behavioral and emotional components of illness and injury, and promoting proper health behaviors, developmental disabilities, educating psychologists and other health professionals on the psychological aspects of Pediatric conditions, and advocating for public policy that promotes children's health. Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder that causes periods of depression and periods of elevated mood. The elevated mood is significant and is known as mania or hypomania, depending on its severity, or whether symptoms of psychosis are present.

Pediatric pulmonology is a medical specialty that deals with diagnosis and treatment of diseases involving respiratory tract. Pediatric pulmonology is a combination of both pulmonology and pediatrics. Pediatric pulmonologists are specially trained in pulmonary pediatric diseases and conditions of the chest, particularly pneumonia, asthma, tuberculosis, complicated chest infections.

Pediatric Nursing is the scientific treatment of childhood which deals with the care of children from conception to adolescence in health care. Duties and goals of pediatric nurses includes: Conducting physicals, Child immunizations, Screening for disease, Diagnosing illnesses, Prescribing medications, Normalize the life of the child in the family home, school and community, Minimize the impact of the child's unique condition, Foster maximal growth and development, Develop realistic, functional and coordinated home care plans for the children and families, Respect the roles of the families in the care of their children.

The correct nutrition for the first 1,000 day window greatly affects child capacity to develop, learn and succeed. Diet during pregnancy and in the first years of a child life gives the basic building blocks for brain health, growth development and to build strong immune system. During the developing stages between infancy and adolescence, sufficient nutrition is most important. Proper eating habits for kids won't just help their normal development and improvement of growth, but also supports their immune system, and creates deep rooted dietary habits for lifelong. Although dietary needs, cravings, and tastes will differ broadly all through children, it is essential to constantly give your child healthy choices from all of the major nutrition foods. Breast feeding has vital ingredients that are not found in any infant formula to form the baby’s immune system and survival of neonate.

Pediatric surgery is a super speciality to fame of surgery including the surgery of foetuses, babies, adolescents, children, and young adults. Pediatric surgery rose in the middle of the twentieth century and the surgical care of infants and children has been improved. In pediatric surgery unique sorts of novel strategies and techniques are most regularly used at children hospital. Sub specialties of pediatric surgery itself include: neonatal surgery and foetal surgery.

Pediatric oncologists/hematologists specialize in treating childhood cancers and blood disorders in children from birth through young adulthood. Blood disorders involve problems in the body with red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, blood vessels, bone marrow and lymph nodes.