Childhood Toe-Walking: Prevalence and Links to Developmental Problems

Idiopathic Toe-walking refers to children who habitually walk on their toes rather than using a typical gait and for whom no specific cause has been found.  It has been a traditional red flag to clinicians and parents alike for developmental problems including autism.  There is little systematic study, however, of the phenomenon and its predictive […]

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Cardiac Warnings Out for Citalopram and Escitalopram

Last year’s warnings from the FDA about dose-dependent QTc elongation and cardiac arrhythmias including Torsade De Pointes among patients taking citalopram at higher doses have been supplemented by warnings issued by HealthCanada on escitalopram (Lexapro), the S-isomer of racemic citalopram.  The FDA’s 2012 guidelines exclude escitalopram but hedge on concluding that the QT effects are […]

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Parental Levels of Anxiety Predict Child Adjustment after Illness and Injury

by John Koutras, MD The risk factors for children developing post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following a medical trauma are complex and include medical and family factors, among others.  A concept of “relational PTSD” has been proposed which suggests that parent and child symptoms mutually influence each other.  A new study […]

Trends in Antipsychotic Medication Use 1993-2009

A new study in the Archives of General Psychiatry reports on the increasing use of antipsychotic medications in youth.  The study analyzed nearly half a million medical visits over a 17 year span (1993 through 2009).  Results showed that the number of medical visits that included an antipsychotic medication per 100 persons rose in children […]

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