Pediatricians should screen their patients for alcohol use, recommends American Academy of Pediatrics

In an updated policy statement “Alcohol Use by Youth”, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has urged parents to talk with their teens about the risks of alcohol and set firm rules against its use.

The statement is published in the July issue of Pediatrics (published online June 24). An accompanying technical report outlines the evidence for AAP recommendations and states that alcohol remains the most common substance used by teens.

“The teen years are a critical time for brain growth, when connections responsible for emotional regulation, planning and organization are being formed and fine-tuned,” said Joanna Quigley, MD, FAAP, lead author of the policy statement. “Alcohol paves a pathway for addiction when the brain is still maturing, affecting the area that governs decision-making. As parents, we don’t want to downplay those risks, but keep the conversations open and model healthy habits.”

“Binge drinking is especially dangerous and is known to lead to other risky behaviors, such as drinking and driving,” said Sheryl Ryan, MD, FAAP, who chairs the AAP Committee on Substance Use and Prevention and is lead author of the technical report. “Pediatricians should screen their patients for alcohol use and help them understand the impact on the brain and behaviors.”

The AAP recommends that pediatricians screen for alcohol use and provide education to teens and their families about hazards, consequences and potential interventions.

Other recommendations include:

• Send a clear message against the use of alcohol under age 21.
• Support existing state laws for a minimum purchase age of 21 for alcohol and advocate for taxes on alcohol products.
• Support strengthening graduated driver licensing programs... The laws indirectly affect drinking and driving by restricting nighttime driving and the transportation of younger passengers.
• Advocate for more research on the impact of alcohol use on the developing brain.
• Support the role of schools in screening for underage alcohol use and providing general health education and community programs.
• Ban the sale and distribution of powdered alcohol.

Current Temperature Status and Warning for next five days

Heat Wave and Temperature Observed Yesterday (Past 24 hours from 0830 hrs IST of 23 June, 2019 to 0830 hrs IST 24 June, 2019)

Heat Wave:

No heat wave conditions observed.

Maximum Temperature:

Maximum temperatures were appreciably above normal (3.1°C to 5.0°C) at many places over Himachal Pradesh and Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim; at a few places over West Rajasthan, West Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Gangetic West Bengal, Assam & Meghalaya and Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura; at isolated places over Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi, Saurashtra & Kutch, East Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha; above normal (1.6°C to 3.0°C) at many places over Gujarat region, East Rajasthan and Madhya Maharashtra; at a few places over Uttarakhand, Punjab, Konkan & Goa, North Interior Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & Karaikal and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Yesterday, the highest maximum temperature of 45.2°C was recorded at Churu (West Rajasthan).

Temperatures Recorded at 1430 Hours IST of yesterday, the 24th June, 2019

• Churu(West Rajasthan) recorded the maximum temperature of 41.8°C

• Temperatures recorded at 1430 hours IST of Yesterday rose by 1-4°C in most parts over East Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh; in many Parts over Gangetic West Bengal, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Kerala; in few parts over Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, East Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Tamilnadu & Puducherry and in one or two pockets of West Madhya Pradesh, Sub Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim, Vidarbha, Karnataka, Tripura and Mizoram.

Healthcare News Monitor

Three kids in Kolkata hospital with encephalitis, but doctor say it’s not an outbreak

The Times of India

The death of more than 100 children from encephalitis this month in Bihar has led to a scare in Kolkata. At least three children suffering from the disease have now been admitted to a government hospital in the city. However, doctors said these were stray cases while Bihar is grappling with an outbreak. The affected children, all from the city’s periphery, have been admitted to Institute of Child Health (ICH) and are on the recovery path. While a boy from Howrah had to be put on ventilation, the other two — from Hooghly and Burdwan — didn’t need ventilation support so far. “The child who had to be put on ventilation is very ill but responding to treatment. These, however, are stray cases as children haven’t been admitted in large numbers,” said Prabhas Prasun Giri, paediatric ICU in-charge at ICH.

Hyderabad: Doctors not the reason for failures in health sector

Deccan Chronicle

Doctors say that their protests with regard to providing them adequate security are not being taken to their logical conclusion. The attacks on them will continue until the people realise that attacking doctors is not the solution to healthcare issues. To highlight this, doctors have decided to wear black badges to work on a regular basis to make government and also people understand that this kind of violence against them will not work. One section of the medical fraternity holds a different opinion on calling off the strike. They allege that local issues of West Bengal could have been solved but in a larger context, the violence is still continuing. In another incident, a doctor was attacked by family members of a deceased in Ranchi. Dr B. Pratap Reddy, president, IMA Telangana chapter, told this newspaper, “A poor person will never attack a doctor. Those who are attacking doctors fail to understand that doctors are helpless in a situation where there is minimal support provided by the governments.” “The people do not demonstrate any kind of medical discipline. Out of ignorance, they assume that doctors can cure everything, without knowing the latter’s limitations. They will never question politicians about what they are doing for the health sector but will immediately start blaming doctors,” added Dr Reddy.

More trouble for Muzaffarpur hospital as roof outside ICU collapses, encephalitis death toll reaches 109

India Today

Trouble mounted for Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital in Bihars Muzaffarpur, where over 100 children have died due to acute encephalitis syndrome, as the roof outside its Intensive Critical Unit collapsed on Sunday. Amid reports of lack of basic facilities at SKMCH, one of the biggest government-run hospitals in Bihar, the roof outside the ICU collapsed on Sunday. Sunil Kumar Shahi, Superintendent at SKMCH, said a patch of plaster from the roof fell off and nobody was injured during the incident. "A patch of plaster from the roof fell off and nobody has been injured. Its not inside any ward but around the verandah area. ICU is in between ward number 6-7 but the patch fell between ward number 5-6," Sunil Kumar Shahi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. SKMCH has been in the news for all the wrong reasons as 109 children admitted here with AES or Japanese encephalitis have died since June 1. On Sunday, the SKMCH accounted for 109 of the 129 encephalitis deaths at the government-run hospital in Muzaffarpur. Meanwhile, a senior doctor at the SKMCH in Bihar was suspended for negligence after over 100 children died at the Muzaffarpur hospital due to lack of treatment.

Doctors strike 2.0: Jharkhand doctors threaten to strike, demand protection laws

India Today- Satyajeet Kumar

Earlier this month, Bengal witnessed a deadlock between the medical fraternity and the state government over violence against doctors. What started as clashes between doctors and a patients family, became a nationwide protest which also spread to other parts of the country. The medical fraternity across India expressed absolute solidarity on the demands of their safety. Now, Jharkhand is headed in the same direction. A delegation of doctors met Health Minister Ramchandra Chandravanshi on Sunday and handed over a charter of demands to him. One of the demands included the introduction of the Medical Protection Act after reports of violence and assault on doctors at Rinchi Trust Hospital where a patient was allegedly brought dead but the family of the deceased accused the medical staff of negligence. On Friday, a 21-year-old man, Ashutosh Pandey was brought to Rinchi Hospital near Kathal More in Ranchi after he reportedly drowned in Patratu Dam. Doctors claim that Pandey had died of asphyxiation before being brought to the hospital. However, his attendants and about 100 locals vandalised hospital property and allegedly thrashed three doctors, who sustained severe injuries. Doctors across the State on Sunday worked wearing black badges as a mark of protest against the attack on doctors at Rinchi Hospital on Friday. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) Jharkhand chapter has threatened to protest if the state government does not act on their demands for doctors safety.