Link Newsletter - June 2023

Bordetella parapertussis was recently detected from clinical specimens submitted to the microbiology laboratory at Children’s Mercy Kansas City. Unlike many respiratory infections, summer infections with Bordetella parapertussis may be more common than infections in other seasons.

10-month-old male evaluated after drowning event at neighborhood pool.

An estimated 50%-80% of children will have a cardiac murmur at some point in their life, but less than 1% of these murmurs will correlate with serious congenital or acquired heart disease, making identifying a pathologic murmur akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

Antibiotics are one of the medication classes most frequently impacted by drug shortages. Therefore, as pediatric prescribers, it is important to know how to make periods of antibiotic shortages easier to navigate for ourselves and the families we serve. 

MenB vaccines have the lowest administration rates of the vaccines available for adolescents in the United States -- a staggering 31.4%. With rates for MenB so low, are we doing everything we can as providers to promote this vaccine and protect our patients?

When complex ethical situations arise in clinical practice, often in high-stakes situations with uncertainty, clinical ethics consultation may be helpful to patients, families, surrogates and clinicians.