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Communicating with parents after a child’s death
This Month in
THE JOURNAL OF
PEDIATRICS July 2007 • Volume 151 • Number 1 Copyright © 2007 by Mosby, Inc.
THE EDITORS’ PERSPECTIVES Communicating with parents after a child’s death
Good news for combination and simultaneously administered vaccines
In this issue of The Journal, Meert et al report on interviews with parents who recently lost a child in the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) about their perspectives on physician-parent conferences. They surveyed 56 parents of 48 children who had died in the pediatric ICU of one of six children’s hospitals in the NICHD network. The results showed that the majority wanted to meet with their child’s intensive care physician, and 82% of these were willing to return to the hospital for a meeting. They wanted to be able to discuss the sequence of events that led to the ICU admission and death, cause of death, autopsy results, genetic risks, and many other issues. They also wanted the opportunity to seek reassurance, and the opportunity to voice any possible complaints, but also to express gratitude. It would seem that routinely establishing such meetings is going to be the standard of care.
Pichichero et al report a carefully designed noninferiority trial that confirms the immunogenicity and lack of important reactogenicity of the combination diphtheria and tetanus toxoids-, acellular pertussis-, hepatitis B- and inactivated poliovirus-containing vaccine with separately but simultaneously administered Haemophilus influenzae b vaccine (Hib) and pneumococcal 7-valent conjugate vaccine. It is indeed remarkable that combination vaccines can be developed that retain the good part (ie, immunogenicity) and don’t add a bad part (ie, reactogenicity), and that can decrease the number of injections and increase the likelihood of an “on-schedule” immunization history. —Sarah S. Long, MD page 43
—Robert W. Wilmott, MD page 50
The Journal of Pediatrics (ISSN 0022-3476) is published monthly by Elsevier Inc., 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010. Business and Editorial Offices: 1600 John F. Kennedy Blvd., Suite 1800, Philadelphia, PA 19103-2899. Accounting and Circulation Offices: 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, FL 32887-4800. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Journal of Pediatrics, Elsevier Periodicals Customer Service, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, FL 32887-4800.
The Journal of Pediatrics
July 2007
1A
THE JOURNAL OF
PEDIATRICS July 2007 • Volume 151 • Number 1 Copyright © 2007 by Mosby, Inc.
THE EDITORS’ PERSPECTIVES Communicating with parents after a child’s death
Good news for combination and simultaneously administered vaccines
In this issue of The Journal, Meert et al report on interviews with parents who recently lost a child in the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) about their perspectives on physician-parent conferences. They surveyed 56 parents of 48 children who had died in the pediatric ICU of one of six children’s hospitals in the NICHD network. The results showed that the majority wanted to meet with their child’s intensive care physician, and 82% of these were willing to return to the hospital for a meeting. They wanted to be able to discuss the sequence of events that led to the ICU admission and death, cause of death, autopsy results, genetic risks, and many other issues. They also wanted the opportunity to seek reassurance, and the opportunity to voice any possible complaints, but also to express gratitude. It would seem that routinely establishing such meetings is going to be the standard of care.
Pichichero et al report a carefully designed noninferiority trial that confirms the immunogenicity and lack of important reactogenicity of the combination diphtheria and tetanus toxoids-, acellular pertussis-, hepatitis B- and inactivated poliovirus-containing vaccine with separately but simultaneously administered Haemophilus influenzae b vaccine (Hib) and pneumococcal 7-valent conjugate vaccine. It is indeed remarkable that combination vaccines can be developed that retain the good part (ie, immunogenicity) and don’t add a bad part (ie, reactogenicity), and that can decrease the number of injections and increase the likelihood of an “on-schedule” immunization history. —Sarah S. Long, MD page 43
—Robert W. Wilmott, MD page 50
The Journal of Pediatrics (ISSN 0022-3476) is published monthly by Elsevier Inc., 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010. Business and Editorial Offices: 1600 John F. Kennedy Blvd., Suite 1800, Philadelphia, PA 19103-2899. Accounting and Circulation Offices: 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, FL 32887-4800. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Journal of Pediatrics, Elsevier Periodicals Customer Service, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, FL 32887-4800.
The Journal of Pediatrics
July 2007
1A