‘You Wonder If You Made The Right Decision’: Parents Of Premature Baby Face Heartbreaking Ordeal
Kaiser Health News offers a multimedia package profiling a San Francisco couple who had to decide how far to go to treat their very sick and premature son. In other children's health news, media outlets report on the difficulty of diagnosing TB in kids and the dramatic jump in autism cases.
Kaiser Health News:
A Sick Newborn, A Loving Family And A Litany Of Wrenching Choices
Decisions about how much care to offer very sick family members are always challenging, but they can be particularly wrenching for parents like the Shamiyehs, who face harrowing choices at what’s supposed to be a wonderful time — the beginning of a life. As doctors and families consider how far to push medical care, a chasm can open between the parents’ hopes and what providers consider realistic. (Gold, 11/16)
The Associated Press:
Rare TB Case Shows Diagnosing, Treating Children Is Tough
When a 2-year-old returned sick from a visit to India, U.S. doctors suspected tuberculosis even though standard tests said no. It would take three months to confirm she had an extreme form of the disease — a saga that highlights the desperate need for better ways to fight TB in youngsters in countries that can’t afford such creative care. Drug-resistant tuberculosis is a global health threat, and it’s particularly challenging for young children who are harder even to diagnose, much less treat. (Neergaard, 11/16)
The Washington Post:
Autism Cases In U.S. Jump To 1 In 45: Who Gets The Diagnosis, In 8 Simple Charts
The number of autism cases in the United States appeared to jump dramatically in 2014 according to new estimates released Friday, but researchers said that changes in the format of the questionnaire likely affected the numbers. (Cha, 11/14)
