Reye's syndrome is a potentially fatal disease that causes numerous detrimental effects to many organs, especially the brain and liver.

Causes

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The cause of Reye's syndrome remains unknown; however, a link was found with the use of aspirin or other salicylates in children and adolescents who have a viral infection such as influenza, chicken pox or the common cold. The increased risk of contracting Reye's Syndrome is one of the main reasons that aspirin is not recommended for use in people under the age of 16.

The syndrome is named after Dr R. Douglas Reye, who, along with Dr. George Johnson, published the first study of the syndrome in 1963, though the disease was first diagnosed as a unique illness in 1929. In 1980 studies in Ohio, Michigan and Arizona by Starko et al. pointed to the use of aspirin during an upper respiratory tract infection and chicken pox as a potential indicators for the syndrome. A decrease of the use of aspirin in children during the 1980s resulted in a corresponding decrease in the number of cases of Reye's syndrome, dramatically in children under 10 (Arrowsmith et al 1987). However, it is worth noting that a decrease in the number of cases has also been observed in countries where children's aspirin is still in use. Further case studies have revealed 19 viruses in conjuction with salicylates, pesticides and aflatoxin as potential factors contributing to the disease.

More on [ Reye's syndrome ]

Journal of Child Health Care current issue

Children's Nursing Education: Members club or street party?
Randall, D., McTaggart, I. Wed, 20 May 2009 00:00:00 -0000

Creating space: hospital bedside displays as facilitators of communication between children and nurses
Lewis, P., Kerridge, I., Jorden, C. F.C. Wed, 20 May 2009 00:00:00 -0000
Over the past decades there has been a marked change in the physical environment of children's hospitals and the configuration of individual bed spaces. No longer the stark, clinical spaces typical of years gone by, the modern hospital bed space hosts a variety of visual displays reflecting different aspects of the child's life. Building upon ideas introduced by Lewis and informed by a recent qualitative study into hospital bedside displays, this article discusses the role that displays can play in developing, deepening and enriching relationships between nurses, patients and their families in the paediatric hospital environment. It discusses the links between hospital and home, the specific function of the display of photographs and the nurse's role in `knowing' the patient and facilitating links between hospital and home. It concludes that nurses' conscious observations of a visually rich environment may make a positive contribution to the care that they deliver for the benefit of their patients and themselves.
Influences on nurses' scoring of children's post-operative pain
Simons, J., Moseley, L. Wed, 20 May 2009 00:00:00 -0000
There is a lack of clarity as to why some nurses are not delivering optimal pain management to children post-operatively. This retrospective chart review study examined nurses' pain scoring on 175 children during the first 24 hours post-operatively. Data were analysed on the amount of assessments made, assessment scores recorded, as well as the age, gender and type of surgery performed. One-quarter of children had no assessment record of their pain in the first 24 hours post-operatively. When the pain tool was part of an observation chart, nurses recorded more pain scores. Nurses' scoring of children's pain is influenced positively by children under five years of age and those who undergo abdominal surgery. Nurses who had access to one document for recording vital signs as well as pain scores were more likely to assess and record a child's pain score than nurses who had to use a separate chart.

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