NHS Evidence

Welcome to
NHS Evidence - child health

This specialist collection addresses a wide range of topics related to the health and well being of children. It is primarily aimed at professionals involved in the care of children, but it is hoped that it will be of value to all users when seeking information on a wide variety of aspects of child health. Certain parts of the library are restricted to users with Athens accounts. Further patient information is available from NHS Direct Online and Contact a Family.

If you have any comments or questions on the specialist collection and/or its contents please contact us and we encourage you to sign up to our mailing list for regular updates about the child health specialist collection. We regret that we are unable to respond to personal medical queries and such messages will not be answered. For such matters we would advise you to contact NHS Direct or your usual doctor.

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What's New

Guidelines for fitting hearing aids to young infants

These guidelines attempt to provide some brief guidance on the steps involved in fitting hearing aids specifically to very young babies, incorporating some of the more recent developments in research and hearing aid technology.

Guidance on the consumption of alcohol by children and young people

This guidance was published initially in draft form as part of a consultation on advice and information for children, young people and alcohol. The findings from this consultation have been collated and utilised into this final version.

Cochrane Review - Topical fluoride as a cause of dental fluorosis in children

Objectives: To describe the relationship between the use of topical fluorides in young children and the risk of developing dental fluorosis.

Cochrane Review - Partial exchange transfusion to prevent neurodevelopmental disability in infants with polycythemia

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of PET on mortality and neurodevelopmental outcome in infants with neonatal polycythemia.

Cochrane Review - Intra-amniotic surfactant for women at risk of preterm birth for preventing respiratory distress in newborns

Objectives: To determine if intra-amniotic instillation of surfactant for women at risk of preterm birth, compared to placebo or no treatment or post-delivery tracheal surfactant instillation, reduces morbidity or mortality, or both, in preterm infants. If intra-amniotic instillation is effective, in subgroup analysis to determine the effect of 1) gestational age; 2) type of surfactant; 3) dose; 4) timing; 5) indication; and 6) multiple pregnancy.

Cochrane Review - Interventions for bone disease in children with chronic kidney disease

Objectives: To investigate the benefits and harms of interventions for preventing and treating bone disease in children with CKD.

Cochrane Review - Honey for acute cough in children

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of honey for acute cough in children in ambulatory settings.

Cochrane Review - Fluoride toothpastes of different concentrations for preventing dental caries in children and adolescents

Objectives: To determine the relative effectiveness of fluoride toothpastes of different concentrations in preventing dental caries in children and adolescents, and to examine the potentially modifying effects of baseline caries level and supervised toothbrushing.

Cochrane Review - Ethamsylate for the prevention of morbidity and mortality in preterm or very low birth weight infants

Objectives: To determine if ethamsylate, when compared to placebo or no treatment, reduces morbidity and/or mortality in preterm infants.

Cochrane Review - Braces for idiopathic scoliosis in adolescents

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of bracing in adolescent patients with AIS.