Adolescent contraceptive use and parental notification

Article Abstract:

The rate of premarital intercourse has risen sharply since the early 1970s. A prior demographic study reported that in 1971 only 28 percent of unmarried women, aged 15 to 19, were sexually active, and in 1979 this figure was 46 percent. The rate of pregnancy and abortion in women of this age group has similarly increased. In 1984 women under the age of 20 had an absolute number of pregnancies over one million, and approximately 470,000 live births. Several studies have indicated that when parents know of their children's sexual activity and contraceptive practices, the adolescents use contraceptives more effectively. A self-administered questionnaire was used as part of a comprehensive study of the relationship between parental knowledge and teenagers' family planning visits and contraceptive use. Unmarried female patients, with no history of pregnancy, who were attending an adolescent clinic of a children's hospital were eligible for participation in the study. Demographic statistics and information regarding sexual activity, use of contraceptives, and issues of parental awareness were collected from 196 young women. The average participant was 16 years of age, white, of lower socioeconomic status, and from a Protestant fundamentalist background. Sixty-five percent of the young women were sexually active; 80 percent of their parents were informed of this. Similarly, of those who used a method of contraception, 80 percent had informed their parents. However, 18 percent of the sexually active adolescents would not allow notification of their parents; of this group, 86 percent said that they would use a less effective contraceptive method rather than place themselves in a position whereby their parents would be informed. The study suggests that a public policy which compels teenagers to inform their parents prior to securing family planning advice could result in continued sexual activity, but with less effective contraception and an increased risk for pregnancy. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Social aspects, Research, Laws, regulations and rules, Teenage pregnancy, Sexual ethics, Health education, Medical law, Birth control, Family planning services, Pregnancy, Unwanted, Unwanted pregnancy

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Radiological case of the month

Article Abstract:

The case report is presented of an otherwise healthy 15-year-old boy who had developed a cough, weight loss and fever over four weeks. The patient had smoked one pack of cigarettes daily for two years, and had been exposed to a friend diagnosed with tuberculosis, who was taking medication for this condition. The findings from chest X-ray and sputum cultures are reported; beta-hemolytic group C Streptococcus was found, and antibiotic and antituberculosis treatment was begun (results from the tuberculosis test were negative, however). When the patient failed to respond to this after three days, he underwent bronchoscopy (examination of the airway), which led to the removal of infected material from the right lung. The organism previously identified as group C Streptococcus was now identified as another bacterium (Arcanobacterium hemolyticum), and penicillin was given instead of the original antibiotic. The patient improved and received intravenous penicillin for another four weeks. The diagnosis was cavitary pneumonia, a lung infection that can be caused by several organisms, in which patients develop abscesses and cavities in the lungs. This condition is rare in children and young adults, and can lead to very serious illness. A discussion is presented of the causative organism in this case. It can cause infections in people whose immune systems are compromised, but this is the first reported case of cavitary pneumonia due to Arcanobacterium hemolyticum in a healthy person. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Care and treatment, Diagnosis, Pneumonia, Pneumonia in children, Childhood pneumonia, Bacterial pneumonia

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A sexually transmitted diseases curriculum in adolescent medicine

Article Abstract:

The incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) has increased among teenagers between the ages between 15 and 19. Most medical training programs provide limited opportunity to study STD among adolescents. In an effort to improve pediatric medical care, a sexually transmitted disease (STD) curriculum aimed at the adolescent population was developed for use by physicians training in pediatric medicine. Residents regarded knowledge of STD diagnosis and treatment important to the adolescent medicine program. The physicians' knowledge was tested before and after two different curricula. Knowledge of STD increased after each level of study. It is hoped that increasing physician awareness of STD will improve the physicians' expertise in treating adolescents, as well as their willingness to treat them. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Sexually transmitted diseases, Infection, Pediatric diseases, Curricula, Study and teaching, Medical education, Graduate medical education, Infection in children, Adolescent medicine

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