New Study Identifies Top Pediatric Medical Overuse Concerns

Experts identified 10 articles related to pediatric medical overuse from 2021 to 2022. Brief summaries of these articles are found in the study “2023 Update on Pediatric Medical Overuse,” published in the October 2023 issue of Pediatrics (published online Sept. 25). The goal of this review is to highlight important areas of pediatric care that may be wasteful or harmful to children. Researchers considered thousands of articles and ultimately identified 201 pertaining to pediatric medical overuse. Some articles question routine practices like temperature measurement at well-child visits that may lead to unnecessary medical care and vaccine deferral. Other articles demonstrate adverse effects of pediatric interventions that may be overused, such as tonsillectomies, proton pump inhibitors, and cough and cold medications that could lead to greater illnesses or early death. Researchers urge that the pros and cons of these interventions should be carefully considered prior to pursuing treatment. They also stress the importance of utilizing more value-based health care models to improve pediatric care.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.