The article examines online diagnoses as an ambivalent phenomenon situated between destigmatization, glamourization, and commercialization. Social media contributes to increase the visibility of mental health conditions, facilitate the dissemination of information and enable exchange, thereby lowering barriers and encouraging individuals to seek support. At the same time, diagnoses on digital platforms are often simplified, aestheticized, and commercially exploited. Complex disorders are presented as easily consumable content and identity-forming labels, which can foster misinterpretations and self-diagnoses. Against this background, the article develops a differentiated understanding of online diagnoses that focusses on their risks without dismissing their emancipatory potential.
Childhood glaucoma is a rare eye condition that can lead to visual impairment or blindness early in a child's life if not detected and treated in a timely manner. This overview aims to highlight the terminology used, the embryology of the eye and the aqueous humor drainage system, the individual conditions and their characteristics, differential diagnoses, and treatment options. Furthermore, healthy, normally developed eyes are compared with the complaints, signs, and symptoms observed in the eyes of pediatric patients. If any differences are found, the child should be referred to a center with appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic expertise. It is imperative to prevent potential blindness.
Der Beitrag untersucht Online-Diagnosen als ambivalentes Phänomen im Spannungsfeld von Enttabuisierung, Glamourisierung und Kommerzialisierung. Soziale Medien tragen dazu bei, psychische Erkrankungen sichtbarer zu machen, Informationen zu verbreiten und Austausch zu ermöglichen, wodurch Hemmschwellen sinken und die Inanspruchnahme von Unterstützung gefördert wird. Gleichzeitig werden Diagnosen auf digitalen Plattformen häufig vereinfacht, ästhetisiert und kommerziell verwertet. Komplexe Störungsbilder erscheinen als leicht konsumierbare Inhalte und identitätsstiftende Labels, was Fehlinterpretationen und Selbstdiagnosen begünstigen kann. Vor diesem Hintergrund entwickelt der Beitrag ein differenziertes Verständnis von Online-Diagnosen, das deren Risiken in den Mittelpunkt rückt, ohne ihr emanzipatorisches Potenzial zu verwerfen.
Glaukome im Kindesalter sind zwar seltene Erkrankungen des Auges, können jedoch frühzeitig im Leben der Kinder zu Sehbehinderung oder Erblindung führen, wenn sie nicht rechtzeitig erkannt und behandelt werden. Dieser Überblick soll auf die verwendete Terminologie, die Embryologie des Auges und des Abflusssystems des Kammerwassers, die einzelnen Erkrankungen mit deren Merkmalen, die Differenzialdiagnosen sowie auf die Therapie hinweisen. Vergleichen Sie gesunde, normal entwickelte Augen mit den Beschwerden, den Zeichen und Symptomen der Augen der kindlichen Patient:innen. Wenn Sie Unterschiede finden, schicken Sie die Kinder in Zentren mit entsprechender diagnostischer und therapeutischer Expertise. Eine mögliche Erblindung soll auf jeden Fall verhindert werden.
Use of dietary supplements in sports has increased worldwide and is becoming increasingly relevant in adolescent populations. Creatine is one of the most extensively studied ergogenic aids and is widely used in both recreational and competitive sports. In adults, creatine is well established to improve strength and high-intensity performance. In adolescents, however, evidence is limited. Some studies and systematic reviews suggest potential improvements in anaerobic performance, but the findings are inconsistent and based on small sample sizes and heterogeneous study designs. Robust long-term data on safety, particularly regarding growth and development, are lacking. In the short term, creatine appears to be well tolerated in healthy adolescents, with generally mild side effects. Overall, the available evidence in adolescents is insufficient, and no general recommendation for supplementation can currently be made; use should only be considered under medical supervision and after careful individual risk-benefit assessment.
The metabolomics of eccrine sweat provides a non-invasive window into metabolic and lifestyle-related changes [1, 2-3] that are relevant for the prevention of childhood obesity. A recent feasibility study [4] led by Prof. Samuel M. Meier-Menches and Prof. Kurt Widhalm recorded metabolite profiles during a 2-year school-based intervention in Viennese children.
Swallowing button batteries (BB) that become impacted in the esophagus in childhood constitutes an urgent emergency, as severe damage is to be expected after approximately two hours. Radiography is a widely available diagnostic tool, which can easily identify radiopaque structures such as BBs. BBs can be distinguished from less dangerous objects like coins by their characteristic features. At home, repeated administration of honey may help to mitigate damage until the battery can be removed endoscopically.
Digital media are increasingly present in the daily lives of young children (0-5 years), in the family context of private households as well as in institutional childcare settings. This progressively earlier media use is influenced by various factors, including technological advances (such as the intuitive usability of digital devices), parental media use, socioeconomic status, and the high availability of digital offers. Empirical findings indicate significant risks to key developmental areas in early childhood. The negative effects include sleep, nutrition, language development, attention, impulse control, motor skills, and parent-child interaction. Neurobiological evidence further suggests changes associated with early and intensive screen usage. These insights lead to practical recommendations for parents and professionals working with young children: screen-free time for children up to 3 years, time-limited and guided use during the preschool age, promotion of nondigital activities, and reduction of parental media use in the presence of children. Additionally, quality standards for early childhood education, as well as societal and political measures, are considered necessary. These include informative and empowering media education for parents and professionals, regulation of digital offers (no advertising targeting 0-to 5-year-olds, media-free public zones, mandatory labeling of all screen devices as "not suitable for children aged 0-3"), and the promotion of further research. Since there is currently no adequate diagnostic option for problematic media use in the age 0-5, the diagnosis "Early Digital Media Regulatory Disorder" (EDMRD) is proposed and recommended. A diagnostic heuristic and items from a questionnaire currently under development for EDMR are presented.
The establishment of the St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute (St. Anna CCRI) marked a milestone in the pediatric research landscape, one of great significance particularly for pediatric oncology research in Austria. The Working Group for Science and Research (AGWF) was established with the aim of promoting and raising the profile of the scientific activities of pediatric institutions in Austria. Consequently, the cumulative scientific output of all pediatric clinics and research centers in Austria has been systematically recorded since 1990. Both the number of publications and their citations in the scientific literature, as well as the impact factor (IF) of the journals in which the works were published, are used as evaluation parameters. The IF and citations play a decisive role as an objective and transparent basis for the scientific awards established by the Austrian Society of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
Die pädiatrische Forschungslandschaft erlebte mit Gründung der St. Anna Kinderkrebsforschung (St. Anna CCRI) einen Meilenstein, der insbesondere im Bereich der pädiatrisch onkologischen Forschung in Österreich von großer Bedeutung war. Die Etablierung der Arbeitsgruppe für Wissenschaft und Forschung (AGWF) hatte das Ziel, die wissenschaftlichen Aktivitäten pädiatrischer Institutionen in Österreich zu fördern und sichtbar zu machen. Daher werden die kumulativen wissenschaftlichen Leistungen aller pädiatrischen Kliniken und Forschungsstätten in Österreich seit 1990 systematisch erfasst. Sowohl die Anzahl von Publikationen und deren Zitierungen in der Fachliteratur als auch der Impact-Faktor (IF) der Zeitschriften, in denen die Arbeiten veröffentlicht wurden, werden als Bewertungsparameter herangezogen. Der IF und die Zitierungen spielen als objektive und transparente Grundlage für die von der von der ÖGKJ ins Leben gerufenen Wissenschaftspreise eine entscheidende Rolle.
Die Nutzung von Nahrungsergänzungsmitteln im Sport hat weltweit zugenommen und betrifft zunehmend auch Jugendliche. Kreatin zählt zu den am besten untersuchten ergogenen Substanzen und wird sowohl im Leistungs- als auch im Freizeitsport häufig eingesetzt. Im Erwachsenenalter ist die Wirksamkeit von Kreatin zur Verbesserung von Kraft und hochintensiver Leistungsfähigkeit gut belegt. Im Jugendalter ist die Evidenz hingegen deutlich limitiert. Einzelne Studien und systematische Übersichtsarbeiten deuten auf mögliche Verbesserungen der anaeroben Leistungsfähigkeit hin, jedoch sind diese Effekte nicht konsistent und basieren auf kleinen Stichproben sowie heterogenen Studiendesigns. Robuste Langzeitdaten zur Sicherheit, insbesondere im Hinblick auf Wachstum und Entwicklung, liegen nicht vor. Die kurzfristige Anwendung erscheint bei gesunden Jugendlichen gut verträglich, wobei Nebenwirkungen meist mild sind. Insgesamt ist die Datenlage im Jugendalter unzureichend, sodass derzeit keine generelle Empfehlung zur Supplementierung im Jugendalter ausgesprochen werden kann und eine Anwendung nur unter ärztlicher Aufsicht sowie nach sorgfältiger individueller Nutzen-Risiko-Abwägung erfolgen sollte.
Die Metabolomik des ekkrinen Schweißes bietet ein nichtinvasives Fenster in metabolische und lebensstilbedingte Veränderungen [1–3], die für die Prävention von Adipositas im Kindesalter relevant sind. Eine aktuelle Machbarkeitsstudie [4] unter der Leitung von Prof. Samuel M. Meier-Menches und Prof. Kurt Widhalm erfasste Metabolitenverläufe während einer zweijährigen schulbasierten Intervention bei Wiener Kindern.
Fernreisen mit Säuglingen und Kleinkindern stellen für die hausärztliche Praxis eine zunehmende Herausforderung dar. Neben erweiterten Impfindikationen außerhalb des Standardimpfprogramms sind infektiologische Risiken, Unfallgefahren sowie die häufig stark variierende medizinische Versorgungsqualität im Reiseland zu berücksichtigen. Der vorliegende Beitrag gibt einen praxisorientierten Überblick für Allgemeinmediziner mit besonderem Fokus auf altersabhängige Vulnerabilitäten.
Digital media are profoundly transforming the ways in which we perceive, think, communicate and access information. The use of digital social media has become an integral part of everyday life in contemporary society, encompassing not only adults but also children and adolescents, who increasingly engage with these platforms during leisure time and, more recently, within educational settings. The communication patterns of both adults and children have shifted substantially into the digital sphere, a trend accelerated by technological innovations such as the smartphone and further intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Children and adolescents employ social media in diverse ways, driven by the numerous advantages these platforms offer, including low-threshold access to information, opportunities for creativity and entertainment, global connectivity and enhanced well-being through perceived social connectedness. At the same time, the risks associated with social media use are becoming increasingly evident. These include social media use disorder, phubbing, smartphone-related accident risks, fear of missing out (FOMO), no mobile phone phobia (nomophobia), misinformation through fake news and deepfakes, impacts on body image, cybergrooming, exposure to online pornography, cyberbullying, engagement with hazardous internet challenges and parasocial relationships with artificial intelligence (AI)-based chatbots. This spectrum of potential hazards underscores the daily exposure of children and adolescents to complex psychosocial and behavioral risks in digital environments. In response, the promotion of media literacy, alongside universal, selective and indicated behavioral prevention measures targeting young users and their caregivers, is essential. These efforts should be complemented by structural prevention strategies at the policy level, reflecting a comprehensive, multilayered approach to mitigating risks associated with digital media use.
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child guarantee the rights of children to have a family. Based on a number of personal pediatric and adolescent psychiatric experiences concerning the handling of "difficult" children and families by the Youth Welfare Office (YWO), this article attempts the placement in "out-of-home child care" without an appropriate clarification, under the title "threat to child well-being", for children with neither the use of violence nor neglect but medical grounds, such as school refusal of autistic children. In this context, the three roles of the YWO (procedure management, counselling and support of affected families, and organization of out of home placement) is a construct that enables the sovereign rights without appropriate control. The aim of this article is to untangle these tasks to strengthen the main function of counselling and support, to put the clarification of parenting ability on an extended and team-based foundation and to primarily limit the often traumatic decision for an external placement to cases of neglect and endangerment to children punishable under criminal law, to assign these to juvenile courts and to solve medical problems in cooperation with the medical care facilities. This would improve the main task of the YWO of counselling and support of affected families and structure the work of the YWO personnel much more efficiently.
Pediatric hypertension has emerged as a significant clinical challenge, with rising prevalence driven by increasing obesity rates, reduced physical activity, and improved detection through standardized blood pressure measurement and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). Early identification is crucial, as elevated blood pressure in childhood frequently tracks into adulthood and is associated with early vascular and cardiac remodeling, including left ventricular hypertrophy. The 2022 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) consensus emphasizes ambulatory blood pressure monitoring as the reference standard for diagnosis and risk stratification in pediatric hypertension. This article provides a concise overview of current definitions, diagnostic pathways, and evidence-based management strategies for hypertension in children and adolescents. While primary hypertension is now more common in adolescents, secondary causes-particularly chronic kidney disease (CKD)-remain highly relevant. Lifestyle modification is the cornerstone of therapy, while pharmacological treatment is indicated for persistent hypertension, target-organ damage, or stage 2 hypertension. In children with CKD, blood pressure management is outlined in the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) guideline. Long-term follow-up is essential to prevent adult cardiovascular disease.
