Bubble Wrap PLUS – March 2025

Can’t get enough of Bubble Wrap? The Bubble Wrap Plus is a monthly paediatric Journal Club reading list from Professor Jaan Toelen (University Hospitals Leuven) and Dr Anke Raaijmakers (Sydney Children’s Hospital). 

This comprehensive list is developed from 34 journals, including major and subspecialty paediatric journals. We suggest this list can help you discover relevant or interesting articles for your local journal club or allow you to keep a finger on the pulse of paediatric research.

In this collection you can find the study of Ali et al. who explored using a smartphone app as a hearing screen test. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of a low-cost smartphone-based otoacoustic emission (OAE; don’t we love the acronym?) device for infant hearing screening, compared to a conventional OAE device. The hearing loss prevalence was relatively high (13%) with similar referral rates for smartphone and conventional devices. Developing these affordable and accessible hearing screening tools addresses a critical need in global health, particularly in areas where traditional screening methods are not widely available.

Would you think that mothers and fathers will take up the same childcare roles in neonatology wards in 2025? Kaur and colleagues investigated the support of fathers in a NICU, and found that fathers were most involved during procedures and least involved in care and feeding. The study concluded that support from healthcare professionals, psychologists, and peers can enhance fathers’ participation in their neonates’ care in the NICU.

Parents of children with chronic conditions have a high prevalence of mental health difficulties. Coscini et al. performed a systematic review of this topic. Although mental health symptoms were common, there was a wide variability in outcomes and limited information on referral pathways, actual referrals made, and medical service uptake. We need to understand better how to effectively identify, screen, and support parents of children with chronic illness in accessing mental health services if this is required.

An RCT for children <12 years old with obesity showed promising results for the use of liraglutide for treating obesity. Over a 56-week treatment period, 82 participants were randomized to receive either once-daily subcutaneous liraglutide or placebo, along with lifestyle interventions. The results showed that liraglutide significantly reduced BMI compared to placebo. While adverse gastrointestinal events were more common with liraglutide, the overall safety profile was similar between groups. Further research is needed to establish its long-term safety and efficacy in this population fully.

You will find the list is broken down into four sections:

If we have missed out on something useful or you think other articles are absolutely worth sharing, please add them in the comments!