Bubble Wrap PLUS – May 2026

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 keep a finger on the pulse of paediatric research.

Highlights this month include:-

Can fixing where kids live help fix childhood obesity? In this month’s issue of Pediatrics, researchers report on a low-income community in Los Angeles undergoing major housing and neighbourhood upgrades. As a result, children showed smaller increases in obesity and better health behaviours within just 2 years compared to peers in a similar area without changes. Improvements weren’t just physical, as kids also drank fewer sugary drinks and were more active. This study suggests that “whole community” interventions (housing, safer spaces, etc.) may be powerful tools in preventing childhood obesity, especially in disadvantaged populations.

Refeeding issues in adolescents with eating disorders is a complex matter. The Archives report on data for children admitted with eating disorders. They conclude that most inpatient refeeding stays were approximately 3 weeks. However, medical instability, need for supplements (oral or NG), and biochemical refeeding syndrome were frequent, highlighting the intensity of care required. Lower weight and anorexia nervosa diagnosis predicted the need for ongoing inpatient treatment. These data might help clinicians set expectations, counsel families, and benchmark care, reinforcing that refeeding is high-risk and resource intensive.

MRI or CT for neurologic emergencies in children is usually a time balance: a ‘fast’ MRI is not available, so we default to a CT. Published online in Pediatrics, a team of researchers investigated what was better, and their conclusion is somewhat surprising. For children presenting with new neurological symptoms, fast MRI matched CT for emergency and hospital length of stay but missed far fewer diagnoses. It showed higher sensitivity and stronger reassurance when normal, making it a safer first-line imaging option in appropriate cases. Importantly (when available!), fast MRI can replace CT, therefore reducing radiation exposure without slowing patient flow and improving diagnostic accuracy.

New antibodies are beginning to reshape how we think about ‘classic’ clinical diseases like childhood nephrotic syndrome. Recent work in Pediatric Nephrology draws attention to anti‑podocyte antibodies (anti‑nephrin antibodies) as potential pathogenic drivers, linking immune mechanisms to podocyte injury (driving the nephrotic syndrome). These antibodies may serve as clinically useful biomarkers, associated with steroid-sensitive disease, disease activity, relapse risk, and possibly even transplantation. Their discovery also strengthens the rationale for B‑cell-targeted therapies and mechanism-based treatments. Conditions once labelled ‘idiopathic’ may now be better explained to families, making this an exciting area to watch.

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!