Primary Care

Introducing Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Behavioral Health Learning Library
Introducing Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Behavioral Health Learning Library 1024 683 Pam Georgiana

Access the free educational resource for health care providers interested in evidence-based courses. Jennifer B. Reese, PsyD, is a clinical child psychologist at Nationwide Children’s and manages behavioral health and training at Big Lots Behavioral Health Services. She is concerned about the national shortage of experienced behavioral health support for children. “Because there is a…

RSV in Infants and High-Risk Children: A Commentary on the Roll-out of a New Preventive Medication
RSV in Infants and High-Risk Children: A Commentary on the Roll-out of a New Preventive Medication 1024 575 Pam Georgiana

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes more than 2 million outpatient visits, as many as 80,000 hospitalizations, and 100 to 300 deaths in children under 5 years old annually. Infants under 6 months of age are at the most significant risk of hospitalization. Although the highest…

Kids With Concussions Need Specialized Assessment and Care
Kids With Concussions Need Specialized Assessment and Care 1024 683 Sean Rose, MD

Learn why cutting-edge care and research specifically for children matters. The 2020 National Health Interview Survey reported that 6.8% of children experience symptoms of a concussion or brain injury in their lifetime. However, only 3.9% had received a diagnosis or treatment of a concussion or brain injury from a health care provider. The Concussion Center…

Ensuring All Children Have Access to Behavioral Health Care
Ensuring All Children Have Access to Behavioral Health Care 531 213 Pam Georgiana

New study reports the results of integrating psychologists into primary care clinics. Cody A. Hostutler, PhD, a psychologist in the Department of Pediatric Psychology and Neuropsychology at Nationwide Children’s, is concerned about the mental health of the children and adolescents visiting primary care centers. “There is a mental health crisis for kids happening right now.…

Outcomes After Surgical Interventions for Abusive Head Trauma
Outcomes After Surgical Interventions for Abusive Head Trauma 1024 683 Mary Bates, PhD

Study suggests that most children can make clinically meaningful recoveries after neurosurgical intervention. Abusive head trauma (AHT) is a leading cause of injury and death in children under 5 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), yet the scientific literature on neurosurgical intervention for this population is mixed. Given the range…

Whole Child, Whole Family Care
Whole Child, Whole Family Care 150 150 Abbie Miller and Jeb Phillips

Meeting the needs of children and caregivers with evidence-based programming and intentional support for access. Parenting a young child can be tough in the best circumstances. But when you overlay poverty, inequity, and concerns about employment and education on top of it, parenting a young child can feel overwhelming. Whitney Raglin Bignall, PhD, has dedicated…

Caring for Incarcerated Children
Caring for Incarcerated Children 1024 537 Jeb Phillips

Young people in juvenile detention centers need health care. In fact, decades of studies show they most often need it more urgently than their peers who are not involved in the justice system – nearly 70% of “confined youth” have an unmet health care need (2010 study). So it makes some sense that “urgent care”…

User Experiences with Subcutaneous DMPA
User Experiences with Subcutaneous DMPA 1024 683 Mary Bates, PhD

Survey reveals high satisfaction among adolescents and young adults using subcutaneous DMPA. Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) is a progestin-only injectable contraceptive that is used as a birth control method and in the treatment of heavy or painful menstrual periods, endometriosis, and for menstrual suppression. DMPA can be injected intramuscularly or subcutaneously, with no difference in…

Should You Offer Fentanyl Test Strips in Your Office?
Should You Offer Fentanyl Test Strips in Your Office? 150 150 Abbie Miller

Harm reduction approaches support the use of fentanyl test strips for individuals who are taking illicit substances but want to avoid fentanyl. Nichole Michaels, PhD, a principal investigator in the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s, is conducting two studies about the efficacy of offering and educating about fentanyl testing among adults.…

QI Initiative Reduces Emergency Room Visits for Functional Constipation
QI Initiative Reduces Emergency Room Visits for Functional Constipation 1024 683 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Preliminary data from a large accountable care organization’s quality improvement efforts suggest advanced care visits dropped 27% in two years. Partners For Kids (PFK), the nation’s oldest and largest pediatric accountable care organization, launched a series of quality improvement (QI) projects targeting disease management strategies that could significantly impact healthcare utilization and outcomes for children…

Bridging Language Barriers to Advance Health Care Equity in Developmental Screenings
Bridging Language Barriers to Advance Health Care Equity in Developmental Screenings 1024 575 Pam Georgiana

A QI project to utilize interpreters for screening questionnaires eliminated completion disparities between English speakers and people who prefer a language other than English.  In primary care pediatrics, there are several standard screenings for development delay in children younger than 30 months. Nationwide Children’s Hospital has a high rate of screening completion – over 90%.…

Ask A Specialist: What Are the Recommendations for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Screening in Primary Care?
Ask A Specialist: What Are the Recommendations for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Screening in Primary Care? 1024 575 Cynthia Holland-Hall, MD
Teen girl with backpack

STI screening is recommended for all sexually active adolescents. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, nearly 1 in 4 teens have an STI. Safe sexual practices and routine screening can prevent these infections – that’s where health care providers come in. By offering routine testing for all sexually active teens in addition to safe…

Recent Trends in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Anxiety in US Children and Adolescents
Recent Trends in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Anxiety in US Children and Adolescents 1024 683 Lauren Dembeck

In 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Children’s Hospital Association joined together to declare a national state of emergency in children’s mental health. The declaration was motivated by steadily increasing rates of childhood mental health concerns and suicide between 2010 and 2020. Among those concerns are anxiety…

Exploring Disordered Eating Beyond Binge Eating in Youth with Obesity
Exploring Disordered Eating Beyond Binge Eating in Youth with Obesity 150 150 JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM

Youth with obesity can suffer from various disordered eating behaviors beyond binge eating. A holistic approach to caring for these youth can help improve their long-term physical and psychological health outcomes. A literature review recently published in Nutrients shed light on eating disorders beyond binge eating in youth with obesity. In this review, Eileen Chaves,…

Ask A Specialist: What Running Distances Are Safe for Children?
Ask A Specialist: What Running Distances Are Safe for Children? 1024 895 Gabriella Gonzales, MD and James MacDonald, MD, MPH

Sports Medicine experts offer advice for pediatricians about what age it is appropriate for children to run and train for races such as the 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon. Running is a great activity! It requires very little equipment and can be done individually or with a team. Running can be beneficial for children…

Susceptibility to and Use of E-cigarettes and Marijuana Is Common Among Adolescents With Congenital Heart Disease
Susceptibility to and Use of E-cigarettes and Marijuana Is Common Among Adolescents With Congenital Heart Disease 1024 575 Lauren Dembeck

Adolescents with congenital heart disease (CHD) are subject to disease-related stressors, such as attending medical appointments and undergoing medical procedures. They have elevated risk for cardiovascular and cognitive complications, which may be exacerbated by the use of e-cigarettes and marijuana. To inform prevention strategies for their long-term wellbeing, it is critical to understand patterns of…

Social Needs Associated with Postpartum Depression
Social Needs Associated with Postpartum Depression 1024 683 Mary Bates, PhD

Screening for social needs at pediatric well-checks may help identify vulnerable mothers. In a new study, researchers from Nationwide Children’s found a significant relationship between self-reported social needs and postpartum depression symptoms of mothers screened in pediatric primary care clinics. The findings suggest that social needs could be targeted concurrently in future interventions addressing postpartum…

Ask a Specialist: When Should Primary Care Providers Refer Dental Injuries to the Emergency Department?
Ask a Specialist: When Should Primary Care Providers Refer Dental Injuries to the Emergency Department? 150 150 Ehsan N. Azadani, DDS, MS

An expert reveals the most common red flag dental injuries that should be referred to the ED and what precautions PCPs can take before sending the child.   The most time-sensitive dental injury is the avulsion of a permanent tooth; that is, when the permanent tooth is completely knocked out of its socket (and the…

Pediatric Obesity Can Be Treated Safely and Effectively
Pediatric Obesity Can Be Treated Safely and Effectively 1024 575 Abbie Miller

New guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics emphasize evidence for safe, effective treatment of pediatric obesity for long-term benefit of children and adolescents.   More than 14.4 million U.S. children and adolescents have obesity, making it one of the most common chronic conditions facing American youth and families. Obesity is a chronic disease associated…

5 Things Neonatologists Should Know About Vitamin K Deficiency
5 Things Neonatologists Should Know About Vitamin K Deficiency 1024 683 Mary Bates, PhD

Vitamin K prophylaxis is safe and effective. Why are more parents refusing it, and what can be done? In a new perspective paper in the Journal of Perinatology, researchers from Nationwide Children’s say that vitamin K prophylaxis is an essential component of newborn care and yet, parental refusal of the intervention is on the rise.…

Quality Improvement in Primary Care Improves Dental Utilization and Oral Health Outcomes in Children
Quality Improvement in Primary Care Improves Dental Utilization and Oral Health Outcomes in Children 1024 680 JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM
toddler brushing teeth

Quality improvement provides an effective, standardized approach to increasing pediatric dental utilization and improving oral health outcomes in primary care settings. According to a recent study by pediatric dentist David Danesh, DMD, MPH, MS, and his research team at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, children receiving fluoride varnish at medical practices with an oral health quality improvement…

Adding Telehealth Solutions to the Autism Toolbox: What Really Works?
Adding Telehealth Solutions to the Autism Toolbox: What Really Works? 1024 535 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
Collage of health technology tools

The COVID-19 pandemic forced autism diagnostics and follow-up care to digital, remote platforms. Now that telehealth is no longer required, what’s worth keeping as a digital service option?   It may be hard to imagine successfully observing a child over video — or even just having responses to prompts relayed over the phone — in…

New Guidelines for Care of Children With Cerebral Palsy
New Guidelines for Care of Children With Cerebral Palsy 1024 683 Abbie Miller
Young child with Cerebral Palsy

Guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine highlight advances in diagnosis, care and outcomes for children and adolescents with cerebral palsy. In late 2022, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine released new guidelines to help primary…

Clearing Up Confusion On Cleft Lip and Palate
Clearing Up Confusion On Cleft Lip and Palate 600 400 Emily Siebenmorgen

There’s a common misconception that cleft lip and cleft palate is a third-world disease. The truth is: it’s very common in the United States. In fact, it’s the most common birth defect after congenital heart disease, occurring in one in 700 births. That’s around 5,000 births per year. On a recent episode, PediaCast host Mike…

The New Book on Youth Suicide Prevention
The New Book on Youth Suicide Prevention 150 150 John Ackerman, PhD and Lisa Horowitz, PhD, MPH

Our new open access Springer Series book helps close the gap between the latest research in youth suicide prevention and how to make an impact in our communities.  Youth suicide is a public health crisis. It is the second leading cause of death among youth aged 10-17 in the United States, according to data from…

American Academy of Pediatrics Updates Guidelines for the Management of Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia
American Academy of Pediatrics Updates Guidelines for the Management of Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia 1024 737 Emily Siebenmorgen
person in scrubs holding a baby

Nationwide Children’s physicians collaborate on updates to testing, treatment and follow-up recommendations for preventing hazardous hyperbilirubinemia and possible brain damage. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) recommendations for managing hyperbilirubinemia in infants 35 gestational weeks and older are among its most accessed sets of clinical practice guidelines. A team led by Alex Kemper, MD, MPH,…

Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care Increases Access and Equity
Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care Increases Access and Equity 1024 683 Mary Bates, PhD

With mental health concerns on the rise, more primary care providers are integrating behavioral health services in their practices.  Despite increasing demand for behavioral health care, multiple barriers still exist that limit access for pediatric patients. In recent years, primary care settings across the country have responded by integrating mental health specialists into their practices.…

BRUE: What Is It? How Is It Treated?
BRUE: What Is It? How Is It Treated? 1024 575 Abbie Miller

BRUE –brief resolved unexplained event – whether you pronounce it brew-EE or brOO, it might be a term you haven’t run across since medical school. In a recent resident-led episode of PediaCast CME, Meghan Fennell, MD, and Vanessa Thiel, MD, break down everything you need to know about BRUE. Listen to the PediaCast CME Episode…

Perceptions About Type 2 Diabetes Differ Among Adolescent Patients, Parents and Physicians
Perceptions About Type 2 Diabetes Differ Among Adolescent Patients, Parents and Physicians 1024 683 JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM

Differing perceptions about type 2 diabetes among teens, parents and physicians can create barriers to diagnosing and managing the disease.   Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is becoming increasingly prevalent in adolescents, with a median age of diagnosis of 13.5 years in the pediatric population. Managing pediatric T2D is challenging, given that traditional medical and non-medical…

The Success of an EMR-Based Health-Related Social Needs Screen in Pediatrics
The Success of an EMR-Based Health-Related Social Needs Screen in Pediatrics 1024 683 Deborah L. Ungerleider, MD, FAAP

Standardized universal HRSN screening with an EMR system and follow-up by social work consults can be successful and contribute to reducing health disparities.   Health-related social needs (HRSNs), sometimes referred to as social determinants of health (SODH), are the risk factors of food insecurity, lack of stable housing and poverty, all of which can play…

Multiple Fractures in Children: When to Suspect Medical or Malevolent Causes
Multiple Fractures in Children: When to Suspect Medical or Malevolent Causes 1024 770 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
Girl with cast on her arm

Rapid growth and high-risk activities during childhood leave kids ripe for repeat fracture opportunities, but key factors can alert clinicians to possible underlying disease-related fragility or non-accidental injury. Fractures are common in childhood, with up to 40% of girls and as many as 50% of boys experiencing a fracture. There are many benign explanations for…

Children Testing Positive for X-ALD on Updated Newborn Screening Panels Require Long-Term Monitoring
Children Testing Positive for X-ALD on Updated Newborn Screening Panels Require Long-Term Monitoring 1024 575 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

A condition soon to be added to the Ohio Newborn Screening Panel may not affect children for years or even decades after diagnosis, and follow-up involves more than just the infant. Hospitals across the country collect a card of small drops of blood from a baby’s heel shortly after birth. These “bloodspots” are used to…

Right Care, Right Place, Right Time? Frequency and Duration of Boarding for Pediatric Mental Health Conditions at Acute Care Hospitals
Right Care, Right Place, Right Time? Frequency and Duration of Boarding for Pediatric Mental Health Conditions at Acute Care Hospitals 150 150 Lauren Dembeck

Mental health boarding durations significantly exceed standards by the Joint Commission, and youth receive minimal mental health services in these acute care settings. This study calls for increased awareness, dedicated resources and research to improve mental health care for youths in these settings. According to the results of a national survey conducted, in part by…

Challenges and Experiences of LGBTQI+ Parents Regarding Infant Feeding
Challenges and Experiences of LGBTQI+ Parents Regarding Infant Feeding 1024 681 Mary Bates, PhD
sleeping infant

New study identifies challenges faced by LGBTQI+ parents, factors that can help healthcare providers improve their support. A new study is the first to explore the experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, or Intersex, Plus (LGBTQI+) parents and identify the factors that influence their decisions on infant nutrition. The authors of the report say…

Teens on the Road: How Technology, Policy and Parents Influence Driving Safety
Teens on the Road: How Technology, Policy and Parents Influence Driving Safety 1024 633 Abbie Miller

Traffic crashes are a leading cause of death in the United States. For teens, the stakes are especially high.

Reconsidering Screening in Primary Care
Reconsidering Screening in Primary Care 1024 683 Jeb Phillips
2021 Bright Futures/AAP Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care (Periodicity Schedule) in color showing all of the screenings recommended across 34 patient visits through a patient's twenty-second birthday

Screenings are an important part of preventive care, but the growing list of recommendations is daunting. How do we prioritize the limited time we have with patients and families? There are 32 well-child primary care visits recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics in its Bright Futures “Periodicity Schedule.” The first is prenatal, the last…

Risk for Serious Complications From Vaccine-Preventable Infections After Hematopoietic Cell Transplant
Risk for Serious Complications From Vaccine-Preventable Infections After Hematopoietic Cell Transplant 1024 683 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Clinician-scientists reveal the burden of vaccine-preventable infections among children post-transplant, when immunity is low and risk is high. When a hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipient at Nationwide Children’s Hospital was diagnosed with a vaccine-preventable infection (VPI), treating clinicians decided to evaluate the burden of VPI in HCT patients at Nationwide Children’s and elsewhere. The team…

What Pediatricians Should Know about Long COVID
What Pediatricians Should Know about Long COVID 1024 683 Octavio Ramilo, MD

More than 4 million children have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the United States. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, long-term effects from COVID-19 can be significant, regardless of initial disease severity. Medical providers across the nation, including here at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, are seeing an increase in cases of what is being called…

Ask A Specialist: When Should Patients With Molluscum Contagiosum Be Referred to Dermatology?
Ask A Specialist: When Should Patients With Molluscum Contagiosum Be Referred to Dermatology? 1024 575 Patricia Witman, MD
Toddler playing with toys

What are the current treatment recommendations for moderate to severe molluscum, and when would you suggest referring to a dermatologist? Molluscum contagiosum is an infection caused by a virus that typically results in benign, mild skin disease characterized by lesions (Mollusca) that are small, raised and usually white, pink or flesh colored with a dimple…

The 5,000 Babies Project: Screening Newborns for Early Diagnosis of Developmental Delay
The 5,000 Babies Project: Screening Newborns for Early Diagnosis of Developmental Delay 150 150 Lauren Dembeck

Democratizing health care requires equal access to early identification of infant neurodevelopmental disorders.  Delayed diagnosis of disorders that involve developmental delays, such as cerebral palsy, can lead to lifelong disability. Yet not all families have access to health care facilities employing highly trained specialists who can test for these developmental delays. Infants from minority families…

Providing Education and PrEP for Teens at Risk for HIV
Providing Education and PrEP for Teens at Risk for HIV 1024 683 Abbie Miller

In a recent PediaCast CME, Mike Patrick, MD, and Megan Brundrett, MD, share important information about offering PrEP and HIV-related education in your primary care practice. Listen to the Full Episode About 20% of new cases of HIV, the virus that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), are occurring in youth aged 13 to 24. HIV/AIDS…

9 Facts About the COVID-19 Vaccine
9 Facts About the COVID-19 Vaccine 1024 683 Abbie Miller

COVID-19 is a disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In the United States, three vaccines are approved for emergency use, those produced by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson (J&J). These vaccines dramatically reduce your risk of getting severely ill or dying from COVID-19. The vaccines are also being shown to reduce the spread of…

What is “Dry Drowning,” and How Do I Talk to Parents About It?
What is “Dry Drowning,” and How Do I Talk to Parents About It? 1024 683 Daniel Scherzer, MD and Bema Bonsu, MD

The concern about so called “dry drowning” (which is not an actual medical phrase; neither is “secondary drowning”) is based on the fear that a child can unexpectedly succumb to respiratory problems some unpredictable time after swimming. This fear has been exacerbated by media reports dramatizing events without fully explaining them. The concept that dry…

Pediatricians Offer Valuable Oral Health Services for the Very Young, Before and Throughout Pandemic
Pediatricians Offer Valuable Oral Health Services for the Very Young, Before and Throughout Pandemic 1024 680 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
toddler brushing teeth

Medical professionals see very young children much more frequently during the first several years of life than dentists, and many states’ Medicaid programs have seized the opportunity to reimburse pediatricians for preventive oral care, such as fluoride application and oral hygiene education. Despite reimbursement options and national guidelines recommending dental care begin by age 1,…

Even Severe Asthma Can Improve if Guidelines Are Followed
Even Severe Asthma Can Improve if Guidelines Are Followed 1024 683 Mary Bates, PhD

Patients treated with adequate medications and asthma family education can significantly improve irrespective of asthma severity. Severe asthma accounts for 5-8% of patients with asthma, but this group is more challenging to treat and is responsible for up to 40% of total asthma-care expenses. The majority of patients with severe asthma have difficult-to-treat asthma (in…

How Important is Fasting for Pediatric Routine Cholesterol Screening?
How Important is Fasting for Pediatric Routine Cholesterol Screening? 1024 575 Andrew Tran, MD

A nonfasting lipid panel is a great first-line screening tool to use. While it is ideal to have a fasting lipid panel, this can be difficult to obtain in practice. For the purposes of screening, I think that it is much more important to go ahead and get the nonfasting lipid panel while the patient…

How Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Measles Vaccination Rates?
How Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Measles Vaccination Rates? 1024 575 Mary Bates, PhD
Toddler playing with toys

Researchers are concerned about declining vaccination rates in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital pediatric primary care network. One consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic is that more families are putting off their children’s preventive care visits, causing pediatric providers to worry about missed vaccines. In a recent study published in Pediatrics, researchers at Nationwide Children’s evaluated changes in…

More to Telehealth Than Meets the Screen
More to Telehealth Than Meets the Screen 1024 535 Abbie Miller
Collage of health technology tools

Telehealth has become essential to American health care during the COVID-19 pandemic, but is it really the solution to our biggest access-to-care problems? When COVID-19 ignited stay-at-home orders, public and private insurers quickly relaxed the rules for covering telehealth visits. Health care systems responded in kind by rapidly expanding their telehealth capacity and training. Expanding…

When Should Breastfed Babies Be Supplemented?
When Should Breastfed Babies Be Supplemented? 1024 575 Vanessa Shanks

This question has received increasing attention in the last several years, especially when considering supplementation for late preterm and early term babies. As more hospitals focus on promoting and supporting breastfeeding, supplementation rates have decreased for infants in the newborn nursery. However, there has been increasing awareness from primary care providers who may see these…

Distal Radius Physeal Bar and Ulnar Overgrowth: Indications for Treatment
Distal Radius Physeal Bar and Ulnar Overgrowth: Indications for Treatment 1024 575 Julie Samora, MD, PhD
Julie Samora, MD

Distal radius fractures are among the most common fractures in pediatrics. Although most heal without complication, some result in partial or complete physeal arrest. Risk factors for distal radius growth arrest include physeal fractures, ischemia, infection, radiation, tumor, blood dyscrasias, burns, frostbite and repetitive stress.  The distal radius physis is responsible for 75% of the…

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