Close
Enter your
text here

General Pediatrics

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

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…

read more
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
By:

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…

read more
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
By:
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…

read more
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
By:

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…

read more
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
By:

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…

read more
Challenges and Experiences of LGBTQI+ Parents Regarding Infant Feeding
 Challenges and Experiences of LGBTQI+ Parents Regarding Infant Feeding 1024 681 Mary Bates, PhD
By:
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…

read more
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
By:

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

read more
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
By:

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…

read more
What Pediatricians Should Know about Long COVID
 What Pediatricians Should Know about Long COVID 1024 683 Octavio Ramilo, MD
By:

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…

read more
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
By:
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…

read more
Providing Education and PrEP for Teens at Risk for HIV
 Providing Education and PrEP for Teens at Risk for HIV 1024 683 Abbie Miller
By:

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…

read more
9 Facts About the COVID-19 Vaccine
 9 Facts About the COVID-19 Vaccine 1024 683 Abbie Miller
By:

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…

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

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…

read more
Taking on Bronchiolitis in the Age of COVID-19
 Taking on Bronchiolitis in the Age of COVID-19 1024 575 Eric Butterman
By:
small baby with nose canula

In a recent episode of PediaCast CME, Drs. Asuncion Mejias and Gerd McGwire address the diagnosis and management of bronchiolitis – and special considerations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bronchiolitis is the leading cause of hospitalizations for young infants around the world, and in a year with a respiratory pandemic, everyone is a little uneasy about…

read more
More to Telehealth Than Meets the Screen
 More to Telehealth Than Meets the Screen 1024 535 Abbie Miller
By:
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…

read more
Pediatric Vital Signs: Measuring and Improving the Health of a Population
 Pediatric Vital Signs: Measuring and Improving the Health of a Population 150 150 Jeb Phillips
By:

Nationwide Children’s Hospital and its community partners have begun an “audacious” project to help every child in their region. Despite the best efforts of primary care providers and children’s hospitals, some children do not receive the care they need. Patients can only spend a limited amount of time in a medical office; some who would…

read more
Improving Guidelines for Pediatric Hypertension Diagnosis
 Improving Guidelines for Pediatric Hypertension Diagnosis 1024 683 Natalie Wilson
By:

It is vital to accurately recognize and diagnose hypertension in children to avoid long term morbidity and allow for appropriate treatment. A recent pilot study highlights additional diagnostic criteria for clinicians to consider. Pediatric hypertension, or high blood pressure (BP), has become increasingly common and now affects over 3% of children and adolescents. Untreated, hypertension…

read more
When Should Breastfed Babies Be Supplemented?
 When Should Breastfed Babies Be Supplemented? 1024 575 Vanessa Shanks
By:

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…

read more
Privacy for the Vulnerable: Confidentiality in Adolescent Care
 Privacy for the Vulnerable: Confidentiality in Adolescent Care 1024 683 JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM
By:

Confidentiality plays a critical role in adolescent care, yet can be difficult for providers to implement because of legal complexities and other challenges. Confidentiality is a critical component of adolescent medical care. As adolescents transition into adulthood, the opportunity to spend time alone with a health care provider fosters independence in discussing health issues, making…

read more
The Autism Treatment Network Reflects on a Decade of Work
 The Autism Treatment Network Reflects on a Decade of Work 150 150 Mary Bates, PhD
By:

Members point to family involvement as key to the network’s success. The Autism Treatment Network (ATN) started in 2005 as a group of clinical investigators with the goal of improving understanding of the medical aspects of autism spectrum disorders. The network expanded in 2008 to become the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P).…

read more
Using Metrics to Improve the Delivery of Optimal Diabetes Care for Children With Type 1 Diabetes
 Using Metrics to Improve the Delivery of Optimal Diabetes Care for Children With Type 1 Diabetes 1024 575 JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM
By:

The Type 1 Diabetes Care Index is a new metric that tracks the delivery of diabetes care, with the goal to reach zero missed opportunities to deliver quality care. The complexity and chronicity of pediatric type 1 diabetes (T1D) necessitate a coordinated, multidisciplinary effort to effectively deliver the optimal standards of diabetes care, as outlined…

read more
Missing Connections: A Reflection on Residency During a Global Pandemic
 Missing Connections: A Reflection on Residency During a Global Pandemic 150 150 Nimisha Bajaj, MD
By:

I am a first-year pediatrics resident at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and SARS-CoV-2 has turned my world upside down. I support social distancing measures, at least until broader public health interventions have been universally implemented. But as a physician in training, the pandemic has affected many aspects of my life, including patient care, residency training and…

read more
How Practical COVID-19 Education for Community Providers Sprang From a Pediatric Behavioral Health Project ECHO
 How Practical COVID-19 Education for Community Providers Sprang From a Pediatric Behavioral Health Project ECHO 1024 575 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
By:

When Partners For Kids® (PFK) and Nationwide Children’s Hospital launched Project ECHO in 2018, they did it to help community providers cope with common behavioral health conditions in their patient populations. Unexpectedly, it became a tool to supply Ohio physicians with some of the most proactive education in the nation about adapting their business practices to accommodate COVID-19-related…

read more
Fighting Back Against COVID-19 Misinformation on the Web
 Fighting Back Against COVID-19 Misinformation on the Web 1024 683 David Stukus, MD
By:

Misinformation on the internet is nothing new, but in the age of COVID-19, it is more important than ever for health care experts to speak up for evidence-based care. Misinformation on the internet has been rampant for years. From antivaxxers and naturopaths to flat earthers and others, misinformation has always infiltrated online searches and only…

read more
The Path to a Long Career in Medicine
 The Path to a Long Career in Medicine 150 150 William Long, MD
By:

I want to be a pediatrician forever. But the laws of nature won’t let me. In addition, many of us of all ages, are feeling increased pressure and demands that come with our profession.  From insurance issues, and just about everything with the EMR, to the rise in patient behavioral health complaints — it is…

read more
Oral Food Challenges: The Most Important Test in Diagnosing Food Allergy
 Oral Food Challenges: The Most Important Test in Diagnosing Food Allergy 1024 683 David Stukus, MD
By:

I routinely hear the same question from pediatricians, parents, friends, and acquaintances: Why are we seeing so many more kids develop food allergies now compared with 10 or 20 years ago? Unfortunately, there is no single answer as to why the prevalence of food allergies has doubled among children over the past two decades. Food…

read more
Answers to Burning Questions About Pediatric Urinary Tract Infections
 Answers to Burning Questions About Pediatric Urinary Tract Infections 1024 683 Abbie Miller
By:

Nationwide Children’s urologists and nephrologists recently co-hosted a Twitter chat for primary care providers, answering common questions about pediatric urinary tract infections (UTIs). Below is a summary of the questions and answers, adapted for brevity and clarity. Q: What causes UTIs in children? A: UTIs are typically caused by uropathogenic E. coli bacteria that invade the urinary…

read more
Reducing Asthma-Related Emergency Department Visits
 Reducing Asthma-Related Emergency Department Visits 480 320 Abbie Miller
By:

Through serial interventions and teamwork, the initiative reduced asthma-related ED utilization rates by nearly 4% per year at a time when national rates were rising. Numerous studies have demonstrated that quality improvement (QI) methodologies improve asthma outcomes. However, moving that success from individual patients to a large population is challenging. In a recent study published…

read more
Does Newborn Screening Lead to Life-Span Benefits?
 Does Newborn Screening Lead to Life-Span Benefits? 1024 678 Kevin Mayhood
By:

To find the answer, researchers suggest data systems to track long-term care and outcomes are needed. Newborns in the United States are screened for a list of diseases, a practice that saves or improves 13,000 lives annually, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. But, a group of health experts who helped build the…

read more
A Deep-Learning Computer Model for Predicting Pediatric Patient Health Care Risks and Costs
 A Deep-Learning Computer Model for Predicting Pediatric Patient Health Care Risks and Costs 150 150 Kevin Mayhood
By:

The model, which requires fewer resources and less time to develop, outperformed traditional risk-prediction models in prospective hospitalization prediction. A deep-learning computer model was better at predicting the health care risk of 112,000 children in a Medicaid accountable care organization (ACO) than traditional risk prediction models, researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital have shown. “Using this…

read more
Calls to U.S. Poison Control Centers for Natural Psychoactive Substances Increasing, Driven by Rising Marijuana Exposures
 Calls to U.S. Poison Control Centers for Natural Psychoactive Substances Increasing, Driven by Rising Marijuana Exposures 150 150 Laura Dattner
By:

Researchers encourage states legalizing marijuana to implement poison prevention strategies Natural substances with psychoactive effects have been used by people for religious, medicinal and recreational purposes for millennia. Lack of regulation has led to an increase in their availability, especially online. Some psychoactive substances may be appealing to recreational users because of the perception they…

read more
Increased Number of Pediatric Eye Injuries From Nonpowder Firearms
 Increased Number of Pediatric Eye Injuries From Nonpowder Firearms 150 150 Laura Dattner
By:

BB guns accounted for most of the injuries; Researchers highlight importance of protective eyewear, and call for stricter, more consistent safety legislation. Nonpowder firearms have long been marketed to children and teenagers as toys or “starter” firearms and include BB, pellet, airsoft and paintball guns. A new study conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury…

read more
Health Care Leaders Offer Interim Guidelines on Vaping and EVALI Care
 Health Care Leaders Offer Interim Guidelines on Vaping and EVALI Care 150 150 Mary Bates, PhD
By:

While investigations are ongoing, an interim report offers clinical guidance regarding vaping-associated lung injuries. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), state and local health departments, and public health and clinical partners are looking into a multistate outbreak of lung injury associated with the use of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette), or vaping,…

read more
Do Seizure Action Plans Make a Difference for Patients and Families?
 Do Seizure Action Plans Make a Difference for Patients and Families? 150 150 Kevin Mayhood
By:

Families given a written plan were more comfortable with seizure care and missed fewer appointments. Caregivers for children with epilepsy were more likely to bring their children to regularly scheduled clinic visits if they had previously been given a printed seizure action plan tailored to help them understand their child’s condition, manage it at home…

read more
Bias: Do You See What Influences You?
 Bias: Do You See What Influences You? 1024 575 Abbie Miller
By:

In the United States, children of color have worse clinical outcomes than white children. Racial disparities have been documented in nearly every pediatric specialty. Among the most studied and most widely perpetuated disparities are those between black and white children. For example: The infant mortality rate, while declining overall, is nearly three times higher for…

read more
How and When Do Children Become Aware of the Construct of “Race”?
 How and When Do Children Become Aware of the Construct of “Race”? 1024 737 Abbie Miller
By:

Researchers have shown that babies of color are just as likely to experience bias as adults of color. But very young children don’t interpret that experience in the same way as older children. “Children become aware of differences in physical characteristics of human beings when they are 3 years old. They notice differences in sex…

read more
Finding the Reasons Why: Looking for Answers in Trends of Child and Youth Suicides
 Finding the Reasons Why: Looking for Answers in Trends of Child and Youth Suicides 1024 575 Kevin Mayhood
By:

Epidemiological studies are the first step to learn how to prevent suicide attempts and deaths. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among 10- to 24-year-olds. And even as awareness grows, the suicide rate continues to climb, according to national statistics. But those national statistics don’t tell the whole story. For decades, researchers around the…

read more
Exercise as Medicine: What Does This Really Mean?
 Exercise as Medicine: What Does This Really Mean? 1024 575 Alyssa Schafer
By:

A child’s lack of exercise can contribute to numerous health issues. “Currently, physical inactivity is ranked as the number four cause of death. 5.5% of deaths are due to physical inactivity which is totally preventable and treatable,” says James MacDonald, MD, MPH, a physician for Nationwide Children’s Sports Medicine. The question at large is how much do…

read more
Medical Marijuana 101: What Does Increasing Legalization of Medical Marijuana Mean for Pediatrics?
 Medical Marijuana 101: What Does Increasing Legalization of Medical Marijuana Mean for Pediatrics? 479 272 Chet Kaczor
By:

The legalization of medical marijuana has been front and center in community conversation over the last several years. As more states turn to legalization under specific conditions, the federal law has not changed. Experts in pediatric health care are carefully considering what legalization of medical marijuana could mean for children and adolescents with chronic or…

read more
What You Need to Know About Tick-Borne Diseases
 What You Need to Know About Tick-Borne Diseases 1024 575 Mike Patrick, MD
By:

Update: July 2021, this content has been reviewed for accuracy. The downloadable practice tool has been replaced with an updated version. Ranges of disease-carrying ticks are shifting in the United States. Combined with family travel, this means physicians and families should have a wider lens on what tick-borne diseases they might encounter. Ticks represent a…

read more
Addressing Childhood Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Primary Care
 Addressing Childhood Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Primary Care 150 150 Jeb Phillips
By:

Primary care providers play an important role in recognizing the disorder and in providing a bridge to mental health care providers.

read more
Improving Care for Adolescents and Young Women With Pelvic Pain: Highlights From New ACOG Guidelines
 Improving Care for Adolescents and Young Women With Pelvic Pain: Highlights From New ACOG Guidelines 1024 683 Geri Hewitt, MD
By:

Between 50 and 90 percent of adolescents and young women report dysmenorrhea- and endometriosis-related pelvic pain. Pediatricians and primary care doctors have many opportunities to recognize and treat these conditions, leading to enhanced quality of life and better long-term reproductive outcomes for these patients. The recently published guidance from the American College of Obstetrics and…

read more
Should “Non-High Risk Patients” With Uncomplicated Influenza be Given Antivirals?
 Should “Non-High Risk Patients” With Uncomplicated Influenza be Given Antivirals? 150 150 Michael T. Brady, MD
By:

This question references a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that is open to interpretation. For years, the CDC has recommended that all “hospitalized, severely ill and high-risk patients with suspected or confirmed influenza should be treated with antivirals.” Those at high risk include children younger than 2 years of age and…

read more
The Joys and Challenges of Rural Pediatrics
 The Joys and Challenges of Rural Pediatrics 1024 575 Jill Neff, DO
By:

I often tell my medical students to choose not just a specialty but, first, a place where they want to live. Being happy with one’s life is more important than just being happy with one’s job. If a person prefers to live in a rural setting, then they probably should not become a neuro- or…

read more
Letting Go of The Screen (My 15-Year Journey With an EMR)
 Letting Go of The Screen (My 15-Year Journey With an EMR) 1024 683 William Long, MD
By:

Has the electronic medical record ruined medicine?  For those of us who trained pre-EMR, this conversion was a difficult change.  For ALL of us, regardless of age, the burden of charting and data entry is a significant reason for the alarming numbers of burned out and unhappy physicians.  There are many written opinions on this subject,…

read more
Child Sex Trafficking in the U.S. is Real — and a New Tool can Help Doctors Identify Victims
 Child Sex Trafficking in the U.S. is Real — and a New Tool can Help Doctors Identify Victims 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
By:

Researchers exploring the alarmingly high prevalence of child sex trafficking in the United States have validated a practical tool for identifying victims in multiple health care settings. At least one in every 10 minors visiting emergency departments, child advocacy centers and teen clinics for sexual trauma or assault are victims of child sex trafficking, according…

read more
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: “They Get the Job Done”
 Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: “They Get the Job Done” 1024 575 Abbie Miller
By:

Research presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics 2018 National Conference finds that the growing number of grandparents serving as sole caregivers for their grandchildren are coping well. In the United States, millions of children are being raised solely by their grandparents. As the opioid crisis and other factors continue to disrupt families, experts expect the number…

read more
Primary Care for Refugee Children: What Providers Need to Know
 Primary Care for Refugee Children: What Providers Need to Know 1024 575 Aimee Swartz, MPH
By:
Toddler playing with toys

The growing number of refugee children across the United States means that more pediatricians need to be aware of the unique health needs of this population. The world’s estimated refugee population has surged to 24.5 million individuals – more than half of whom are children – at United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) last count. Many…

read more
Primary Care Provider Guide to Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Follow Up
 Primary Care Provider Guide to Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Follow Up 150 150 Nationwide Children's
By:

Pediatricians have a unique challenge when it comes to caring for the broad spectrum of needs associated with opioid-exposed infants. Some babies who were treated with pharmacological methods in a hospital will be discharged home still on neuro-active medications. Other babies did not receive a neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) diagnosis or specific treatment after birth…

read more
QI Project Increases Value of Asthma Care in a Large Primary Care Network
 QI Project Increases Value of Asthma Care in a Large Primary Care Network 1024 393 Kevin Mayhood
By:

Multiple steps lead to better control of disease, fewer emergency department visits and $5 million in savings. A quality improvement project helped kids achieve better control of their asthma, reduced emergency room visits and cut costs in a primary care network serving 10,000 children with the disease. Through multiple steps, including standardizing assessments and documentation,…

read more
  • 1
  • 2