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Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology

Studying the Environment’s Impact on Pediatric Health Outcomes
 Studying the Environment’s Impact on Pediatric Health Outcomes 1024 619 Wendy Margolin
By: Wendy Margolin

A massive population database is expected to inform and transform children’s health outcomes. Researchers from Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University are focusing on how early exposures might be associated with areas such as neurodevelopment and cardiovascular outcomes as part of a large national study, Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program.…

Bridging the Fertility Awareness Gap in Adolescents With PCOS
 Bridging the Fertility Awareness Gap in Adolescents With PCOS 1024 683 Pam Georgiana
By: Pam Georgiana

Assessing knowledge, concerns and quality of life to inform early clinical counseling While polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is common in adolescent females, little is known about how the potential for long-term complications like infertility affect young patients’ well-being. Research with adult PCOS patients has found links between fertility challenges and diminished psychosocial well-being. However, there…

What Types of Contraception Are Best Following Early Pregnancy Loss?
 What Types of Contraception Are Best Following Early Pregnancy Loss? 1024 683 Geri Hewitt, MD, Elise Berlan, MD, MPH and Johanna Taylor, APN
By: Geri Hewitt, MD, Elise Berlan, MD, MPH and Johanna Taylor, APN

Following early pregnancy loss (EPL), miscarriage or spontaneous abortion, pregnancy tests remain positive for several weeks often creating a challenge for clinicians initiating contraception. Fertility returns rapidly after EPL and almost all adolescents may use their contraceptive method of choice immediately after the pregnancy. Pregnancy tests detect the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a…

User Experiences with Subcutaneous DMPA
 User Experiences with Subcutaneous DMPA 1024 683 Mary Bates, PhD
By: 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…

Featured Researcher — Sarah O’Brien, MD
 Featured Researcher — Sarah O’Brien, MD 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
By: Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

The lab of Sarah O’Brien, MD, principal investigator in the Center for Child Health Equity and Outcomes Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, operates at the intersection of hematology and women’s health. Dr. O’Brien, who also leads the Young Women’s Hematology Clinic at Nationwide Children’s, applies her interests in big data and epidemiology to increase recognition…

Study Shows 1 in 4 Girls Born With Anorectal Malformations Have Co-occurring Gynecologic Anomalies
 Study Shows 1 in 4 Girls Born With Anorectal Malformations Have Co-occurring Gynecologic Anomalies 1024 575 Jessica Nye, PhD
By: Jessica Nye, PhD

Gynecological anomalies are common among girls with anorectal malformations (ARM) with or without associated vertebral, anorectal, cardiovascular, trachea-esophageal, renal and limb (VACTERL) anomalies. One in 5,000 live births have ARM and 20%-70% co-occur with other congenital anomalies, including VACTERL. For girls born with ARM, gynecologic congenital anomalies can occur, especially with more complex ARM. To…

Ask A Specialist: Management of Labial Adhesions in Prepubertal Girls
 Ask A Specialist: Management of Labial Adhesions in Prepubertal Girls 1024 680 Geri Hewitt, MD
By: Geri Hewitt, MD

What is the appropriate management of asymptomatic and symptomatic labial adhesions in a prepubertal girl? The management of labial adhesions has really evolved over time. The most important thing is to make sure you have the correct diagnosis and it’s not some other problem with the vagina opening. Labial adhesions are isolated (not associated with…

Postoperative Care for Benign Ovarian Neoplasms
 Postoperative Care for Benign Ovarian Neoplasms 150 150 Mary Bates, PhD
By: Mary Bates, PhD

Study suggests no benefit from routine imaging and supports symptomatic imaging for postoperative management of benign ovarian neoplasms. In a new study, researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital led a collaboration with eight children’s hospitals examining the follow-up care and subsequent outcomes of pediatric patients after surgery for a benign ovarian neoplasm to develop evidence-based recommendations…

Diagnosing Adolescent Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
 Diagnosing Adolescent Polycystic Ovary Syndrome 1024 673 JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM
By: JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM

New adolescent-specific guidelines provide more precise guidance on diagnosing polycystic ovary syndrome in adolescent females. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common female reproductive endocrine disorder, presents diagnostic challenges in adolescents, highlighting the need for adolescent-specific diagnostic guidelines for PCOS. “We can’t use the adult criteria for diagnosing adolescent PCOS,” says Andrea Bonny, MD, section chief…

Best Practices for Patient-Centered Contraception Counseling About the Etonogestrel Implant
 Best Practices for Patient-Centered Contraception Counseling About the Etonogestrel Implant 1024 683 JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM
By: JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM

Patient-centered, age-appropriate contraception counseling helps health care providers educate adolescents about the etonogestrel implant and other contraceptive methods.   Preventing unplanned pregnancies in adolescents with effective and easy-to-use contraception is key to ensuring that adolescents do not become parents before they are ready. Nexplanon, the newest version of the etonogestrel (ENG) implant, is an increasingly…

When Is It Appropriate to Send Pediatric Patients to an OB/GYN?
 When Is It Appropriate to Send Pediatric Patients to an OB/GYN? 150 150 Geri Hewitt, MD
By: Geri Hewitt, MD

This post was reviewed by Dr. Hewitt and updated on June 4, 2021.  The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) recommends that young women have their first visit with an obstetrician-gynecologist (OB/GYN) between the ages of 13 and 15. Making sure that first appointment is with a pediatric gynecologist can have added benefits. Specific…

Worth It: Why Wrestling Through the Logistical Challenges of a Multidisciplinary Colorectal Center Matters
 Worth It: Why Wrestling Through the Logistical Challenges of a Multidisciplinary Colorectal Center Matters 150 150 Jeb Phillips
By: Jeb Phillips

Consider the complex case of a girl born with rectal, vaginal and urinary tracts fused into a common channel – a cloacal malformation. The child needs reconstructive procedures across three different organ systems and three different surgical specialties. It could take months or years to manage the surgeries needed for the colorectal portion, then the…

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: Geri Hewitt, MD

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…

Specialists Collaborate to Improve Ovary Preservation
 Specialists Collaborate to Improve Ovary Preservation 150 150 Brianne Moore
By: Brianne Moore

A weekend case inspires an investigation into how pediatric surgeons and gynecologists treat the same patient differently. When lesions persist on a patient’s ovary, there are two options for treatment: oophorectomy, which removes the entire ovary, and ovarian sparing surgery (OSS). Depending on referral patterns and access to specialists, either a pediatric surgeon or a…