Shark cartilage, cat's claw, and other complementary cancer therapies
November 1st 1999Alternative therapies seem to thrive where mainstream medicine is most challenged. The focus here is on herbs and supplements used to treat childhood cancers?why they're used, what families hope for from them, and how the evidence stacks up.
Who do we think we are, anyway?
November 1st 1999Pediatricians know a lot about both the benefits and the detrimental effects of television, co-sleeping, and peanuts. It's tempting to try to synthesize that information into sweeping, apparently simple recommendations. When we do that without real evidence, however, we risk our own credibility and that of all those who have worked so hard to investigate the means by which we can make real improvements in the lives of children.
Diagnosing and managing brain tumors: The pediatrician's role
November 1st 1999Knowing what signs and symptoms suggest intracranial pathology can help pediatricians approach the diagnosis of a brain tumor quickly and with confidence. As primary care physicians, they also play a key role in long-term management.
At-a-glance guide to infection control in day care
November 1st 1999As the day-care population grows, so does the need to protect both children and staff from infectious diseases. This concise overview summarizes how different infections spread, who's at risk, and the policies and procedures needed to control infection without excluding children from day care unnecessarily.
Communication: The key to effective consultation
October 1st 1999When you turn to a consultant for help in a complex case, are you sometimes sorry you asked? This primer shows how to make consultations more productive by checking out a specialist's credentials, asking well-defined questions, and resisting intimidation.
More than a gut reaction: Extraintestinal complications of IBD
October 1st 1999Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis are not confined to the gastrointestinal tract. Growth failure, painful joints, and oral or skin lesions are just a few of the nonintestinal signs and symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease that can help you make a diagnosis-- sometimes even before GI problems appear.
New trends in type 1 diabetes management
October 1st 1999The recent advent of "intensive" management has improved the outlook for patients with type 1 diabetes. Its success in children and teens depends on control of hypoglycemia and well-coordinated support from specialists and the primary care pediatrician.
Pediatric Dermatology: What's your DX?
October 1st 1999A 3-month-old girl is brought to your office with diarrhea, poor weight gain, and hair loss. She was thriving until a month ago, when her parents said she became chronically irritable and developed loose stools and a scaly rash on her face and in the diaper area.
Infections: Forgotten but not gone
September 1st 1999The public (that is, the parents of our patients) has begun to take the prevention and quick treatment of infectious diseases for granted. Recent events, however, have demonstrated that we cannot rest comfortably on past successes, and we cannot allow people to be poorly informed.