The adolescent mental health crisis: Bolstering primary care capabilities
The mental health crisis among children and teens shows no sign of abating, and COVID-19 has clearly made matters worse. A recent study found that suicide attempts and self-harm were among the few indications for hospitalization that didn’t drop during the first waves of the pandemic. On the contrary, the past year has seen a ... Read More
SMART: A new approach to asthma management
Until recently, the typical approach to asthma involved two inhalers. In its first update since 2007, the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program now recommends the use of Single Maintenance and Reliever Therapy (SMART) for selected patients. Rather than an inhaled corticosteroid for daily maintenance and an inhaled bronchodilator for exacerbations, SMART uses the same ... Read More
Suicide prevention in teens: Can we intervene through primary care?
The past year has seen a disturbing rise in suicidal thoughts and attempts among adolescents, with a spike of suicidal teens going to emergency departments (EDs). This adds to a growing trend: From 2007 to 2016, ED visits for deliberate self-harm more than quadrupled nationwide among children age 5 to 17. In a recent review ... Read More
You’re not alone in asking: Five common questions about your baby’s first year
Having a baby often comes with a lot of two things: love and questions. While every infant and family are different, many pediatricians agree that there are common themes in what parents want to know in their child’s first year. We spoke with providers from Briarpatch Pediatrics and Wareham Pediatric Associates of Boston Children’s Primary ... Read More
Newborn genetic screening for pediatric cancer risk could save lives
Numerous genetic mutations increase children’s risk for various cancers. When they are detected early, cancers can potentially be caught at an early, more treatable stage — or avoided entirely. Could adding such “cancer predisposition” genes to routine newborn “heel-stick” screening save lives? Lisa Diller, MD, chief medical officer at the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood ... Read More
COVID-19 and surgery: Lessons in safety
When Massachusetts recorded its first COVID-19-positive test result in early March 2020, health officials knew little about the virus. They didn’t know, for instance, how it was transmitted or how to protect patients and clinicians during surgical procedures. In the weeks that followed, Boston Children’s Hospital made several difficult but necessary decisions. We cancelled elective ... Read More