Health and Parenting
Ten questions to ask when choosing a pediatrician for your family
Selecting a pediatrician is an important decision and one that parents shouldn’t take lightly. Pediatricians specialize in caring for children from birth until young adulthood, so families maintain a relationship with their pediatrician (and their practice) for years. Your pediatrician will quickly become your partner and advisor when caring for your child. Your pediatrician will ... Read More about Ten questions to ask when choosing a pediatrician for your family
Research
Is it MIS-C or severe COVID-19? An update on multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children
In May 2020, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) was formally recognized as a post-infectious syndrome in children exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. In today’s JAMA, a study led by Boston Children’s Hospital refines the medical understanding of MIS-C. Its findings help distinguish this rare condition from severe, acute COVID-19 in children, with which it ... Read More about Is it MIS-C or severe COVID-19? An update on multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children
Patient Stories
From ICU patient to nursing student: Atiana’s heart journey
Atiana Lancaster was 13 and playing the last few games of lacrosse season in 2015 when she started having unusual — and worrying — symptoms. “I had horrible headaches, tiredness, chest pain, and trouble breathing, so I had to keep going off the field when I was playing,” she says. “At the time, I thought ... Read More about From ICU patient to nursing student: Atiana’s heart journey
Patient Stories
The brightest rainbow follows the darkest storm: Our PVS journey
Caroline is our rainbow baby, born after the loss of another child, the light and color arising after a storm passes. A rainbow baby lifts a family in desperate need of lifting. It is a beautiful thing that I hope you never experience. Caroline was born on Dec. 10, 2015. Just three months later, my ... Read More about The brightest rainbow follows the darkest storm: Our PVS journey
Health and Parenting
It’s American Heart Month: Test your knowledge of congenital heart defects
Each year, about 1 percent of all babies are born with a congenital heart defect (CHD). This makes CHDs the most common type of birth defect in the United States. But how much do you know about congenital heart defects? Test your knowledge by taking our True/False quiz. True or False? A congenital heart defect ... Read More about It’s American Heart Month: Test your knowledge of congenital heart defects
Patient Stories
Beating the odds and neuromuscular scoliosis: Colin’s story
Colin Newton has a way of surprising people. Born with a rare neuromuscular disorder, he spent the first three months of his life in the intensive care unit (ICU) struggling to breathe. Two and a half years later, and eight months after he underwent spinal surgery for neuromuscular scoliosis, Colin went skiing for the first ... Read More about Beating the odds and neuromuscular scoliosis: Colin’s story
Health and Parenting
HPV vaccine: What families should know
Nearly 42 million Americans are currently infected with human papillomavirus (HPV), and most adults will be infected at least once in their lives. For most, HPV goes away on its own. If it doesn’t, it can lead to certain cancers. HPV can be transmitted sexually or by nonpenetrative skin-to-skin contact. Often, HPV does not have signs or symptoms, ... Read More about HPV vaccine: What families should know
Our Community
The COVID-19 vaccine: Why some people of color hesitate
The COVID-19 pandemic has been especially hard on people of color. In addition to higher rates of infection, serious illness, and death, many Black and Latino communities have experienced profound economic hardship and increased anxiety and depression during the pandemic. Against this backdrop, the COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna might seem like great ... Read More about The COVID-19 vaccine: Why some people of color hesitate
Clinical Care
Two new approaches to identifying conduction tissue
Conduction cells in the heart are responsible for initiating contraction of the heart muscle. The inability to properly identify the location of conduction tissue in patients with congenital heart defects during heart surgery can lead to post-operative conduction abnormalities such as heart block or conduction delays. This necessitates the need for pacemakers, which leads to ... Read More about Two new approaches to identifying conduction tissue
Research
How do patients with cystic fibrosis respond to COVID-19? An ‘airway in a dish’ may give answers
So far, based on clinical data, patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) don’t appear to be especially susceptible to COVID-19. And when they do get infected, they don’t seem to get sicker. But Ruobing (Ruby) Wang, MD, who cares for patients with CF in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital, thinks there is ... Read More about How do patients with cystic fibrosis respond to COVID-19? An ‘airway in a dish’ may give answers