Category: Conditions

What is the pediatrician’s role in marijuana use?

I recently listened to DDx, a new podcast from Figure1. In their third episode, a 37-year-old man presents to the emergency department in the middle of the night with persistent vomiting and retching. He is highly vocal and agitated. Upon questioning, he reveals that he experiences these episodes frequently and previous investigations have all been […]

Doctors are conditioned to deny

13 years ago a colleague of mine did a labiaplasty on my 18-year-old daughter for medical reasons. What was supposed to be routine has become a nightmare for her.  Not only did he remove all of her labia minora, but he also denervated her clitoris. When he saw her post-op, he told her she was fine, […]

Doctors are conditioned to deny

13 years ago a colleague of mine did a labiaplasty on my 18-year-old daughter for medical reasons. What was supposed to be routine has become a nightmare for her.  Not only did he remove all of her labia minora, but he also denervated her clitoris. When he saw her post-op, he told her she was fine, […]

A physician’s warning on the keto diet

The keto diet has recently garnered much fame for its apparent ability to improve diabetes and obesity – results so impressive the Journal of the American Medical Association recently highlighted the diet and thereby christened it as something more than a low-carb craze. However, not all the evidence supports such a positive outlook, leading the […]

Sleeping with your baby: Mainstream media gets it wrong

Recently, a journalist with NPR asked her audience if sleeping with your baby is as dangerous as doctors say.  In short, yes, it is very dangerous. In the article, Michaeleen Doucleff repeatedly trivializes the danger of parents co-sleeping with their baby.  She uses anthropological evidence to reassure parents that sleeping with their infant is safe […]

Which of these patients should get a liver transplant?

People with liver failure and cirrhosis die every year because there are not enough livers available. Who should receive the treasured life-saving organ? There is an organ allocation system in place, which has evolved over time, which ranks patients who need liver transplants. Without such a system, there would be confusion and chaos. How can […]

MKSAP: 68-year-old man with heart failure

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 68-year-old man is evaluated at a follow-up appointment. He has a 7-year history of heart failure secondary to ischemic cardiomyopathy. Over the past 6 months, he has had three hospitalizations for exacerbations of his heart failure. He currently has exertional […]

Depression is personal to this physician

Kate Spade. Anthony Bourdain. Two celebrity icons splashed the headlines recently as both figures committed the unthinkable act of suicide. Both left behind young daughters and significant others reeling in the background wondering what had just happened. Kate Spade was the colorful fashionista of purses and dresses. Anthony Bourdain was the connoisseur of delectable eats […]

A pediatrician’s healing spirit: treating depressed, anxious, and suicidal teens

I had not one, but two suicidal teen patients today. This is only one day after I had an eight-year-old suicidal patient come to see me. Three weeks ago, a 17-year-old female walked in, she had hung herself in her closet one month earlier — saved only by the timely breaking of the crossbar of […]

A difficult situation a resident faced in the emergency department

As I begin my overnight pediatric emergency department shift, there is one patient waiting to be seen: “Six-year-old male with autism, alleged sexual assault.” In year one of my pediatrics residency, I have not yet managed a sexual assault case, it is time to learn. I sign up to see the patient and move to […]