Primary Care Perspectives

Lan Chi “Krysti” Vo, MD, an attending psychiatrist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, discusses the current landscape of mental health care in the United States, the need for specialized child and adolescent psychiatrists, and how telepsychiatry has the potential to expand access to mental health services for more patients. Published January 2020. This podcast is for general informational and...

While any child can experience a febrile seizure, they are most common between the ages of 18 and 24 months. Sara Fridinger, MD, an attending pediatric neurologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, talks about causes, signs and symptoms of febrile seizures, as well as how to differentiate between simple and complex febrile seizures and when to take action. Published December 2019. This podca...

Sarah Fesnak, MD, an attending physician in the Emergency Department at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, discusses the evaluation and management of lacerations in primary care. Appropriate referrals to the Emergency Department and the wound follow-up after repair are reviewed. Published December 2019. This podcast is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not to be cons...

Sabrina Gmuca, MD, MSCE, and David Sherry, MD, pediatric rheumatologists at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, explain the intense pain experienced by children with amplified musculoskeletal pain syndrome (AMPS), common causes and presentations of amplified pain, and evidence-based interventions that can help manage pain in these patients. Published November 2019. This podcast is for general inf...

Pediatric neurologist Elizabeth Kichula, MD, PhD, discusses the pathophysiology and clinical presentation of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), prenatal screening, diagnosis and treatment for this neurodegenerative disease. Published November 2019. This podcast is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not to be considered as medical advice for any particular patient. Clinician...

Zachary McClain, MD, a pediatrician specializing in adolescent medicine and Medical Director of CHOP’s Young Men’s Clinic, talks about taking care of teenagers, in particular young men. He covers strategies for addressing common teen concerns, such as sexuality and sexual function, how to normalize topics that may be uncomfortable to discuss, common testicular pathology, importance of routine test...

Children and infants have different needs than adults when it comes to anesthesia. Ronald Litman, DO, ML, talks about how anesthesia in children is different than anesthesia in adults, commonly used medications, recent research around maximizing comfort as well as risks associated with anesthesia, and how pediatric anesthesiologists are specially trained to help kids cope and prepare them for surg...

Pediatric neurologist Sarah Hopkins, MD, MSPH, talks about the presentation, diagnosis, and management of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), including how to distinguish it from other similar neurologic diseases. Published September 2019. This podcast is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not to be considered as medical advice for any particular patient. Clinicians must rely...

The most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States, HPV (and HPV vaccinations) is a hot topic for primary care providers. Aletha Akers, MD, MPH, FACOG, an attending physician in the Division of Adolescent Medicine at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, discusses HPV symptoms, screening recommendations, transmission and prevention, long-term implications, the latest studies lookin...

Between 400,000 – 500,000 children are in foster care in the U.S. on any given day. Because children in foster care have a higher prevalence of physical, developmental, dental, and behavioral health conditions than any other group of children, the AAP has identified them as a population with special healthcare needs. Pediatric residents Drs. Zoe Bouchelle, Shari Gitlin, and Josh Sperling discuss t...

Ian Lahey, PT, DPT, OCS, SCS, CSCS, FAAOMPT, a Physical Therapist with the Sports Medicine and Performance Center at CHOP, discusses the latest non-surgical treatments for scoliosis in children, including guidelines for wearing braces and the benefits of scoliosis rehab, plus the importance and challenges of furthering research in this field. Published August 2019 This podcast is for general infor...

Clinical Director of Endocrinology at CHOP, Andrew Calabria, MD, talks about forms and sources of vitamin D, the role it plays, targets for vitamin D intake for infants and children, when vitamin D supplements are called for, preventing vitamin D deficiency and rickets, and more. Published July 2019. This podcast is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not to be considere...

E-cigarette Use in Adolescents Based on recent data, up to 20% of high school students regularly use e-cigarettes. 1 in 5 high school students and 1 in 20 middle school students are regularly using these products. Brian Jenssen, MD, MSHP, talks about concerning trends in adolescent e-cigarette use, different vaping devices, exposure risks related to harmful chemicals in these products, the latest...

Teens who identify as transgender have high rates of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance abuse, self-harm and suicide. Primary care providers are in a unique position to inquire about gender development as part of routine well-child care and be a trusted source of support and information for patients and families. Sarah Hart-Unger, MD, endocrinologist at Joe DiMaggio Children’s dives...

Gil Binenbaum, MD, MSCE, reviews Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s new clinical pathway on the management of patients with suspected preseptal or orbital cellulitis, including the differential diagnosis, physical exam for orbital signs, reasons for admission, and outpatient management of preseptal cellulitis. Published May 2019. This podcast is for general informational and educational purpose...

Paul Offit, MD, Director of the Vaccine Education Center and attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, defines fever in children and talks about counseling families about the benefits of fevers. He discusses strategies for treating fevers appropriately, with emphasis on why treating fever with antipyretic drugs is often NOT the right thing t...

In honor of National Occupational Therapy Month, occupational therapist Ashley Binkowski, MS, OTR/L, CKTP, talks about what an occupational therapist can do for a child, examples of when a child might need occupational therapy in an outpatient setting, issues commonly seen at different ages, tips for pediatricians when dealing with sensory challenges, and more. Published April 2019. This podcast i...

Licensed social worker Sara Kurlansik, MSW, LSW, discusses how primary care providers can help children and families deal with divorce and separation. The episode covers custody issues that frequently come up in primary care and offers tips for physicians to share with parents to ease the transition for children when parents are separating. She also discusses the importance of keeping the focus on...

Pediatric dermatologist Patrick McMahon, MD, talks about when skin cultures may be indicated for various skin conditions in children. He talks through common examples seen by pediatricians, such as tinea corporis and tinea capitis, when to culture versus when to proceed with treatment following your clinical judgement, tips for obtaining a quality culture, and more. Published March 2019. This podc...

Jesse Taylor, MD, Chief of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia sits down to discuss positional plagiocephaly (development of a flat spot on a baby’s head), the impact of the Back to Sleep campaign, risk factors for developing plagiocephaly, how it can be clinically differentiated from craniosynostosis and more. Published March 2019. This podcas...

To maximize safe participation in sports, a pre-participation physical evaluation is recommended for all children and adolescents before the season begins. This cardiovascular evaluation should be routinely done at pre-adolescent and adolescent annual well visits, with the goal of identifying medical problems that could have life-threatening complications or require treatment before participation....

Research shows that about 50 percent of children with a complex congenital heart defect requiring surgical or catheter intervention in the first year of life have some level of neurodevelopmental disability. Alisa Burnham, MD, Lyla Hampton, PhD, and Kate Wallis, MD, MPH, sit down to talk about the importance of routine neurodevelopmental assessments for children born with complex congenital heart...

Rachana Shah, MD, attending physician and Director of the Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) Clinic at CHOP, discusses diagnostic criteria and screening for PCOS in adolescents, diseases that mimic PCOS, the first labs that should be considered by primary care providers, appropriate use of ultrasound, and more. Published January 2019. This podcast is for general informational and educational purpo...

Joanna Parga-Belinkie, MD, a neonatologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, talks about the potential harmful effects of plastics, in particular BPA, phthalates, PFCs and perchlorates; new recommendations from the AAP in response to emerging child health concerns related to environmental toxins; and reasonable recommendations and substitutes pediatricians can suggest to parents to minimize...

What is functional medicine? Pediatrician Ann McCarthy, MD, explains what functional medicine is and is not, how it can complement conventional medicine to help patients find relief from chronic conditions, the focus on addressing underlying causes of symptoms, and more. Published December 2018. This podcast is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not to be considered as...