Chlamydia is the most commonly reported bacterial disease in the U.S., and half of the 1.8 million cases reported in 2019 were in youth. A recent publication by Kenisha Campbell, MD, MPH, and Sarah Wood, MD, MSHP, adolescent medicine physicians at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, showed providers are much more likely to screen Black adolescent females for chlamydia than white females. In a review of their study, the two doctors discuss how to address biases as individual providers and as pra...

Less than a quarter of children with developmental disabilities receive early intervention services before age 3. The recent update to the “Learn the Signs: Act Early” guidelines is a step toward more children and families getting help sooner. Kate Wallis, MD, MPH, a developmental behavioral pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, reviews: how and why the changes were made; how evaluating milestones when 75% of the age group is meeting them (rather than the previous rate of 50%) aff...

Friendships and social bonds are integral to children’s health. How can a pediatrician help those struggling with social skills? Emily DePaul, BS, MPH, MA, who is a clinical research coordinator for the PriCARE Parenting Program and runs group social skills training for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), provides an overview of the importance of social skills and possible diagnoses in children who have delays or deficits (consider ADHD and anxiety, in addition to ASD). She explains g...

How should a primary care physician evaluate neutropenia, and decide when it’s time to worry? Kandace Gollomp, MD, pediatric hematologist, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, discusses: tips for evaluating a CBC with differential; absolute neutrophil count (ANC) parameters for mild/moderate/severe neutropenia; when to worry about increased risk of infection, both in previously well children and in those with risk factors; a review of risk factors; lymphopenia, granulocytopenia and agr...