By Helen K. Kelley
Clinical depression and anxiety are on the rise among adolescents ages 12-17, as well as instances of self-harm. Here, we offer some insight into the importance of recognizing the signs of depression and anxiety in teens, which are often different from those of adults, as well as some of the differences in diagnosis and treatment. Diagnosing Anxiety and Depression in ... Continue Reading
By Heather Phelps, DO
“One can of soda per day can result in 15 pounds of weight gain in one year,” I distinctly remember my attending saying when I was a pediatric resident. It was applicable then and even more so today as we struggle with a severe and worsening obesity problem among our nation’s children. We are all affected by obesity – either personally or professionally – so knowing a ... Continue Reading
By Jennifer Whaley, M.D.
“Mindfulness” seems to be everywhere in the news today. Books, videos, classes and websites are springing up to help us be more “mindful.” Everyone is talking about it, including your patients. But what is it? And how might it help you in your life and clinical practice? Most of the research into mindfulness has been a direct consequence of Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s work at the ... Continue Reading
By Erin Harlow-Parker, APRN, PMHCNS-BC
After 30 years working in child and adolescent behavioral health, I have seen amazing advances in behavioral healthcare. We have identified genetic links to some mental health diagnoses; we have developed medications to better treat mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia; we have more available platforms to talk about mental illness and substance ... Continue Reading
By Helen K. Kelley While some diseases are becoming rare due to vaccinations, it’s important to acknowledge that they haven’t been completely eradicated. The viruses and bacteria that cause measles, mumps, chicken pox, flu, HPV and other illnesses still exist – and can easily be spread by people who have not been immunized. We recently spoke with two Atlanta-area ... Continue Reading
By Lydia Joseph, M.D. For many years, the sight of a screaming, crying child emerging from anesthesia was the hallmark of a successful anesthetic. A cranky child exhibited signs of a clear airway and adequate circulation, leading to discharge from the post anesthesia care unit. Pediatric post-surgical pain had been classically under appreciated and thus undertreated. Over ... Continue Reading
By Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health There is a profound predictor of health and wellbeing that can be determined by three years of age. That predictor is language. Babies need food to sustain them and help them grow healthy and strong. Similarly, language is nutrition for the brain. The brains of very young ... Continue Reading
Simplified diagnostic criteria and more awareness are helping both parents and doctors identify autism at an earlier age By Mark Moncino, M.D. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), previously termed autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and PDD-NOS, is a common, heterogeneous, treatable – and potentially curable – cause of developmental disability. ASD is a spectrum of neurobehavioral ... Continue Reading
By Laura Waddle, M.D.
“We found a mass in her liver... it looks like metastatic cancer.” As a pediatric resident, I received this call one night from a radiologist regarding a two-year-old patient our team had admitted earlier that day with a limp and refusal to bear weight. It was her second trip to the emergency department in a few days. The first time the plain films of her hips and legs ... Continue Reading
The facts regarding childhood obesity are stunning. According to the CDC: • Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. • The percentage of children aged 6-11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7 percent in 1980 to nearly 18 percent in 2010. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12-19 ... Continue Reading
by Maurice G. Sholas, M.D., Ph.D. From ATLANTA Medicine Vol. 84, No. 4 Many of us fell in love with our profession while watching famous TV Doctors. Serious portrayals, like those on “Grey’s Anatomy” or “ER”, bring to life the real drama of helping patients cope with life altering health issues. Comedic portrayals, like those on “Scrubs”, shine light on the ironic aspects ... Continue Reading
From ATLANTA Medicine, 2013, Care for the Underserved, Vol. 84, No. 2 By Debra Hughes, MS and Yasmin Tyler-Hill, M.D., FAAP Imagine you have no home. Your daughter is sick. Where do you take her? For most homeless women, the local emergency room is the healthcare provider of choice for one simple reason: they have no other choice. For women at the Mary Hall Freedom ... Continue Reading
Medical education has traditionally relied on the concept of ”see one, do one, teach one” to educate learners. However, with increasing numbers of trainees and reduced training hours, there are fewer real patient opportunities for learners to be exposed to less common medical conditions. Following release of the Institute of Medicine’s report, To Err is Human: Building a ... Continue Reading
A new study shows that a therapeutic intervention called Cognitively-Based Compassion Training (CBCT) appears to improve the mental and physical health of adolescents in foster care. CBCT is a tool that provides strategies for people to develop more compassionate attitudes toward themselves and others. It is well documented that children in foster care have a high prevalence ... Continue Reading
From ATLANTA Medicine, 2012, Pediatrics, Vol. 83, No. 2 “Newborn Screening Saves Lives.”(1) This is a headline that is music to the ears of clinicians and public health laboratories. Since the advent of newborn screening using heel-stick blood spotted on filter cards in 1981, more than 40 different conditions can be detected using tandem mass spectrometry to diagnose ... Continue Reading
