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Meet the Editors

 and joined the MJH Life Sciences team in December 2019. She graduated from Youngstown State University in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and a minor in political science. Prior to graduating, Morgan worked as the editor-in-chief of her college newspaper. She went on to work as an assignment editor at a broadcast news station in Youngstown, Ohio before joining 

 You can reach her at mpetronelli@mjhlifesciences.com.

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Most videos on TikTok regarding hormonal contraception were misleading, according to a study presented at the 2025 ACOG Annual Clinical and Scientific Meeting. 

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. He joined the brand in March of 2023 as an editor before being promoted to senior editor in January 2024. Fitch graduated from Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio in 2020 with a degree in telecommunications and journalism. He started his career as a news and sports videographer before becoming an on-air sports anchor at the NBC-affiliated news station in Youngstown. Fitch briefly worked as a national content writer for a Chicago-based national television station before joining the 

team. He can be reached at: jfitch@mjhlifesciences.com.

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A 5-year-old female with no significant past medical history presented to the emergency department in 2016 with altered mental status, decreased activity, fever, and decreased oral intake. What's the diagnosis?

Bad to the bone: A case of altered mental status

**Editor's Note** Please note that starting January 1, 2025, we will be switching to an online-exclusive publication process. This will allow us to publish case submissions quicker without having to deal with the variables that come along with print publication. All cases will still be eligible for print publication consideration, but publication in our print magazine is not guaranteed and will be up to the editor's discretion. 

Do you have a puzzling pediatric case that you’d like to share with the readers of 

We are looking for intriguing diagnoses that have stumped the experts—a diagnostic “Puzzler”—to help our physicians enhance their day-to-day practices. If you have such a story to tell, tell us.

Here’s what to do: Before you begin, we suggest that first you review the Puzzler 

https://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/case-studies

. Please note the specific style required for writing Puzzler manuscripts.

Next, prepare a draft of your case, including a summary of the presenting symptoms, a case overview, a 

table of the differential diagnosis (MANDATORY)

, and the special aspects of your case that qualify it as a Puzzler, and send it to us. Please note that the differential diagnosis table should also be discussed in the body text. We’ll review your draft and let you know what you need to add or revise before we send the manuscript to peer review for evaluation.

Puzzlers vary in length, and we suggest a minimum of 1,200 words up to a maximum of 2,000 words, but that is because of the complexity of some cases and whether some patients returned for many assessments before their diagnoses were determined. Also, some authors describe the pathophysiology of the differentials in great detail. Please also note no more than 3 authors are allowed per article.

What's most important is to show us the process that you used to analyze the case, including:

Why you decided to order certain tests and why you did not order others.

Peer consultations or why you elected to contact other specialists.

Lab values including vital signs or blood tests.

Labs and values if your patient was attended to in the emergency department or other hospital departments such as radiology or neurology.

Discussion related to the possible diagnoses.

Final diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and follow-up.

Remember to indicate numbered citations within the body of the text and include a complete list of corresponding literature/references at the end of the manuscript. (Do not use any citation management programs or unlink them.) 

Limit references to 25. No references (unless it is a seminal study) can be older than 10 years.

We prefer primary research as references, but some cases are so obscure that authors will need to pull from a variety of sources. However, 

. Be advised that peer reviewers are adamant that the disease/disorder you describe was actually diagnosed and not determined by index of suspicion on the basis of ruling out various differentials. We use AMA11 as our publication style, which uses superscript citation numbers and a corresponding numbered reference list. Please create your citations and references in this style.  Check this recent article posted online at 

https://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/view/the-rx-of-adhd

 for examples of reference style. IMPORTANT NOTE WITH AMA 11TH EDITION: PLEASE PUT DOI OR WEBSITES/URLS AT THE END OF THE REFERENCE LINE.

When you send your draft manuscript, also 

. These image files must be high-resolution jpg or tiff files (minimum of 300 dpi) and as large in size as possible. We suggest a minimum of 7 horizontal inches. The images must be original photos with clear permissions to use, not images from copyrighted sources. Send as separate attachments with your e-mail submission; do not embed images into your manuscript document.

After we receive your manuscript, our editors and peer reviewers will review your draft and let you know if we accept your submission for publication. 

Puzzler is one of the departments for which we receive the most submissions, so it may be several months after submission before you receive feedback from us.

If we do accept your submission for publication, we will contact you with further instructions.

Send your submissions in Microsoft Word format to 

, via e-mail to mpetronelli@mjhlifesciences.com

Guidelines for PUZZLER, Contemporary Pediatrics

 poll. Take a look at the following case below. After reading through the description, choose a multiple choice answer and try to guess the correct patient diagnosis. 

 on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at 12:00 PM ET or later for the full case presentation, differential diagnoses, and the correct patient diagnosis. The full case will be presented as a separate article on our home page.

This case was presented by Ngozi I. Eboh, MD, FAAP, FHM, Department of Pediatrics, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas

A 13-year-old female with a history of iron deficiency anemia presented with altered mental status preceded by 5 days of headache, vomiting, nausea, and worsening somnolence that was not responsive to flumazenil, naloxone, or ammonia salts. She had a Glasgow coma scale of 12 and was drowsy with no cranial nerve deficits, or other abnormal physical examination findings. Laboratory evaluation showed microcytic anemia (hemoglobin 7.7 g/dL and MCV (mean corpuscular volume):64.7, lymphocytosis, and mildly elevated liver enzymes [Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) 52, Alanine Transaminase (ALT) 110] otherwise her electrolytes and kidney function were normal. 

Urine toxicology, Tylenol level, Salicylate level, alcohol level thyroid studies, iron studies, hepatitis panel were normal. Urine pregnancy and COVID tests were negative. Head computed tomography (Head CT) showed mild hydrocephalus, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed increased signal folia and compression of the lower portion of the fourth ventricle and foramen of Magendie. 

She then had an emergency external ventricular drain placed (EVD) by pediatric neurosurgery, and the team started her on high-dose steroids and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). On the third day of admission, she developed new onset left-sided facial drooping, drooling, downbeat nystagmus, and difficulty following commands. An emergent subcortical craniectomy and decompression, duraplasty, and cerebellar biopsy were performed. A cerebellar biopsy was performed due to findings on brain MRI.

Click here for the full case presentation, differential diagnoses, and the correct patient diagnosis.

Can you diagnose this patient? Take our poll and find out! Then check back for the full case, differential diagnosis, and correct diagnosis. 

News

Case Studies

Poll: Can you diagnose this 13-year-old female with altered mental status?

This case was presented by Rylee Moody, BS; Mary Gibney, MD;and Elaine Siegfried, MD

A 21-month-old girl presented with a history of "skin tags" involving her gluteal cleft,noted at birth (Figure 1A). She was otherwise healthy and developing normally. Notably, her older sister had a confirmed history of molluscum contagiosum (MC).

Skin exam featured three prominent2-4 mm soft, pedunculated papules within the superior aspect of hergluteal cleft, as well as sparsely scattered 1-2 mmpapulescharacteristic of MC on the gluteal prominences and in mirror distribution on the perianal mucosa.

Click here to view the full case presentation, differential diagnosis, and the correct diagnosis for this patient.

Diagnose this 21-month-old with history of “skin tags” on her gluteal cleft 

 poll. Take a look at the following case below. After reading through the description, choose a multiple-choice answer and try to guess the correct patient diagnosis.

This case was presented by Rutva Vora, BS; and Monica Guirguis, DO.

A 2-month-old female was born after an uneventful pregnancy at 40 weeks’ gestation via vacuum-assisted vaginal delivery to a G2P1011 female. The patient’s APGAR scores were 7 and 9 at 1 and 5 minutes, respectively, at birth. No bleeding or other complications were reported during delivery. The newborn and mother were discharged two days after delivery without requiring NICU stay or interventions. The infant briefly developed a small soft palpable scalp swelling that resolved within days after delivery. The patient followed an otherwise uncomplicated growth progression since birth. She did exhibit mild reflux symptoms, which were managed with supportive care measures. Physical examination after delivery and subsequent exams revealed no abnormalities, including no signs of scalp swelling or injury.

At 8 weeks of age, the patient presented to the Emergency Department with a 3-day history of new-onset scalp swelling. The parents decided to seek medical attention after the swelling became noticeably enlarged. Parents denied any changes in her mental status, vomiting, fevers, lethargy, irritability, or any other new concerns. She did have symptoms of gassiness and fussiness that were unchanged from baseline. No history of trauma was reported, and there were no concerning signs suggestive of nonaccidental trauma. The patient appeared well, with a soft, fluctuant palpable subcutaneous fluid collection overlying the parieto-occipital scalp, without crossing suture lines. The anterior fontanelle was soft and non-bulging, and there was no hemotympanum.

Bleeding disorder (e.g. Von Willebrand Disease)

Can you diagnose this patient? Take our poll and find out! Then check back for the full case, differential diagnosis, and correct diagnosis.

Diagnose this 2-month-old with scalp swelling

Then, visit our website on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at 12:00 PM Eastern Time or later for the full case presentation, differential diagnoses, and correct patient diagnosis.

This case was provided by Akash Deswaney, MD, Neil Copeland, MD, and John Bishara, DO.

An 18-day-old female presented to the ED with concerns of apnea, cyanosis, and decreased feeding. The mother reported intermittent cyanosis of the lips, pale-appearing skin, and suspected apnea episodes. Since birth, Mom states patients had retractions since birth, which the PCP reassured her was normal periodic breathing. She had nasal flaring and grunting a couple of days after discharge from the nursery. Mom has noticed she breathes quickly, in the 60s or 70s at times.

Initial vitals in the ED showed hypoxemia, tachypnea, and fluctuating oxygen saturations were between 65-100% on room air. A chest X-ray is shown (

Click here for the full case presentation, differential diagnoses, and correct patient diagnosis.

Diagnose this 18-day-old female with apnea, cyanosis, decreased feeding concerns

 on Monday, March 24, 2025 at 12:00 PM ET or later for the full case presentation, differential diagnoses, and the correct patient diagnosis. 

This case was provided by Muhammad Aamir Anees and Bernard A. Cohen, MD

Want more puzzler and dermatology cases? 

A healthy 9-year-old girl developed an asymptomatic eruption of discrete and confluent, 2 to 3 mm, hypopigmented papules in a linear pattern along the lines of Blaschko on the back of her left thigh and leg over the past 3 weeks. The lesions cleared without treatment 4 to 5 months later. 

Inflammatory linear verrucous epidermal nevus

on Monday, March 24, 2025 at 12:00 PM ET or later for the full case presentation, differential diagnosis, and correct patient diagnosis.

Take your best guess and try to diagnose this 9-year-old girl's linear eruption on the back of her left thigh and leg. Stay tuned for the full case presentation and correct diagnosis! 

Jill L. Sorcher, MS4

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