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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.

Articles

"Early identification of high-risk neonates may enable targeted strategies to support respiratory health," stated the study investigators.

Frequent perinatal antibiotic use and impaired lung function in preterm-born children

 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.

Get caught up with Contemporary Pediatrics! This list helps you navigate our top stories from the week, all in one place.

Weekly review: Neffy 1 mg available, new case study, and more

Jenna Marcovitz, MA, MT-BC, CCLS, RMT, director, Music Therapy Integrative Medicine, UCLA Health.

In this video interview, Jenna Marcovitz, MA, MT-BC, CCLS, RMT, provides insight to music therapy and how it can benefit a wide range of pediatric patients.

Jenna Marcovitz, MA, explains how music therapy helps in pediatric care

"These findings support Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendations for maternal vaccination or nirsevimab to protect against severe RSV disease in infants," wrote the MMWR study investigators. 

Infant RSV hospitalization rates 28%, 43% lower this season vs pre-COVID seasons

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Authors

A 16-year-old male with a history of nephrotic syndrome and gastritis presents to the emergency department (ED) with worsening emesis, diarrhea, and abdominal pain of 3-weeks’ duration.

Teenager suffers diarrhea, emesis, and weight loss

**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.

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.

Case Studies

Diagnose this 2-month-old with scalp swelling

 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. 

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.

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

News

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

An 18-day-old female presented to the Emergency Department (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 primary care provider (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.

On physical examination, the patient appeared to be in significant respiratory distress. Her oxygen saturation was 96% on high flow nasal cannula. She had severely decreased air entry bilaterally with subcostal retractions. A complete blood count and metabolic panel were within normal limits. A venous blood gas showed the following: 7.24/74/51/35.

Due to an x-ray obtained while the patient was on the pediatrics floor, there were concerns for an underlying tension pneumothorax. The patient was transported to the PICU, where upon admission an urgent needle decompression was performed. However, upon performing the same, there was no change in the patient's vitals, nor was there a gush of air emitted from the needle that was placed. To further delineate the cause of the findings seen on the x-ray, a CT chest with IV contrast was performed (

). This image study confirmed the diagnosis of left upper lobe congenital emphysema. Her condition was managed with surgical resection of the left upper lobe emphysematous lobe. Her respiratory status improved after surgical resection with her breathing without any distress.

The patient’s condition improved with surgical resection of the overinflated left upper lobe. 

Congenital lobar emphysema (CLE) or congenital alveolar overdistension is a rare pulmonary disorder that primarily affects neonates, characterized by hyperinflation of one or more lobes of the lung, most commonly the left upper lobe.

 The condition is caused by a defect in the airway cartilage that leads to partial obstruction of airflow, resulting in air trapping and over-distention of the affected lobe. This can cause compression of the surrounding lung tissue and mediastinal structures, leading to respiratory distress, as was observed in this case.

The diagnosis of CLE can be challenging as it may mimic other conditions such as tension pneumothorax or pulmonary interstitial emphysema.

 Chest X-rays and CT scans are the imaging modalities of choice to confirm the diagnosis. In this patient, the initial X-ray raised suspicion for CLE, which was later confirmed by a CT scan showing hyperinflation of the left upper lobe and atelectasis of the left lower lobe. 

Management of CLE often begins with supportive care, such as oxygen supplementation or mechanical ventilation if necessary. However, the definitive treatment is typically surgical resection of the affected lobe, known as lobectomy. Surgical intervention is usually recommended when hyperinflation leads to significant respiratory compromise or when conservative management fails. In this case, the patient’s left upper lobe was resected.

This case emphasizes the importance of early recognition and intervention in neonates presenting severe respiratory distress. Timely surgical intervention, typically lobectomy, can be lifesaving and prevent long-term complications associated with untreated CLE. 

Want more puzzler case studies? Click here.

1. Mukhtar, S., Sharma, S., & Trovela, D. a. V. (2024, July 19). Congenital lobar emphysema. 

. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560602/

2. Benbouziane N, Larda L, Pongo C, Alaoui-Inboui FZ, Slaoui B. Congenital Lobar Emphysema in Children: Case Series. 

. 2023;15(11):e49416. Published 2023 Nov 26. doi:10.7759/cureus.49416 

3. Demir OF, Hangul M, Kose M. Congenital lobar emphysema: diagnosis and treatment options. 

. 2019;14:921-928. Published 2019 May 1. doi:10.2147/COPD.S170581

On physical examination, the patient appeared to be in significant respiratory distress. Her oxygen saturation was 96% on high-flow nasal cannula.

Full case: 18-day-old female with reported apnea, cyanosis, and decreased feeding 

 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 Monday, January 6 at 12:00 PM ET for the full case presentation, differential diagnoses, and the correct patient diagnosis. 

This case was provided by Amar Davé, MD, FAAP and Pahroul Davé, APRN

A boy aged 10 years presented to the outpatient office with a history of painful nodules on the plantar surface of his bilateral feet 8 to 10 hours after spending time in a hot tub. He was unable to bear weight or put on socks and shoes due to his pain. The photos were taken soon after the painful and red papules appeared. The lesions affected the whole plantar aspect of both feet. Over the following 4 days, the nodules became less painful and red. 

Medical advice was sought on the fifth day of symptoms, and by this time, the child was improving clinically. He was stable with subcutaneous, mildly painful, fleshy nodules mostly populating the medial arch of the foot. His remaining clinical examination results were within a normal range. Further questioning of the child’s mother revealed that other children exposed to the hot tub experienced painful feet but without lesions. 

Due to the patient’s improving symptoms and the self-limiting nature of the illness, no tests or labs were ordered as the child was not acutely ill. No peer consultations or specialists were utilized.

Click here for the full case presentation, differential diagnoses, and the correct patient diagnosis, in a separate article.

The photos in this case were taken soon after the painful and red papules appeared.

Can you diagnose this boy with painful nodules on his feet?

Joshua Feder, MD, highlights the need for psychiatry to better integrate sensory processing research into care strategies beyond autism.

Joshua Feder, MD, on broadening the role of sensory integration in psychiatry

Joshua Feder, MD, executive director of Positive Development and associate clinical professor of psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine, joined 

 to explain the gap between clinical need and diagnostic recognition when it comes to sensory processing challenges. 

, Feder emphasized how pediatricians and caregivers can use sensory play to build relationships with children with 

, reframing it not as a set of toys or tools, but as a vehicle for understanding how a child navigates their world. Sensory difficulties, he argues, are not exclusive to autism, though current International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes are only listed in such a way.

“When we talk about these sensory problems, it kind of comes under the umbrella of sensory processing disorder,” Feder said. “If you look up the ICD-10 code for sensory processing disorder, it gives you the code for autism, even though we know sensory problems occur throughout all kinds of different conditions. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) Committee rejected sensory processing disorder back in 2013 and the only thing that is left is this connection through IDC-10. There's an entire industry of sensory integration occupational therapy that's been doing their own research on sensory processing disorder for for many decades. The question is, can they break into the other journals," Feder added. 

Katherine W Canty, MD

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