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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.

Articles

. 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.

A look back at the most important FDA approvals, clinical research, and expert perspectives shaping pediatric health care in the first half of 2025.

Advancing pediatric health: Key updates and clinical insights from the first half of 2025

The American Academy of Pediatrics warns families to avoid home fireworks and offers safer alternatives to prevent injuries, especially in young children.

AAP tips: How to keep kids safe around fireworks this summer

View our Q2 2025 recap of standout pediatric news from FDA regulatory updates, clinical trial results, and expert commentary.

Q2 2025: A recap of the top headlines and interviews

Additionally, long sleep duration could be associated with increased odds of being reliably symptomatic at 4 weeks. 

Long sleep duration after acute concussion in youths associated with more symptoms later

Contemporary Pediatrics connects pediatricians with peer-reviewed articles, guideline updates, and practice strategies for real-world clinical application.

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Contemporary Pediatrics – Clinical News & Pediatrician Practice Tips

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An almost 7-year-old girl was referred to Child Protective Services for evaluation of suspected sexual abuse after a school nurse noticed marks on her neck (Figure). The nurse was concerned that the marks were "hickeys," or suction marks, made by another person's mouth.

6-Year-Old Girl With Marks on Neck

**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, January 29 at 12:00 PM ET for the full case presentation, differential diagnoses, and the correct patient diagnosis. 

This case was provided by Nicholas W. Kieran, MS and Annuradha Goel, MD.

A 14-year-old girl presented to her primary care office with 2 weeks of vomiting that began when she tried to eat breakfast. She said she was feeling well up until that point, but then developed sudden onset vomiting and constant, 7/10, non-radiating chest pain centrally located at about the level of the second rib that remained unchanged since onset and slightly worsened when trying to eat. 

She was able to take in liquids but vomited all food, despite having an appetite. She denied feeling the food get stuck in her throat and endorsed continued vomiting of meals within 2 minutes of eating. She denied blood in the vomit and denied any abdominal pain. 

Urination was unchanged, and stools, although infrequent because of a lack of eating, continued to have their normal consistency and color. The patient did endorse some mild shortness of breath. This started around the same time as the other symptoms, but did not find it very bothersome. Her last sexual encounter was 3 months prior to this visit, just prior to Nexplanon (etonogestrel implant) insertion. Her last menstrual period was 2months prior to the visit.

On review of systems, she did not endorse palpitations, syncope, lightheadedness. She had increased her vape use recently but did not disclose when she started or how much she vaped. She had no recent travel and had not identified any extremity swelling. She was unsure if she had lost weight but had not been trying to lose any.

website on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, at 12:00 PM ET or later for an article featuring the full case presentation, differential diagnosis, and correct patient diagnosis.

The patient had increased her vape use recently, but did not disclose when she started, or how much she vaped. 

News

Case Studies

14-year-old girl presents with chest pain, 2-week history of vomiting

 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 Giridhar Guntreddi, MD FAAP, FAPHM; Achuth Jayasankar Kondoor, Taylor Boske, Neelima P. Theella, MD, and Jayasree Vasudevannair, MD MPH FAAP. 

A healthy 12-month-old girl presented with one small skin lesion over the right heel (Image 1) for one month. On examination, her right lateral heel showed a round, white, pearl-like, hard, tiny lesion with a smooth appearance without any redness or itching. The patient's mother denied any pain, swelling, itching or fever. No significant travel, bites, heel stick injuries were reported in the history. No systemic symptoms suggested any underlying systemic diseases. The infant is closely monitored at subsequent well visits and re-checked. After 3 months, the child showed full resolution of the skin lesion over the heel area (Image 2).

Below, take your best guess at diagnosing this patient.

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

Thank you for taking this Contemporary Pediatrics poll! Want more puzzler case studies? 

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 infant with an asymptomatic pearl-like nodule on the heel

 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?

Octavio Ramilo, MD, joins us once again to discuss potential benefits of RSV vaccination beyond disease prevention, and to explain how to speak with patients about vaccines and uptake. 

Potential downstream benefits of RSV preventive measures, with Octavio Ramilo, MD

The FDA’s June 9, 2025, approval of clesrovimab (Enflonsia; Merck)

 to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants could have potential ripple effects of RSV prevention—not only in reducing bronchiolitis and hospitalizations, but possibly even lowering the global burden of pneumonia.

“If we prevent RSV now with these monoclonal [antibodies] and maternal vaccine, and we have a pneumococcus vaccine, the potential to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with pneumonia will be important,” said Octavio Ramilo, MD, chair of the Department of Infectious Diseases at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and investigator in the CLEVER and SMART trials.

According to Ramilo, RSV and pneumococcus remain the 2 primary drivers of childhood pneumonia globally. While notable progress has been made in combating diseases like diarrhea through vaccines such as rotavirus, pneumonia now stands as a top priority for pediatric health agencies worldwide.

WATCH MORE: Octavio Ramilo, MD, reacts to the FDA approval of clesrovimab for RSV prevention

“The big challenge for pediatric health is respiratory infection, pneumonia, and the 2 big players are RSV and pneumococcus,” Ramilo said. “Now we are beginning to have prevention of RSV with monoclonals and maternal vaccine, so this is really, really important.”

Ramilo also suggested that preventing RSV could lead to unexpected benefits, including a reduction in ear infections and overall antibiotic use, though only time will tell what these potential downstream benefits are, and how impactful they may be. 

“RSV also facilitates ear infections,” he said. “So maybe we can even have an effect there... and if we reduce ear infections, we also decrease antibiotic usage.”

He expressed optimism that the introduction of preventive measures such as nirsevimab and clesrovimab will be well received by families. He added that pregnant persons are often receptive to maternal immunizations when the benefits are clearly explained.

“Pregnant women will do whatever it takes to protect the baby,” Ramilo said. “That’s sometimes an easier conversation, one in these very small babies than other vaccines we give to kids... [but] families want to protect the babies.”

Ramilo stressed that communication about vaccine efficacy needs to be nuanced and tailored to parents’ specific concerns. In his experience, some parents require more personalized, evidence-based discussions.

“My experience has been that when they tell you they don’t feel the vaccine is good for them… we need to make an effort to understand the reason,” he said. “Sometimes you cannot address the complete answer in one session.”

Ramilo emphasized that even partial protection has clinical value.

“A flu vaccine could work 60% to 70% to prevent flu,” he said, “but can prevent 90% of hospitalizations. Distinguishing how good the vaccine is, and what the expectations are, is very important.”

Fitch J. FDA approves clesrovimab to protect infants during first RSV season. Contemporary Pediatrics. June 9, 2025. Accessed June 20, 2025. https://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/view/fda-approves-clesrovimab-to-protect-infants-during-first-rsv-season

Fitch J. Octavio Ramilo, MD, reacts to the FDA approval of clesrovimab for RSV prevention. Contemporary Pediatrics. June 10, 2025. Accessed June 20, 2025. https://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/view/octavio-ramilo-md-reacts-to-the-fda-approval-of-clesrovimab-for-rsv-prevention

John Browning, MD, highlights why pediatricians should feel comfortable prescribing recent non-steroidals, and what questions to ask patients in office. 

John Browning, MD, explains dermatological questions to ask, answer in primary care

John Browning, MD, Chief of Dermatology at Children’s Hospital of San Antonio and Organon Health Partner, encouraged pediatricians to feel confident initiating treatment for atopic dermatitis (AD) using steroid-free creams when evaluating patients during routine visits. 

“I believe that pediatricians should be very confident to prescribe a steroid-free cream. They should feel like they can and should do that when they see a patient,” Browning said. He noted that AD is often first observed during routine physicals or skin checks and emphasized that early, informed intervention can help prevent prolonged suffering or delays in care. 

“Having a safe, steroid-free cream at their fingertips is great,” Browning said. “And I think that they should all know about what’s out there, so that they can help their patients. Otherwise, those patients are going to suffer before they’re finally going to be seen by a pediatric dermatologist.”

Browning explained that many families presenting to pediatric care have already tried over-the-counter products, including low-potency corticosteroids or general moisturizers. He recommended pediatricians ask specific questions about past use: “What kind of moisturizer? Has it helped? Has it not helped?”

Stephen Messner, MD

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