Consultant for Pediatricians Vol 8 No 12

Every year, in the weeks beforeChristmas, there is atleast one television stationairing the movie “It’s aWonderful Life.” Watchingthis 1946 film has become an annualritual for me.

My daughter has been overweight her whole lifeand is always the largest kid in class. She’s juststarted high school and wants so badly to feelattractive, yet she cannot bear trying anotherweight loss program. At 5 ft 6 in, she weighs262 lb. Can you refer her to a surgeon so she canhave the operation that helps her lose weight?

The areas of hyperpigmentation shown here on the trunk of a 15-year-old girl appeared 2 years earlier as 1- to 2-mm hyperpigmented papules with either flat or verrucous surfaces.

A 5-year-old girl presented with a 2-day history of a widespread pruritic rash that began while the family was on vacation. The rash appeared suddenly as small pink macules and progressed to papules and pustules. Her brother had a similar-appearing but milder rash. She denied fever, chills, or constitutional symptoms. On further questioning, her father reported that she and her brother had been in a hot tub at their vacation home.

A 16-month-old girl was initially brought to her primary care physician because of persistent nonproductive cough of 1 to 2 weeks’ duration, with lethargy, poor feeding, and worsening cough for the past 36 hours. She had been afebrile. The patient was noted to be pale and had a decreased level of interaction. She was promptly sent to the local emergency department. Laboratory studies showed a hemoglobin level of 3.8 g/dL and hypochromic microcytic anemia. The patient was subsequently transferred to the pediatric ICU for evaluation.

An 11-year-old boy with 4-month history of acnelike rash on his face and both upper arms. Rash is associated with redness and itching. Application of adapalene gel resulted in no change.

We are pleased to announce a new member of the editorial board of Consultant For Pediatricians, Prashant V. Mahajan, MD, MPH, MBA. We hope you will enjoy reading his articles and features in the coming issues as much as we enjoy working with him.

ABSTRACT: Status epilepticus (SE) is associated with high morbidity and mortality in children. Fever is a common cause of SE and may precipitate seizures in children who have underlying epilepsy risk factors or may signal intracranial infection.

An itchy eruption puts a damper on a girl’s Hawaiian vacation. How might you help her avoid a similar experience on her next trip to the tropics?