Clinical Tip: Easy as 1-2-3
Examining the pharynx and tonsils of a 2-year-old is often challenging. I start by checking the teeth. While the child holds his mouth open, I put the tongue blade vertically on one cheek in a nonthreatening way and count 1. Then I insert the blade inside the other cheek and count 2. Finally, I quickly flip over the blade on the tongue, depress it, and count 3.
This strategy has always worked, even with difficult children. I don't ask very young patients to say "Aah" because most of them have had a traumatic experience with that request in the past.
Kala Reddy, MDPigeon, Mich.
Discussing the attention pediatric pneumonia has received amid rising cases
December 7th 2023Tina Tan, MD, FAAP, FIDSA, FPIDS, explains that the recent uptick in pediatric pneumonia cases across the country, which some have called "white lung syndrome," is nothing new, and there is no cause for panic.
