Jonathan Spergel, MD, PhD, Chief of Allergy Program at CHOP, covers the top 9 most common food allergens, current recommendations for when and how to safely introduce potential food allergens, when to refer to an allergist for testing, when different tests (skin, IgE or RAST testing) are indicated, outgrowing allergies, and exciting research underway around immunotherapy and other treatment advances.

Poisoning is the number one cause of death due to injury in the U.S. In this episode, Kevin Osterhoudt, MD, Medical Director of CHOP’s Poison Control Center, talks about common poison exposures in children, unexpected poisons, the use of naloxone for opioid overdose, identifying toxidromes, advice for pediatricians counseling parents to protect children from poisoning, popular social media “challenges” to watch for, and more.

Guest Lori B. Feldman-Winter, MD, MPH, is internationally-recognized for her work related to breastfeeding education programs and nutrition policy, and serves as Chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Breastfeeding. She joins us to talk about all things breastfeeding, including benefits, contraindications, jaundice, managing hypoglycemia in breastfeeding newborns, lactogenesis, tools for pediatricians to support breastfeeding moms, and more.

Danielle Erkoboni, MD, a pediatrician at CHOP’s Care Network location in Norristown, and Trude Haecker, MD, Medical Director of Global patient Services and Reach Out and Read, talk about the complex factors that impact literacy skills, long-term impact related to lack of literacy or low proficiency in reading, how pediatricians can address these disparities in their practice and at a policy level, early literacy programs available to families, and much more.

Maria R. Mascarenhas, MBBS, Director of Integrative Health, and Tracey F. Jubelirer, MD, Integrative Oncology Medical Director, talk about what culinary medicine is and how it is different than nutrition; how it can be used to provide evidence-based nutrition guidance, translating research into practical advice for patients; how to use food and nutrition as part of a patient’s healthcare goals; how culinary medicine is being deployed at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; practical tips for pediatricians to use in their practice, and more.

Kathleen E. Sullivan, MD, PhD, Chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, sits down to discuss the risk of COVID-19  in children who are immunocompromised. She talks about early findings from international research about how COVID-19 impacts patients with different immunodeficiencies, the role of convalescent plasma, vaccines, school considerations, preventative care, and more.

Pamela Pojomovsky McDonnell, MD, a pediatric neurologist with the Division of Neurology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, defines tics and tic disorders. Topics covered include distinctive features of a tic, typical presentation of tics seen in primary care, common questions from parents, when to refer to neurology, Tourette’s syndrome, causes, medications, current studies and more.

Naomi Brown, MD, and Matthew Grady, MD, pediatric sports medicine specialists in the Division of Orthopaedics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), talk about factors for a safe return to youth sports after coronavirus shutdowns, strategies teams can use to mitigate risk, and what to do in case of COVID-19 symptoms or exposures. They also offer advice for student-athletes as they seek to return to play, the importance of re-conditioning to prevent injury, and other advice for players, parents, and coaches to consider as they weigh pros and cons of getting back to sports.

When is a child just flexible, and when do we say they’re hypermobile? Staci Kallish, DO, a clinical geneticist in the Division of Human Genetics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, talks about hypermobility, covering topics such as red flags for joint hypermobility, what systemic symptoms might indicate a potential inherited connective tissue disorder, and how primary care providers can screen for features of potential syndromes.

With fewer children seeking care due to physical distancing, the early detection of pediatric cancers is being impacted. Julie Stern, MD, Director of Outreach Services for the Division of Oncology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, discusses how children with cancer may present differently during the COVID-19 pandemic and how pediatricians can optimize physical exams in telemedicine settings to screen for malignancies, common early presentations of a malignancy to watch for, what to include in initial lab workups, how to reassure parents it’s safe to seek care in this time and more.