Radio Rounds

From technology and innovation, to changing demographics and new regulations, the healthcare landscape is in a near constant state of reinvention. Staying at the forefront of patient care means adapting to differing methods by which patients and families receive this care.

Mark Lowe, MD, PhD, and Michele McKee discuss how at St. Louis Children’s this means improving and creating new access points to meet the changing needs of the communities we serve.

Brad Warner, MD, surgeon-in-chief at St. Louis Children's Hospital and division director of pediatric surgery at Washington University School of Medicine, is here to discuss The Pediatric Acute Wound Service Program (PAWS) at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. He also shares how it offers a program where staff specially trained in burn and wound care provide care to children in the hospital and to outpatients.

Switching gender roles and occasionally pretending to be the opposite sex is common in young children. But for some kids, they feel certain they were born with the wrong bodies. For these kids and their families, access to individualized treatment can be hard to find.

Christopher Lewis MD, discusses The Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and how it offers the only multidisciplinary care available to children and adolescents in the St. Louis region who identify as a gender different from the sex they were assigned at birth.

ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed behavior disorder of childhood. Mini Tandon, DO, discusses diagnosing ADHD, advancements and innovations in treatment, WUSM studies taking place, and when to refer to a specialist.

Times have changed. Instead of hanging out with friends or playing outside, kids may prefer to stay at home, glued to the computer screen. While parents might think these activities are risk-free because their child is safe in the comforts of their own home, there are some cautions they need to keep in mind.

T. Eric Spiegel, MD, discusses screen time for kids, the updated recommendations from the AAP and how pediatricians and parents can work together to combat excessive screen time.

The key to treating encephalitis is early detection and treatment. A child with encephalitis requires immediate hospitalization and close monitoring. Sometimes, depending on what doctors think the specific cause of the encephalitis is, certain medications can be used to fight infections that may cause it.

In this podcast, Dr. Stuart Tomko, MD, Washington University pediatric neurologist at St. Louis Children's Hospital, discusses Autoimmune Encephalitis and when to refer to a specialist.

Many children in schools across the country have now heard about the tragic events that happened in Parkland, FL. As a result, they may struggle with their own feelings of fear, confusion and uncertainty.

In this very important podcast, Suzanne Thompson, PhD discusses how to talk to kids about traumatic events that they see in the media, mental health issues in light of the Florida shooting, and resources available for parents and physicians at St. Louis Children's Hospital. 

Tune in to this very timely topic.

In 1992, the AAP began recommending babies sleep on their backs to prevent suffocation and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Since this recommendation, the number of infant deaths has dropped more than 50 percent in the United States. Yet the number of infant deaths from suffocation or entrapment during sleep has increased.

Since 2005, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has made several changes to its recommendations for safe sleep.

Recently, the AAP issued more specific recommendations for safer sleep, including eliminating positioning devices, such as wedges, from cribs, as well as bumper pads, although some retail stores still sell these.

Joining the show to discuss the new recommendations from the AAP to make babies as safe as possible in their sleep environment, is F. Sessions Cole, MD and Andrea Coverstone, MD.

Influenza is a serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and sometimes even death.

Every flu season is different, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this year’s flu season is looking worse than expected and early indications suggest that it may be more severe than previous seasons.

In this very important podcast, Fahd Ahmad, MD, discusses what makes this year's flu so different from past seasons, and when to refer to a specialist.

Having an ACL tear can be hard on a young athlete. Recent studies estimate that nearly 250,000 ACL injuries occur annually in the United States. If reconstruction is indicated, a reconstructed ACL is as strong and sometimes even stronger than the original anterior cruciate ligament. But some of the risk factors, including movement patterns, that caused the original injury are still present, and for that reason a thorough rehab program is vital after surgery.

Here to discuss recovery from ACL Injury, how young athletes can protect themselves from sustaining injury again and what young athletes can do now to prevent ACL injuries from occurring is Jeffrey Nepple, MD. He is a Washington University pediatric orthopedic surgeon at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and director of the St. Louis Children’s and Washington University Young Athlete Center.