The Child's Doctor articles
The Child's Doctor, Journal of Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago
The Child's Doctor is published by Children's Memorial Hospital twice a year for community-based physicians. The journal offers continuing medical education (CME) through articles authored by Children's Memorial's physicians. It also includes news articles on research at Children's Memorial. Read the latest issue of The Child's Doctor here.
Articles on topics in pediatric kidney diseases:
Preventing Vitamin D Deficiency in Pediatrics by Farah N. Ali, MD Published Spring/Summer 2009
Vitamin D deficiency is now increasingly recognized throughout the United States as a problem that may affect numerous patient populations. Even more concerning to general practitioners has been the growing prevalence of this condition in otherwise healthy children. Contributing to widespread vitamin D deficiency are few naturally available dietary sources and insufficient sun exposure that is exacerbated by the need to use sunscreen products to prevent skin cancer. Preventing deficiency has gained considerable attention, especially in light of the emerging evidence that vitamin D has other important functions, in addition to optimizing bone and mineral metabolism. Addressing these evolving issues, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in recently updated guidelines has doubled the vitamin D intake recommended for infants, children and adolescents. Pediatricians are now faced with a critical role in promoting adequate vitamin D intake in their patients and identifying children at higher risk for deficiency who may require more vitamin D to maintain health.
Abnormal Urinalysis: Hematuria and Proteinuria by Amy Bobrowski, MD Published Fall 2009
With the increased performance of screening urine dips and urinalyses in the pediatrician's office, the discovery of asymptomatic blood and/or protein in the urine has become more common. As the list of possible conditions that can lead to such findings is long and can be anxiety-producing for patients, parents, and pediatricians, a tailored approach is required to rule out serious conditions, avoid unnecessary testing, and determine when further evaluation by a specialist is required. The purpose of this article is to review the differential diagnoses of hematuria and proteinuria, and to describe a straightforward plan for evaluation and possible referral.
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