Now in our eighth season, Charting Pediatrics empowers medical professionals to care for kids with confidence. Brought to you by multidisciplinary experts at Children's Hospital Colorado, this weekly show shares the latest innovations, groundbreaking research and educational resources in pediatric medicine, while also shedding light on current challenges facing the pediatric healthcare community.
Whether you're seeking candid conversations about tough topics or evidence-based clinical information, Charting Pediatrics provides relevant insights you can trust. Pediatricians, primary care providers, medical students and anyone passionate about child health can learn from the stories on our show, which are told with humility, compassion, thoughtfulness and even humor.
Last refreshed: ⓘ
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more
Despite the pervasiveness of child trafficking in the United States, many communities aren't aware of the scope of the issue. Here in Colorado, the University of Colorado's Kempe Center is recognized as a leader in the fight against child abuse, and they are important voices in the global conversation around identifying and ending child trafficking. By committing to responding, treating and preventing all forms of child abuse and neglect, medical professionals can make a difference in this cruci...
Children's Hospital Colorado experts discuss the latest in RSV prevention, focusing on Nirsevimab and a new maternal vaccine. They cover updated guidelines, address supply issues from last year, and explain how practices are preparing for the upcoming season with detailed eligibility criteria and administration strategies. The episode also explores logistical and financial challenges, vaccine hesitancy, and the potential long-term impact on pediatric respiratory illnesses and healthcare systems.
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to have more medical complications than the average kid. Among the most common challenges are gastrointestinal (GI) disorders like abdominal pain, constipation and diarrhea. Untreated GI distress in kids with ASD has been linked to many other issues, including sleep, behavioral and psychiatric disorders. Many of these same kids also have selective eating, which impacts their intake of necessary nutrients. Due to these many layers of complexity, i...
Sharing data transparently, whether at a local or a national level, is a foundational contributor to healthcare quality. Atul Gawande wrote about this in his 2004 essay labeled 'The Bell Curve'. Over the last several decades, we have seen many pediatric specialties organize and collaborate around data collection at a national scale to improve care. We've seen firsthand how our hospital's participation in a national cardiac critical care registry has driven quality improvement, better measurable ...
Over the last few decades, the roles of nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs), also known as advanced practice providers (APPs), have greatly expanded to touch even more patient-family lives. They are an essential part of the care we provide, and their roles have evolved over time. In this episode, we explore the crucial part they play in our medical system and how that might continue to evolve in the future. For this episode, we are joined by two University of Colorado leader...
Our medical community is committed to providing excellent patient care, and it's also our duty for that care to extend to our planet. Climate change is an increasingly important global health issue where children are the most vulnerable to adverse health outcomes. One major contributing factor to climate change in medicine is the use of nitrous oxide in spaces like the operating room and outpatient clinics. Efforts are underway in hospitals across the country to decrease our environmental impact...
This episode explores Children's Hospital Colorado's innovative home nasogastric (NG) tube feeding program, designed to overcome a common barrier to discharge for medically fragile newborns. Expert neonatologists detail how this initiative provides comprehensive care at home through a telehealth model, including remote monitoring and integrated specialist support. The program aims to improve patient outcomes, reduce NICU stays, and ensure equitable access, while empowering families with essential training.
Join us for another insightful season of Charting Pediatrics! The same hosts you know and love will continue to bring the latest and greatest information about pediatric medicine to your ears. Joined by renowned experts, we will explore prominent topics while being moved by their personal stories. This is a season you won't want to miss! For more information on Children's Colorado, visit: childrenscolorado.org .
We all know what it feels like to have a headache, but each person can experience that intensity for dozens of different reasons. Globally, headache disorders affect approximately 40% of the population, which is about 3.1 billion people. Headaches are also among the three most common neurological conditions for most age groups starting at age 5. As such a ubiquitous issue, it's important for providers to understand, diagnose and treat headaches. What are the most common reasons for headaches in ...
For almost 50 years, Dr. Fritz Karrer has been wearing a surgeon's cap, growing as a surgeon alongside the evolution of his specialty. For 40 of those 50 years, he's been at Children's Hospital Colorado, making an everlasting impact on kids and their families. On the brink of retirement, we look at his exemplary career and discuss how he's watched firsthand the progression of pediatric surgery. His half century of perspective makes him the perfect expert to dive into the growth of pediatric surg...
More than 50% of rural counties in the United States do not have a pediatrician, and more than 80% of counties lack access to healthcare services that are simply needed to maintain the health of their population. The medical experts in those areas are lifelines to their communities. They are providing essential care, approaching resource and access challenges with creativity and innovation, and connecting kids to specialists when needed. Area codes can determine as much about health and life exp...
Running is an increasingly popular sport, with high school track and field programs seeing booming participation rates. With rising interest comes more cases of injury, however, incredible sports medicine advancements and programs are helping young runners manage and prevent injuries. To break down the most common running-related injuries in youth and discuss comprehensive approaches to prevention and recovery, we are joined by three Children's Hospital Colorado experts. Aubrey Armento, MD is a ...
For some, COVID-19 may seem like a thing of the past, but for medical professionals, the data regarding post-acute sequalae of COVID infection is only just emerging. Four years ago, the start of the pandemic left doctors puzzled by certain symptoms. Today, we are learning more about the long-term impacts of SARS-CoV-2 in children, often called long COVID or PASC. As the population continues to struggle with persistent and debilitating after-effects and symptoms, we are looking for answers. To pr...
Inflammatory bowel disease, otherwise known as IBD, is an illness pediatric providers need to consider when they see kids with abdominal pain, diarrhea or weight loss. IBD can present in a fairly straightforward way, or it can be incredibly challenging to diagnose. We've seen improvements in IBD diagnosis and care recently, including new screening tools and medications, as well as future treatments currently under investigation. Getting these medications to kids can be a challenge since pharmace...
In simple terms, bioethics is the study of ethical, social and legal issues that arise in biomedicine and biomedical research. It provides guidelines for clinical decision-making and is vital to policy change. Despite standards set by medical entities, significant gaps and variabilities exist within bioethics education for pediatric residents. Every resident will face ethical challenges in their career, so it's important that programs prepare learners to navigate these dilemmas. To address these...
Earlier this year, new guidelines were released to improve the diagnosis of pediatric sepsis and septic shock. For the first time, the novel Phoenix Sepsis Criteria provides an objective and data-driven approach to aid in the identification of these life-threatening conditions, including prediction of mortality in children with suspected or confirmed infection. Sepsis is one of the leading causes of death among children worldwide, and these guidelines could be a major step in changing outcomes. ...
Newborn screening has expanded dramatically over the last decade as our detection methods improved and new treatments became available for rare diseases. One of those rare diseases is adrenoleukodystrophy, otherwise known as ALD. ALD is an example of a rare disease where, thanks to expansions in newborn screenings, we are now able to make a precise genetic diagnosis very early in life and offer therapies far in advance of the onset of symptoms. Early detection and treatment of this can potential...
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform healthcare and disrupt the field of medicine in significant ways. We have already seen remarkable progress in areas such as diagnostics and data analysis, but what could broader use in patient care looks like? A little over a year ago, the arrival of ChatGPT got everyone talking about AI — how realistic it is, how well it understands certain concepts and, specifically in medicine, how it can benefit our care systems. In this episode, we...
Over the last decade, we've watched childhood obesity emerge as a major health concern, taking over news stories and social media posts worldwide. The evaluation and treatment of children with obesity has evolved, and how we handle these diagnoses today is different than in years past. What's important to emphasize is that obesity is a chronic disease, and the medical community needs to treat it as such. To learn more about this important topic and highlight an impressive woman in medicine, we a...
Hirschsprung disease. Anorectal and colorectal malformations. These are some of the most challenging surgical problems encountered in young children. The precision of surgical technique required to achieve optimal outcomes takes many years, if not decades, to develop. Colorectal surgery has become a subspecialty in pediatric surgery, requiring close collaboration with other specialists. At Children's Hospital Colorado, we offer this care through our International Center for Colorectal and Urogen...
Sleep problems can occur at any age, but when toddlers, children or young adults are the ones experiencing them, they can have a big impact on the entire family. Specifically, one to five percent of children, from newborns to teenagers, experience obstructive sleep apnea. While the effects may be significant, many children are not diagnosed or treated due to insufficient access to testing. A team at Children's Hospital Colorado has been preparing a recommendation on how and when to use home slee...
Knowing something is wrong with your child is terrifying for any parent, but the mystery becomes more frightening when the symptoms even puzzle the experts. In 2018, at a peak in cases of acute flaccid myelitis, also known as AFM, otherwise healthy kids experienced debilitating paralysis. Researchers of this perplexing illness braced for a surge in 2022 that never came, and now there is talk about a possible increase of AFM this year. To break down the past and prepare for the future, we are joi...
In just the United States, more than 15,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year. Globally, that number is greater than 300,000. As difficult as those numbers may be, there is good news: Our cancer therapies continue to improve. In the 1960s, only about 5% of children survived leukemia. Today, that number is 90% or better. Many more pediatric oncology patients are now transitioning into survivors of childhood cancer and have the opportunity to achieve their hopes and dreams as adults. Th...
The mouth is a fundamental part of the human body. It allows us to eat, drink, breathe, speak, smile and express ourselves. Naturally, that means oral health is connected to our broader physical health, but in the United States, medical and dental care are structurally separate. Despite their connections, the two have entirely different systems of professional training schools, insurance coverage and care networks. This is referred to as the dental divide, and it results in varied levels of acce...
When you work in neonatology, you are surrounded by babies. You're regularly meeting new parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, some who are living the best days of their lives, and others who are experiencing the very worst. But as a doctor, you never expect to become the patient. We go beyond the white coat in this episode with a story of tragedy and personal discovery from Laurie Sherlock, MD, that changed how she interacts with her patients and practices medicine. "I've been gifted thr...
Innovations and techniques to enhance spinal surgical care, and support patient- centric outcomes, have made big strides in the last decade. Technology like surgical robots, 3D printed models customized to the patient, and a new procedure called vertebral body tethering are just a few examples of the many incredible advancements. Two leading experts on scoliosis surgery at Children's Hospital Colorado join us to discuss these impressive changes and how they are impacting patient care. Mark Erick...
When babies enter the world, there's a plethora of diagnoses providers need to look out for. Some are simple fixes, while others are a bit more complicated. When parents take their kids home, how should they know what to keep an eye out for? In this episode, we explore one potential diagnosis for an infant: tongue ties. How can you tell if a baby has one, and if they do, when should it be fixed? Looking at the concerns and consequences of tongue ties is important in making a decision on how to t...
The care of children with cleft lip and palate spans an entire lifetime. It requires methodical care with a multidisciplinary team, and a special emphasis on the family. Integration with a child's pediatrician, medical home and their loved ones is key. While the oral cleft is the most common craniofacial malformation in a newborn, the three main types differ vastly. We are in for a treat with the guest for this episode. We are joined by a gifted plastic surgeon who has traveled the world to perf...
You've likely heard of CRISPR, the comprehensive gene editing technology that emerged in the 2010s and has since revolutionized biological research. Additionally, the medical community has long been using the concept of gene therapy. What's new is that both approaches have now successfully been harnessed for the treatment of human disease. In December 2023, the FDA approved two therapies for the treatment of sickle cell disease; one utilizing CRISPR technology and the other using a gene transfer...
In its 7th season, Charting Pediatrics has hit 2 million lifetime downloads! What an accomplishment. Our podcast team wants to thank each of you, our listeners, for tuning in each week to learn about the latest and greatest in pediatric healthcare. This accomplishment would not be possible without each of you, and we are thrilled to have you on this journey. 2024 has a lot of unique opportunities in store. Get ready for more content, new ideas, and further educational opportunities. In this spec...
