Domestic abuse often goes undiagnosed until too late — yet medical records often contain subtle clues that doctors often lack the time to fathom out. Now, researchers from the Children’s Hospital Informatics Program and Division of Emergency Medicine demonstrate that tapping commonly available electronic health records could help doctors spot abuse early. This display, designed for physicians, pulls a patient’s diagnostic history into one view, sounding an alert when the pattern of visits suggests possible domestic abuse.
From the monthly archives:
September 2009
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- This week on Thrive: Sept. 28 to Oct. 2
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- Starting solids too early may increase obesity risk
By Marvin Harper, MD, Chief Medical Information Officer at Children’s Hospital Boston
It can be difficult to tell the difference between seasonal flu, H1N1 and the common cold. Here are some features you can use to help spot the differences:
Cold
Symptoms include stuffy nose and congestion, and usually last three to five days.
Seasonal flu
Symptoms include dry cough, fever, painful body aches, possible nausea and diarrhea, severe fatigue, respiratory problems and dehydration.
H1N1
Symptoms are the same as the seasonal flu, and just like seasonal flu, young children and those with weakened immune systems may experience more severe illness (pneumonia, respiratory failure and death have been reported). Full story »
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by Brian Skotko, MD, MPP
Every mother and father who has a child with Down syndrome remembers vividly when they first learned of the diagnosis. One mother once wrote me that she was shopping in her favorite grocery story, selecting a can of garbanzo beans, when her cell phone went off. It was her obstetrician, calling to inform her that the “test” came back “positive” for Down syndrome. She froze, she wrote. After all of those years shopping in the same store, she could not find the door. Another mother, then a third-grade teacher, recounted how the PA speaker announced while she was teaching that an “important phone call” was awaiting her in the administrative offices. She told her class to read their books, while she walked to the principal’s office. It was the obstetrician’s assistant. “We wanted to tell you right away: it’s Down syndrome,” the mother recalled. She was unable to return to her class. Full story »
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Brett Nasuti has battled bullies who have taunted him with put-downs like “peanut boy” and had to sit at the highly stigmatized ‘peanut-free table” at school. Even so, he could be the poster child for living well with food allergies. He’s even taken it upon himself to educate his peers by organizing an annual Food Allergy awareness week at his school, during which he raises money for food allergy research. Here, watch Brett in action and hear what his schoolmates have to say about what they’ve learned from him. Full story »
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- A cure for milk allergies? Part 3: Brett Nasuti takes his very first sip of milk.
- A cure for milk allergies – Part 8: Will Brett be cured of his milk allergy?
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 7: Cooking at home with the Nasutis
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 1: Meet Brett, whose severe allergy to milk may be cured
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 5: Celebrity chef Ming Tsai discusses his passion for food-allergy awareness
Other stories we’ve been reading:
- Most parents want to know how their kids measure up on growth charts in the pediatrician’s office, but only a small percentage of them can accurately read or interpret the information.
- The Natural Child Project has come up with a list of 22 alternatives to physical and verbal punishment.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that 1 in 10 adolescents reports an experience with dating violence. Some schools around the country are now implementing violence-prevention classes to target dating abuse.
- A New York Times article explores if the right kinds of play can teach children self-control.
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- Warning signs for identifying teen dating violence
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- Health headlines: August 12
- Health headlines: Schools are getting rid of junk food and Microsoft takes on the flu
- Health headlines: kids get kidney stones and moms can work guilt free
Dr. Claire McCarthy is a primary care physician and the Medical Communications Editor at Children’s Hospital Boston. Take a look at her blog archive and follow her on Twitter @drClaire.
Claire McCarthy, MD, medical director of Children’s Hospital Boston’s Martha Eliot Health Center, answers frequently asked questions about H1N1.
How does H1N1 spread?
H1N1 appears to be spread by droplets, the same way as regular seasonal flu. Coughs and sneezes send germs out onto hands and other surfaces, and when other people come in contact with them, they get sick. That’s why it’s so important to wash your hands, and to cover coughs and sneezes with the inside of your elbow, rather than your hands (since you don’t usually touch things with the inside of your elbow).
How can parents protect their children from H1N1, especially when in public places like school?
The best thing you can do to protect your child from H1N1–as well as lots of other germs–is teach them to wash their hands, all the time! Full story »
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Last week, a Duke University study published in Child Development concluded that spanking has detrimental effects on the behavior and mental development of children. The researchers found that children who were spanked as 1-year-olds tended to behave more aggressively at age 2, and didn’t perform as well as other children on a test measuring thinking skills at age 3.
Here, Children’s Hospital Boston’s Jayne Singer, PhD, clinical director of the Child and Parent Program and a clinical psychologist for the Brazelton Touchpoints Center, weighs in on the spanking study and offers her professional views on the subject. Full story »
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- When your sick child isn’t a child: my adult daughter gets the diagnosis of Crohn’s disease
- Ask a question about your child’s media use
- Catching dyslexia before your child starts to read
- Do you know how stressed your child is?
- Health headlines: Art helps, crutches can hurt and your child’s frown may be more serious than ‘baby blues’
Here’s a quick look at what Thrive was up to last week.
After suffering a severe spinal cord injury, Jason Fowler took back control of his life and has gone on to compete in a variety of physically challenging races. Should your child get the H1N1 shot? Adrienne Randolph,MD, MSc, from Children’s Medical/Surgical ICU says, YES, you should. We brought you Part 5 of our milk allergy series where celebrity chef Ming Tsai talks about the challenges of eating out with a child who has food allergies. Last week, Massachusetts lawmakers proposed a new state bill aimed at minimizing concussion injuries in youth athletes that would force coaches, trainers, parent volunteers and others affiliated with school athletic programs to be trained in recognizing potentially concussed athletes. A mother shared her story of having to put contact lenses in her two young children’s eyes. Groundbreaking new guidelines about how to treat children with Gender Identity Disorder have been issued by the Endocrine Society. And James Mandell, MD, Children’s Hospital Boston’s CEO, shares why health care workers need to get vaccinated.
If none of this tickles your fancy, let us know what pediatric health or science issue you’d like to hear about.
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