Joshua Fitch is the senior editor for Contemporary Pediatrics. He joined the brand in March of 2023 as an editor before being promoted to senior editor in January 2024. Fitch graduated from Youngstown ...

For most teenagers, a psychosocial history is at least as important as the physical exam. This essential psychosocial history can be obtained using the HEEADSSS method of interviewing adolescents. The ...

Edward J. Hoffenberg, MD Polyps in the colon may be either harmless or precancerous. In both cases, symptoms are usually frightening to patients and parents. This review of four of the most common ...

An infantile spasm is brief and abrupt, generally 1 to 3 seconds, with muscle contraction that can include the head, neck, trunk, and/or extremities. Spasms can occur in clusters, repeating every 5 to ...

“No, thank you.” Although care in the newborn nursery tends to follow a predictable pattern, parents are increasing requesting alterations to standard protocols. It can be a challenge to remain aware ...

A full-term male infant was born at 40.3 weeks gestational age via vaginal delivery to a 29-year-old single G6 P30204 mother with limited prenatal care (3 visits) and short interval pregnancy. The ...

Circumcision may be the oldest known surgical procedure. For the past 100 years, it has consistently been the most frequently performed surgery in the world. 1 The procedure is performed on almost all ...

By Andrew J. Schuman, MD Finding an acceptable alternative to breast milk has proved to be a complicated quest that continues today with an ever-growing assortment of modified and specialized infant ...

Assessing NSSI using the SOARS model Suicidal ideation Because NSSI, by nature, is not suicidal, it should not be confused with or misinterpreted as a suicide attempt. Some adolescents fear that ...

Hypertension History of hypertension in which blood pressure (BP) cannot be monitored Adequately controlled hypertension, where BP can be evaluated Systolic BP 140 159 mm Hg or diastolic BP 90 99 mm ...

Alopecia areata (AA) is a chronic, immune-mediated disorder that presents as sudden-onset, nonscarring hair loss frequently in childhood or adolescence (Figure 1). Hair loss in AA is typically focal ...

Benzalkonium chloride Benzalkonium chlorides (BAC) are cationic surfactants commonly used for their broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties in topical sanitizers, nasal sprays, ophthalmic solutions, ...