HIV testing should become a part of routine care for adolescents and young adults.

Begin to offer testing to patients aged 13 years as part of regular well-visit exams. Testing all patients at the onset of adolescence helps establish that this is part of routine and universal health care for all of your patients. By testing everyone, we are trying to... »

First be on the lookout for an adolescent girl in your practice who might have the "female athletic triad," which is characterized by disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis.

Many girls are involved in sports these days, which is fantastic. But there are some girls and/or their families or coaches who take training to the extreme. Some... »

With a simple blood test, you can screen and potentially improve and extend the lives of children and adolescents with dyslipidemia.

This is one of the few areas of cardiovascular medicine where your initial diagnosis will make such a significant difference into adulthood. Dyslipidemia occurs more frequently than does structural congenital disease, heart... »

Pediatricians can play an essential role in diagnosis, counseling, and management of atopic eczema. Your decision to treat these children and adolescents in your practice largely depends on your comfort level and the progression of their condition over time. In general, referral to a dermatology colleague is not warranted unless you are unsure about some... »

Begin by thinking about this diagnosis. If you don’t consider immunodeficiency during your routine evaluations, you are likely to miss one of these relatively rare conditions. Screening is of the utmost importance with more than 175 pediatric primary immunodeficiencies identified.

Considering immunodeficiencies appropriately is important – they represent... »

When you first observe or suspect an infant has hypotonia, you face a decision whether the condition is benign and likely to resolve over time vs. a more serious condition with an important neurologic basis.

You will be in a position to make that call in many cases in your practice. Related observations include spontaneous movement during a physical... »

Growth is a terrific biomarker for general health, and a slowing of growth may be a sign of underlying disease. So which children deserve an evaluation?

Short stature is defined as growth below the third percentile. In addition to these children, a child who is crossing one percentile line on the growth chart also deserves evaluation. The sole exception... »