Radio Rounds

Short gut syndrome, also known as short bowel syndrome, occurs when the body does not properly absorb and digest food normally because a large length of the small intestine is missing or non-functional. This can be due to a birth defect or surgical removal.People with short gut syndrome cannot absorb enough water, vitamins, and other nutrients from food to thrive and grow.Here to discuss Short Bowel Syndrome and when to refer, is Brad Warner, MD. He is a Washington University pediatric general surgeon and surgeon-in-chief at St. Louis Children's Hospital.

Campus Renewal is a long-term project to transform the medical center through new construction and renovations, creating an environment and experience for patients and their families that matches the excellence in medical care they expect.Joining the show to discuss the exciting hospital campus expansion at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and how it will impact our referring physicians and the community, is F. Sessions Cole, MD. He is the director of newborn medicine and Chief Medical officer at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.Learn more about campus renewal at http://www.bjcconstruction.org

Introducing St. Louis Children’s Hospital After Hours – providing medical care for illnesses and injuries by specially-trained pediatric providers. When most pediatrician offices are closed, After Hours offers a kid-focused and lower cost alternative to ERs and urgent care centers. Listen in as Beth Schickler talks about how our newest offsite facility provides quality after-hours care with seamless follow up with the patient's primary care provider.

The anesthesiologists at St. Louis Children’s Hospital provide care for children of all ages. Our team includes board-certified pediatric anesthesiologists, certified nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners and pediatric anesthesia fellows. In the segment, Dr Thomas Cox discusses pediatric anesthesiology and the most common questions parents ask regarding anesthesia.

In this segment, Yumirle (Yumi) Turmelle, MD, joins the show to discuss the possible causes and treatment options for abnormal liver labs in children and when to refer to a specialist.

About one baby in every 1,000 in the United States is born with clubfoot. Almost half of those babies have bilateral clubfoot where both feet have the deformity. The wonderful news is that there is a non-surgical treatment that, with rare exceptions, can correct clubfoot and help children live normal lives.Clubfoot requires a proper medical evaluation and will not resolve on its own.In this segment, Dr. Matthew Dobbs joins the show to discuss treatment options for club foot available at St. Louis Children's Hospital and when to refer to a specialist.

In December 2012, SmartTots released its first Consensus Statement on the Use of Anesthetics and Sedatives in Children. Its purpose was to provide guidance to health care providers and parents with regard to research findings that suggest anesthetics may be harmful to the developing brain.SmartTots has now updated the statement in light of recent research. The results of these research studies demonstrate that exposure to some anesthetics and sedatives can cause memory and learning difficulties and other harmful changes in the central nervous systems of some laboratory animals.Studies in humans have been less clear, but some studies have suggested that there may also be adverse effects on behavior, learning and memory when children under 4 years of age have prolonged or repeated exposures to anesthesia and surgery.To date, there is no direct evidence that anesthetics are unsafe for children but more research is needed.Listen as Julie Drobish, MD discusses Anesthetic Neurotoxicity in Infants and Children.

We are heading into flu season, so it is time for pediatric offices to get prepared! Certain populations are at a higher risk of having serious flu-related complications, including pregnant women, children younger than 5 years old, children with chronic medical conditions and anyone who lives with any of the above mentioned populations.In this important segment, Dr. Rachel Orscheln discusses this year's flu vaccine, the latest recommendations on the nasal spray and educating patients on the importance of getting the flu vaccination.

Childhood cancer survival is one of the greatest success stories of medicine in recent years. Since the 1970's, the cure rate and number of survivors has grown dramatically. As the number of survivors of childhood cancer continues to grow, so does knowledge of the late effects of cancer treatment.More than two-thirds of young adult survivors of childhood cancer eventually experience at least one "late effect," with some survivors experiencing more. Late effects can occur in any organ or system of the body and vary from person to person.In this segment, Bob Hayashi, MD., discusses late side effects of chemotherapy and when to refer to a specialist in this program at SLCH.

According to the National Cancer Institute, the foundations of cancer treatment have typically been surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Now, however, immunotherapy has become what many in the cancer community now call the "fifth pillar" of cancer treatment.One that is emerging onto the scene is an approach called adoptive cell transfer (ACT), collecting and using patients' own immune cells to treat their cancer. There are several types of ACT, but the one that seems to be closest to producing a treatment approved by the Food and Drug Administration is called CAR T-cell therapy.In this fascinating segment, Dr.Shalini Shenoy discusses this exciting new therapy, when it might be available to the public, and when to refer to a specialist.

Thirty percent of the approximately 12,500 children diagnosed with cancer each year may have a genetic cause for their disease.A promising area of research in childhood cancer is genomic medicine, in which the genes of children with certain cancer diagnoses are closely examined. Advances in this field have shown that certain childhood cancers are related to specific genetic variations. Some of these same genetic changes may also cause other physical or developmental differences, and when grouped together, are considered to be a cancer predisposition syndrome.In this segment, Dr Todd Druley explains how The Pediatric Cancer Predisposition Program at Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children's Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine seeks to identify at-risk children through genetic testing and diagnostic screenings, and can increase the likelihood of early detection and treatment.

St. Louis Children's Hospital? (SLCH) and Siteman Cancer? Center have joined forces ?against pediatric cancer by ?establishing "Siteman Kids at? St. Louis Children's Hospital. ?The partnership is focused? on caring for children and? adolescents with cancer, using the latest, most effective treatments, in a setting that's specifically geared to younger patients and their families.In this segment, Dr. Bob Hayashi discusses Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children's Hospital and the exciting new advancements in pediatric oncology available at SLCH.

The outlook for pediatric kidney transplant has dramatically improved during the last two decades and continues to improve in part due to the surgical techniques developed and ongoing research at Washington University School of Medicine.An early pioneer in pediatric kidney transplant, St. Louis Children's Hospital remains a leader in the field, achieving a graft and patient survival rate well above the national average over the past decade.In this segment, Dr. Vikas Dharnidharka discusses caring for a child that has had a kidney transplant and when to refer to a specialist.

The Torticollis Clinic at St. Louis Children's Hospital provides treatment for mild to severe cases of congenital (present at birth) muscular torticollis. This condition results when an infant's neck muscle is shortened, causing the neck to twist. Although some extremely mild cases may resolve on their own, most need some type of treatment.In this segment, Dr Matthew Dobbs, a Washington University pediatric orthopedic surgeon at St. Louis Children's Hospital, discusses Torticollis (Wry Neck or Loxia) and when to refer to a specialist.

According to the CDC, autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) now affect approximately 1 in 88 American children. ASDs can have lifelong effects on individual functioning in areas such as learning, relationships, and independence in daily life. In this segment, John Constantino, MD, Washington University pediatric psychiatrist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, discusses the importance of a comprehensive assessment for intervention planning—and describes the next steps in the intervention process including development and implementation of an intervention plan. According to the CDC, autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) now affect approximately 1 in 88 American children.  ASDs can have lifelong effects on individual functioning in areas such as learning, relationships, and independence in daily life.    In this segment, John Constantino, MD, Washington University pediatric psychiatrist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, discusses the importance of a comprehensive assessment for intervention planning—and describes the next

Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is a term for a group of problems a baby experiences when withdrawing from exposure to narcotics. It is estimated that 3 to 50 percent of newborn babies have been exposed to maternal drug use, depending on the population and area of the country.In this segment, Dr Steve Liao, MD, Washington University Neonatal-Perinatal medicine physician at St. Louis Children's Hospital, discusses NAS and when a pediatrician should refer to a specialist.

In response to a growing patient population, the newly-established Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital provides care to kids and adolescents who identify as a gender different from the sex they were assigned at birth.Listen in as Christopher Lewis, MD, & Sarah Garwood, MD discuss the cultural shift that has catapulted the need for these services.

Vascular ring refers to a group of abnormalities of the aorta and its branches. It can cause breathing problems and feeding problems in infants and children.In this segment, Peter Manning,MD, discusses vascular ring and the new advancements, technology and research being done to improve treatment outcomes.

According to the NIH, the number of pediatric cancer survivors is growing rapidly as treatments become more effective. However, many current regimens can cause gonadotoxicity and permanent infertility, significantly impacting quality of life of these patients. Numerous treatment options are already available to prevent infertility in patients at risk.In this segment, Dr. Kenan Omurtag, and Dr. Emily Jungheim, both Washington University reproductive endocrinologists and infertility specialists, discuss fertility preservation for pediatric cancer patients, at what point preservation modalities should be considered, when a fertility specialist should be brought in, as well as new scientific advances in this area.

For young athletes, coaches and parents, the beginning of various sports seasons means young athletes of all ages face the challenges of injuries that range from sprains, cuts and bruises on up to more serious problems.This year there's also a new state law in Missouri aimed at protecting student athletes from concussions.Jeffrey Nepple, MD joins the show to help pediatricians, coaches and school personnel take the steps necessary to keep kids on the field and healthy when they play sports.