Pediatrics blog
Clinical teaching and practical ideas for your next study session.
Neonatal Polycythemia SAQs: Calculate the Partial Exchange Volume
A focused SAQ guide to estimating partial-exchange volume in symptomatic neonatal polycythemia, checking your hematocrit arithmetic, and handling protocol-dependent assumptions.
Food Allergy and Asthma: Use the Risk Flag Without Overcalling It
Asthma is a classic risk flag in fatal food-anaphylaxis teaching, not an individual prediction. Learn what it changes after stabilization: asthma-control review, reaction recognition, and epinephrine readiness.
Yellow Fever Before Nigeria: A Pediatric Timing Dilemma
Does the child need yellow-fever vaccination for entry, exposure prevention, or both—and can she receive an appropriately spaced primary dose in time before Nigeria travel after recent varicella? Compare entry guidance with vaccine spacing, protection timing, and the 10-day ICVP rule before deciding whether to delay travel.
Pediatric DKA Boards: What a Potassium of 4.2 Means for IV Fluids
Normal serum potassium in pediatric DKA does not mean normal body stores. Practice turning a potassium of 4.2 mmol/L after urine output into a safe, monitored IV-fluid plan.
Pediatric Status Asthmaticus: Avoid Both Fluid Depletion and Overload
Fluid decisions in severe pediatric asthma are not a choice between routine boluses and automatic restriction. Separate resuscitation, deficit replacement, and maintenance—and do not mistake elevated ADH for SIADH.
A 2-Year-Old Missed the 12-Month Visits: Rebuild the Vaccine Plan Without Restarting
A toddler who missed several vaccine visits needs an antigen-by-antigen catch-up plan—not a reset. Learn which records matter, what may be due now, and which doses follow different age rules.
Pediatric Bronchoscopy MCQs: The Rigid Scope’s Extraction Advantage
When a pediatric airway foreign-body question asks about removal, connect the rigid scope’s larger hollow lumen and ventilation access to the extraction task—without claiming flexible scopes cannot retrieve objects.
Pediatric Iron-Deficiency Anemia SAQs: Don’t Double-Count TSAT
A short answer asking for three iron findings also tests your lab logic: distinguish iron stores, circulating iron, and transport capacity—and recognize that transferrin saturation is calculated, not independent of serum iron and TIBC.
Acyclovir Resistance in Children: Why Valacyclovir May Fail
Viral thymidine kinase activates acyclovir—and creates a resistance weak point. Learn why switching to valacyclovir may not help persistent pediatric HSV.
Central Precocious Puberty: Why Routine LH Checks Mislead
Routine LH checks can look pubertal despite effective suppression. Learn what to follow during GnRH-agonist treatment and when targeted testing is warranted.
Pediatric LDL-C 175: Don’t Mix Legacy and 2026 Statin Rules
An LDL-C of 175 mg/dL after lifestyle therapy is not a stand-alone statin answer. Separate the legacy NHLBI risk-factor table from the 2026 pediatric familial hypercholesterolemia recommendation—and practice stating what the stem does and does not establish.
Persistent Fever After Pediatric UTI: When Acute Ultrasound Matters
Persistent fever during pediatric UTI treatment is a reassessment signal, not a diagnosis. Learn when acute renal-bladder ultrasound may uncover a complication—and how that differs from imaging after recovery.