Yolanda Evans, MD, Seattle Children’s
Today, nearly one in five children has a mental, emotional or behavioral disorder. While some seek relief from their distress using positive coping methods, others may choose methods that are harmful and potentially life-threatening.
Adolescent Medicine Specialist Dr. Yolanda Evans has seen a recent increase in teens coming to Seattle Children’s with self-injuries, such as cutting, burning, pinching and scratching, among others.
“It’s possible the increase may be partly due to the impact social media and technology has on the current generation,” Evans says. “Kids might see their peers online engaging in self-harming behavior as a way to cope with their emotions, influencing them to replicate that type of behavior.”
In the age of viral Internet challenges, such behaviors have become gamified — reaching an even broader group of young people. One, called the “blue whale challenge,” encouraged teens to complete 50 acts of self-harm over 50 days, ending in suicide by the final day.
However, Evans says people who injure themselves are not always suicidal. Read on to learn more about nonsuicidal self-injury, how you can identify it and how to address it.
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Join us Thursday mornings from 8 to 9 a.m. for presentations by pediatric healthcare experts. All are welcome at this weekly free Category 1 CME event. Location: Wright Auditorium, Seattle Children’s. Or watch the live Webcast.
July 4, 2019 – Holiday (no session)
July 11, 2019 – Azithromycin: From Middle Earth and Beyond. Rasa Izadnegahdar, MD, MPH;
Deputy Director and Co-Leader of the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Discovery and Tools Portfolio, Global Health Division, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Hospital Medicine, Seattle Children’s.
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A patient who arrived at our Emergency Department (ED) on June 22, June 25 and June 26 has tested positive for measles. During each visit, ED staff members followed the appropriate screening processes but the patient’s symptoms did not suggest measles until their third visit on June 26. Immediately, we implemented infection control procedures, which include isolating the patient and their family. As part of our standard process, we reported the event to King County Public Health.
What do I need to know?
We are currently contacting the families of patients who may have been exposed, providing information about exposure dates and disease symptoms. If your patient or family has a concern, please direct them to visit the King County Public Health website at kingcounty.gov/measles.
During a recent air test at Seattle Children’s main campus hospital, we found Aspergillus in some of Seattle Children’s operating rooms and equipment storage rooms. Aspergillus is a common type of mold found in the environment and the air we breathe, both indoors and outside. In most cases, it does not cause health problems. However, in rare instances Aspergillus can cause complications for surgical patients, especially those whose immune systems are compromised.
Patient safety is our priority, and the affected operating rooms are closed as we work with outside experts to identify and fix the issues. We have postponed or diverted some non-emergent surgeries. We also have reported the situation to the Washington State Department of Health.
We are sorry and disappointed this happened. We are committed to caring for any patient who may be adversely impacted and want to assure you that we are taking remedial steps identified by external experts to address the situation.
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Randall Bly
What are cranial base diagnoses?
Dr. Randall Bly, principal investigator, Seattle Children’s: These are diagnoses of tumors or other lesions in the middle of the head. The cranial base is also sometimes called the skull base. Diagnoses can include nasal dermoids, orbital tumors, cholesterol granulomas, craniopharyngiomas, schwannomas, paranasal sinus tumors, pituitary adenomas, inverted papillomas, neurofibromas, angiofibromas, glomus tumors, esthesioneuroblastomas and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks.
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A new clinical standard work (CSW) pathway focuses on the experience of patients with sacral dimples referred to the Neurosurgery or Neurodevelopment clinic. The pathway identifies a consistent process for the many patient visits and interactions regarding referral, diagnosis and preop and postop management. Representatives from Urology and Radiology Anesthesia assisted in the creation of this pathway.
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Seattle Children’s Outreach Education is offering a one-day PALS Provider Course for Physicians and Advanced Practitioners on Friday, September 6, 2019, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Register here. The course offers morning practice with intra-osseous vascular access, respiratory emergency management, cardiac electricity skills and high-quality Basic Life Support (BLS) skills.
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The 15th Annual Pediatric Bioethics Conference will be held July 19 to 20 at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center on the Seattle waterfront. The conference is sponsored by Seattle Children’s Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics. This year’s theme is “Defining Moments in Pediatric Bioethics: Future Insights From Past Controversies.” Join a distinguished group of bioethicists for challenging and illuminating presentations and discussions exploring the complex questions this topic raises. Early-registration pricing ends June 14.
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Adolescent patients who received an electronic health screening tool prior to their primary care checkup were more likely to their reduce risky behaviors, according to a recent study of 300 adolescents. The screening tool used in the study was designed to also provide motivational feedback directly to the teens. Those who were given the electronic screening tool were more likely to report that their doctor counseled them about their risk behaviors and more likely to reduce those behaviors three months later, according to Dr. Cari McCarty, investigator with Seattle Children’s Research Institute and a research professor at the University of Washington, who participated in the study.
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Children and young adults with a range of different childhood cancers are finding new hope in chimeric antigen receptor cell (CAR T-cell) trials offered at Seattle Children’s. CAR T-cell immunotherapy is one of the most promising experimental cancer therapies of our time. The ongoing clinical trials in Seattle were developed at Seattle Children’s Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research and Immunotherapy Integration Hub and represent the most comprehensive CAR T-cell immunotherapy program for pediatric patients anywhere, treating more types of childhood cancers using CAR T-cell therapies than any other facility worldwide.
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