Archive for 2012

Two of the many things that I fell in love with when I moved from Boston to Portland six years ago was the city’s sense of community pride and its spirit of generosity. Acts of kindness and goodwill are seen every day in so many ways. It’s such a genuine and unique characteristic of our city that the TV show “Portlandia” pokes fun at it. Another fixture of Portland, also featured on “Portlandia,” is the … Read More

As a parent, I’ve always loved September. Meeting the new teacher. Dropping off one of my kids at a new school. The simple joy of new school supplies. In medicine, our “school year” is from July 1 through June 30. Each and every day there are patients who need care, and our students learn medicine by helping provide that care. There are no medical school “back-to-school” sales. But as a teacher, September never fails to … Read More

Snoring during sleep is fairly common in children. As many as 15 in 100 children will have some snoring during sleep. Just because snoring is common doesn’t mean that you never have to worry about it. Snoring can be a symptom of sleep apnea, a more serious underlying problem that can affect your child’s physical and mental well-being. Sleep apnea refers to a narrowing of the throat during sleep and is associated with difficulties moving … Read More

A number of studies link reading and writing literacy to productivity later in life. And research demonstrates that early exposure to books and reading can predict better academic skills in early grade school. Given the substantial evidence on the importance of literacy, OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital participates in an innovative national program called Reach Out and Read, which offers books to children and their parents at well-child check-ups from ages 6 months to 5 years. … Read More

Whooping cough is a respiratory infection sometimes called the “100-Day Cough,” or simply pertussis. This infection, which is caused by the bacteria Bordatella pertussis, has been on the rise since the 1980s. Washington State currently is experiencing an outbreak of whooping cough and the number of cases in Oregon is much higher than the national average. People of all ages can contract this highly contagious illness, but it can be especially dangerous for infants. Most babies … Read More

Seizures are electrical storms that sweep across the surface of the brain, or cortex. The repeated occurrence of seizures is called epilepsy. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, epilepsy affects 2.2 million Americans, including hundreds of thousands of children. Epilepsy is a damaging and dangerous disease in children for many reasons: Children may be injured or lose oxygen during a seizure. Repeated seizures may eventually damage the brain. The medicines used to … Read More

How many vehicles pull up to the drop-off with a kindergartner or first-grader sitting in the front seat with only a seat belt? It’s time we do something. Oregon law requires all children younger than 8 sit in a booster seat unless the seat belt fits correctly. That means by law, every single kindergartner and first-grader, and most second-graders, should be using a booster seat. Is this what you see at the drop-off? As you will … Read More

The principal aim of the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital Development Therapeutics program is to evaluate novel agents for the treatment of pediatric cancer through early phase clinical trials. We conduct Phase I and Phase II trials of potentially promising new drugs for the treatment of all types of childhood cancer. Doernbecher is one of 21 select institutions in North America who comprise the NCI-funded Children’s Oncology Group Phase I Consortium. Through our participation in COG early … Read More

Vaccinations are a powerful, proven tool in our fight to prevent childhood infections. Because of the widespread use of vaccines in the United States, we have seen a dramatic decline in the number of children who suffer from deadly diseases such as polio, chickenpox, hepatitis B and whooping cough. Vaccinating children with all the recommended vaccines, on schedule, is one of the safest and most advanced means of preventing infection. Parents commonly ask whether it … Read More

If this were Jeopardy, the question to that answer would be: “What is a person who has received a medical degree and who practices medicine under the supervision of fully licensed physicians, usually in a hospital or clinic.” Put in simple terms, a resident is a doctor in between medical school and his/her career as a pediatrician. Think of it as an apprenticeship of sorts, a specific area of medicine in which the doctor has chosen to … Read More