Let Me Spell It Out: The Impact of Microaggression on the Health Care Professional.

CASE: Rachel is a 10-year-old White girl with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and a history of trauma who presented for evaluation by Dr. Narayanaswamy, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician. A pediatric resident observed the visit with permission from Rachel's parents.During the visit, Dr. Narayanaswamy spoke to Rachel's case manager over the phone to advocate for a trauma-based day treatment program at her school. At the end of the call, the case manager asked the physician for her full name. Dr. Narayanaswamy responded with her name and asked the case manager, "Would you like me to spell it?" At that time, Rachel's father began to laugh, shook his head, and incredulously remarked, "Ugh, yeah you need to spell it." Dr. Narayanaswamy ignored the comment and completed the phone call.After the visit, Dr. Narayanaswamy explained to the resident that the father's derisive laughter was a microaggression. The resident appreciated the observation and, after a pause, asked why she chose not to defend herself when the microaggression occurred. Dr. Narayanaswamy reflected that she had refrained from responding to Rachel's father over concern that he would retaliate by providing low ratings on the postvisit patient satisfaction survey sent to all patients who received care at the institution. The granular survey results, comprising ratings in each survey subheading category for each clinician, are made public to members of her division each quarter, and low ratings are scrutinized by the leadership. Dr. Narayanaswamy thought it unfortunate that she felt inhibited in her response because this deprived the resident of observing ways to address microaggressions during an encounter, deprived herself the opportunity to respond directly to Rachel's father, and deprived Rachel from an instructive moment about racial empathy.Dr. Narayanaswamy wrote a letter about the incident to the chief of clinical affairs to inquire what recourse clinicians had in these situations and whether certain patient encounters could be flagged to prevent the postvisit patient survey from being automatically sent. The chief responded that the incident was unfortunate and praised Dr. Narayanaswamy's restraint and professionalism but denied her request to have postvisit surveys blocked for certain encounters. He shared that if a clinician were to be dissatisfied with a visit satisfaction rating, the clinician could petition for a review, and a committee would subsequently determine whether the review could be removed.How can health care professionals respond to microaggressions while maintaining a therapeutic alliance with the patient/family members and how can institutions support health care professionals in this endeavor?

Increased Risk of Sub-Clinical Blood Lead Levels in the 20-County Metro Atlanta, Georgia Area-A Laboratory Surveillance-Based Study.

Lead (Pb) is a naturally occurring, highly toxic metal that has adverse effects on children across a range of exposure levels. Limited screening programs leave many children at risk for chronic low-level lead exposure and there is little understanding of what factors may be used to identify children at risk. We characterize the distribution of blood lead levels (BLLs) in children aged 0-72 months and their associations with sociodemographic and area-level variables. Data from the Georgia Department of Public Health's Healthy Homes for Lead Prevention Program surveillance database was used to describe the distribution of BLLs in children living in the metro Atlanta area from 2010 to 2018. Residential addresses were geocoded, and "Hotspot" analyses were performed to determine if BLLs were spatially clustered. Multilevel regression models were used to identify factors associated with clinical BBLs (≥5 µg/dL) and sub-clinical BLLs (2 to <5 µg/dL). From 2010 to 2018, geographically defined hotspots for both clinical and sub-clinical BLLs diffused from the city-central area of Atlanta into suburban areas. Multilevel regression analysis revealed non-Medicaid insurance, the proportion of renters in a given geographical area, and proportion of individuals with a GED/high school diploma as predictors that distinguish children with BLLs 2 to <5 µg/dL from those with lower (<2 µg/dL) or higher (≥5 µg/dL) BLLs. Over half of the study children had BLLs between 2 and 5 µg/dL, a range that does not currently trigger public health measures but that could result in adverse developmental outcomes if ignored.

Restless legs syndrome in children with chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is considerably more common among adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) than in the general population and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. There is limited information on RLS in children with CKD. Failure to account for conditions that might mimic RLS can lead to overdiagnosis of this syndrome. METHODS: In a prospective, cross-sectional study, RLS prevalence was compared between pediatric CKD patients and healthy children. RLS was assessed via a questionnaire that included exclusion of mimics. Sleep characteristics and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were also assessed. RESULTS: Restless legs syndrome was more prevalent in CKD patients (n = 124) than in 85 normal children (15.3 vs. 5.9 %; p = 0.04). There was no significant association between RLS and CKD stage, CKD etiology, CKD duration, and dialysis or transplant status. Children with RLS were more likely to rate their sleep quality as fairly bad or very bad (41.2 vs. 8.8 %; p = 0.003) and report using sleep medications (42.1 vs. 14.7 %; p = 0.01). RLS was associated with lower HRQoL by parent report (p = 0.03). Only five of the 19 patients (26.3 %) with CKD and RLS had discussed RLS symptoms with a healthcare provider, and only one of these patients had been diagnosed with RLS prior to this study. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of RLS is increased in children with CKD and appears to be underdiagnosed. Systematic screening for RLS and sleep problems would therefore appear to be warranted in children with CKD.