Archive for infectious diseases
The polio outbreak of 1955: Lessons from an epidemic
“This is going to be a tough year.” Claire McCarthy was a young physical therapist in early March 1955 when orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Grice, made this observation. At the time, Boston Children’s Hospital was the receiving center for adults and children with polio in New England. The hospital typically saw an upsurge in cases ... Read More
More COVID-19 myths and facts: Test your knowledge
As the coronavirus outbreak continues to evolve, experts are learning more about COVID-19 every day, including how it’s spread, possible symptoms, and potential treatments. But with social media and the constant news stream, it can be hard to separate myth from fact. Test your knowledge of COVID-19 with our quiz. Take our previous COVID-19 quiz ... Read More
COVID-19 and a serious inflammatory syndrome in children: Unpacking recent warnings
On April 27, an alert circulated from the U.K. about multi-system inflammatory disease in children with COVID-19, based on a small rise in the number of critically ill children with this illness in England. Picked up by multiple media outlets, the alert cited features of toxic shock syndrome and incomplete Kawasaki disease, with some children ... Read More
If someone in your house has COVID-19
If you or someone in your house has COVID-19, how can you protect other family members from infection when everyone is living in close quarters? Some of the recommendations below may be difficult, especially if you live in a small space with several people. Do your best, and remember the two most important things everyone ... Read More
COVID-19: Separate fact from fiction
With all news outlets and social media turned to 24/7 coverage of COVID-19, it can be hard to keep up with the latest news — and even harder to tell fact from fiction. Take this quiz to test your knowledge of the actual COVID-19 facts. Get more answers about Boston Children’s response to COVID-19. Share this:
Otolaryngology care during the COVID-19 pandemic
With the rapid spread of COVID-19, health care institutions around the globe have quickly revised their standard practices and policies to address the crisis. Protecting clinicians from infection is more critical than ever, particularly in high-risk fields such as otolaryngology. Yet the lack of clear guidelines and shortages of testing materials and personal protective equipment ... Read More
Hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19: What we know so far
Despite the current hype, infectious disease experts and others are cautious about using chloroquine drugs in the current COVID-19 pandemic. While the urgent need for COVID-19 treatments justifies the rapid pace of trials, several concerns have been raised related to the limitations of studies published so far. Kristin Moffitt, MD The drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine ... Read More
Could plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients help others?
As new cases of COVID-19 mount daily, treatment revolves around supportive therapy to reduce symptoms, meaning there are no treatments shown to slow down or kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus. One new idea actually isn’t so new: transfusing blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients into patients currently sick with the disease. Last week, the Food and Drug ... Read More
COVID-19 and children: Answers from a Boston Children’s Hospital expert
Parents around the world have been glued to news outlets for the past few weeks, looking for information about COVID-19 and how it might affect their kids. Although early reports from China indicated that most children and teens infected with COVID-19 only had mild to moderate symptoms, many parents are still understandably nervous about how ... Read More
COVID-19 and children: Understanding the science
As information on COVID-19 pours in from all kinds of sources, not all of them reliable, we wanted to bring you the facts about how children and teens appear to be responding to the infection. In recent weeks, several highly respected medical journals have published studies and commentaries based on observations in children and teens ... Read More