Critical Pediatric Conditions we Treat

Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis is a brain disorder that occurs more often in children than adults. It involves an inflammatory response in the brain causing alteration of mental state and other neurologic symptoms.

Acute Kidney Injury

When the kidneys are suddenly damaged and cannot perform their normal function of removing extra fluid, salts, waste and toxins from the blood, the condition is known as acute kidney injury.

Aneurysms

An aneurysm is a bulging weak spot in the wall of an artery and frequently occurs where arteries branch (usually in the brain, but can occur in other blood vessels, such as the aorta and peripheral blood vessels).

Botulism

Botulism is an illness caused by a toxin produced by bacteria called Clostridium botulinum that normally live in the soil, dust and cooked agricultural products.

Cardiac Arrhythmia

Any form of abnormality with the rhythm of your heartbeat, whether it’s fast, slow or irregular, is known as a cardiac arrhythmia.

Chronic Lung Disease

Chronic lung disease is the term used for long term breathing problems that can occur after birth from lung injury, usually in very prematurely born infants.

Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia

The diaphragm is the muscular boundary that helps separate the contents of the chest from those of the abdomen. When there’s a hole within the diaphragm of a growing fetus while it’s in the mother’s womb, this is known as a congenital diaphragmatic hernia, or CDH.

Congenital Heart Defects/Disease

Any unusual physical feature or health problem that is present at the birth of a baby is known as a birth defect or a congenital anomaly.

Demyelinating Disease

Any disease that causes damage to the myelin sheath that slows or stops nerve signals is called a demyelinating disease.

Diabetes Insipidus

Diabetes insipidus is a rare disorder characterized by extreme thirst and the passing of large amounts of dilute urine.

Electrolyte Imbalance

When electrolytes are out of balance in the body (either too high or too low) they cause problems in many organ or systems.

Encephalitis

Encephalitis is a rare inflammation of the brain, which has a number of causes.

Epiglottitis

The epiglottis is a small flap of tissue that covers the windpipe and directs food to the esophagus. When the epiglottis swells and prevents air from flowing into the lungs, this is known as epiglottitis. It can be life threatening.

Gastroesophageal Reflux (GE Reflux)

When digestive acids from the stomach back up or reflux back up the food pipe causing heartburn it's called gastroesophageal reflux.

GI Bleeding

Any internal bleeding that originates anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract is known as GI bleeding.

Glomerulonephritis

Glomerulonephritis is an acute or chronic inflammatory disease of the glomeruli which prevents the kidneys from functioning properly.

Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome

Hemolytic uremic syndrome is a fairly uncommon life-threatening form of kidney disease which can result in kidney failure.

Hemorrhagic Stroke

Bleeding into the brain (also known as an intracerebral hemorrhage) occurs after either a clot forms in a vessel carrying blood to it or a brain blood vessel breaks because of an abnormality or disease of the blood vessel.

Hirschsprung's Disease

Hirschsprung's disease describes a congenital condition where nerve cells in the wall of the large bowel that normally develop during intrauterine development are missing.

Hydrocephalus

Hydrocephalus is primarily an excessive accumulation of fluid in the brain. There are many cause of hydrocephalus, which can be congenital or acquired in nature. In some children, the cause remains unknown.

Hyperthyroidism

The thyroid gland produces hormones that are critical to the body’s metabolism, among other bodily functions. When the gland produces too much of the hormones thyroxine and triiodothyronine (T4 and T3), the result is hyperthyroidism.

Kawasaki Disease

When inflammation occurs in the coronary arteries and other medium-sized arteries throughout the body, the condition is known as Kawasaki disease.

Meningitis

Meningitis is an infection that causes inflammation of the linings that cover the spinal cord and the brain.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C)

MIS-C is a serious health condition found in children that appears to be associated with COVID-19 (coronavirus).

Nephrotic Syndrome

Nephrotic syndrome is a group of symptoms caused by kidney damage which results in children generally between the ages of 2-6 years, leaking a protein normally found in blood, into the urine.

Neuromuscular Disorders

Neuromuscular diseases are a large complex group of different types of disorders (for example muscular dystrophies) which affect the cells in the spinal cord, the nerves, the junction between the nerve and muscle (neuromuscular junction) and/or the muscles, that allow for muscle movement.

Pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is an abdominal organ found in the upper part of the abdomen which plays an important role in digestion and controlling the body’s blood sugar.

Peptic Ulcers

An ulcer is an open sore in the skin, or in the lining tissue of the mouth to the anus (mucus membranes of the gastrointestinal tract ).

Pheochromocytomas

A pheochromocytoma is a rare type of non-cancerous tumor in children that arises in the adrenal gland, which are organs that lie just above the kidneys that secretes a group of chemicals, or hormones, that are part of the body’s response to danger known as “flight or fight” response (e.g. they regulate heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, pupil size, change blood flow from skin to muscles among other functions..

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is a type of lung infection/inflammation which may occur at any age though most often in infants and young children.

Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Respiratory distress syndrome is one of the most common clinical conditions involving the lungs seen in premature babies. It involves breathing difficulties in the babies, as well as other potential complications.

Sepsis

Sepsis is a complication that can occur in the body’s bloodstream as the result of an infection.

Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle cell disease is a group of familial red blood cell disorders. Sickle cell disease causes the red blood cells to be oddly shaped, and have difficulty flowing through the blood vessels properly which causes them to break up easily resulting in anemia and damage to the organs.

Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a disorder in which breathing is blocked and interrupted for periods of 5 to 10 seconds or more while sleeping.

Spinal Cord Injury

The spinal cord is a group of nerves that run down the back of a person that carries messages from the brain to the rest of the body. Acute spinal cord injury in children is fairly uncommon, frequently occurs in adolescents/ young adults and are often male.

Stomach and Duodenal Ulcers

Stomach and duodenal ulcers occur when the lining of the stomach or intestines become damaged for numerous reasons. This can lead to several symptoms, most commonly burning stomach pain.

Stroke/Cerebrovascular Aneurysm

A cerebrovascular aneurysm describes a brain blood vessel when it's wall has become weak, bulges and balloons, and fills with blood, put ting pressure on brain tissue or nearby nerves.

Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone Secretion

Antidiuretic hormone, or ADH, is a substance produced by the pituitary that controls how much water the body excretes in the urine. When syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH) is present, the body retains too much water.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus, or lupus, is a disease that can impact many different parts of the body, including the skin, joints, lungs, heart, blood vessels and more.

Thrombocytopenia

Thrombocytopenia is the condition where there is a low platelet count and this results in bleeding because the blood doesn't clot properly.

Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis

Toxic epidermal necrolysis is a dangerous life-threatening skin disorder characterized by the skin blistering and sloughing off in large pieces, leading to large raw exposed areas that are prone to infection.

Toxic Shock Syndrome

TSS is the description of a variety of clinical signs and symptoms that result from the toxins produced by a bacterial infection. TSS is rare, can affect anyone but is more common in children, the elderly and young women whose tampons may become infected with bacteria.

Tracheomalacia

When the walls of the trachea (windpipe) are weak or floppy, the result is tracheomalacia. This causes the windpipe to actually collapse as the person is breathing and make it difficult to draw a breath.

Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), in which the inner lining of the large intestine ( colon ) and rectum become inflamed, on and off, causing symptoms, which come and go.