Editor's note: The 2017 AAP National Conference & Exhibition will take place from Sept. 16-19 in Chicago.
A limping child presents to your office for care. When do you need an X-ray? What part of the leg do you image? When should you get an ultrasound? Should you forgo imaging studies altogether?
Cases like this will be presented during an audience response session titled “What Does the X-Ray Show? Imaging and Common Pediatric Office Problems (A4084)” from 2:00-3:30 pm Tuesday in McCormick Place West, W196 C.
“Our goal is for pediatricians in attendance to learn when radiologic exams — and which ones — would be appropriate to order for common pediatric office complaints,” said Adina Alazraki, MD, FAAP, associate professor of pediatrics and radiology, Emory University School of Medicine, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. “Additionally, we want to educate pediatricians on resources that are readily available from the American College of Radiology (ACR) to help them choose the best test for the problem.”
Dr. Alazraki will lead the session with Ellen Benya, MD, FAAP, ultrasound section chief, Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Dr. Alazraki is a member of the AAP Section on Radiology, and Dr. Benya is a member of the section’s executive committee.
Pediatricians are familiar with looking at X-rays to detect fractures and pneumonia but may ask pediatric radiologists for help when the finding is not obvious, Dr. Alazraki said.
“Pediatric radiologists are able to detect subtle findings on radiologic studies, which can greatly aid diagnosis,” she said. “Working together with pediatricians is an important part of pediatric radiology. We will show cases that are straightforward but others that highlight when the finding may not be so obvious to the untrained eye.”
Cases covered during the session may include complaints of cough, abdominal pain and back pain. For each case, the presenters will use the ACR Appropriateness Criteria and demonstrate how and why these criteria for imaging were established.
Dr. Alazraki and Dr. Benya also will use an audience response system to keep attendees engaged. They will ask the audience questions to gauge their knowledge of appropriate ordering and will pose questions about each case such as “What would you order?” and “What do you think the diagnosis is?”
“We would love to invite all pediatricians to join us for a fun and informative session,” Dr. Alazraki said. “The AAP Section on Radiology has always enjoyed doing audience response sessions at the National Conference and is looking forward to this office-based problem-solving session.”
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