Dear Friends,
Another week has elapsed during the COVID19 pandemic but unfortunately the metaphor of the terrifying rollercoaster just ascending the steep climb appears to be where we are currently placed. Our institutions and practices are scrambling to keep up with the dizzying amount of information as society has had to adjust to a completely new reality in the face of uncertainty and rapidly changing, sometimes even contradictory information. Summoning the spirit of Franklin Roosevelt’s stirring declaration in his first inaugural address to an anxious country mired in a global Depression--“the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”—we, the children and grandchildren of those he roused and reassured, are going to keep our chins up and pull through these dark times together.
This submission is to provide a
CNS Telemedicine Toolkit for Child Neurologists
as virtual visits have become the new norm for pediatric neurologic practice and need to be incorporated as efficiently and expertly as possible. The toolkit was drafted by the leadership of our Telemedicine SIG,
Drs. Sucheta Joshi
from University of Michigan and
Charuta Joshi
at Colorado Children’s.
Please note that since this was posted online last week, there have been rule changes that are not reflected in the online version but will be contained in the upcoming print version. In addition, Bruce has taped a terrific three-minute educational piece on
NeuroByte
with truly high-yield information that is available to all: for AAN Members, the best link is
https://learning.aan.com/diweb/catalog/launch/package/4/sid/84931782
;
for non-members, use
bit.ly/3aHY3l5
.
Also, we have received multiple questions and heard about many different scenarios involving infantile spasm patients and management with corticosteroids. Please be aware that the CNS Practice Committee, chaired by
Jeff Waugh, MD, PhD,
and the Pediatric Epilepsy Research Consortium (PERC) are preparing a statement that will address these issues very directly; we anticipate distribution to the Society membership early this week. The ongoing efforts of
Drs. Zach Grinspan, Kelly Knupp, John Mytinger, Chellamani Harini, Chris Yuskaitis, and Tobi Loddenkemper
are gratefully acknowledged in this effort as well as others from PERC and the Practice Committee who are actively engaged in a final review as I write this message.
Finally, I am pleased to report the CNS has joined a multi-organizational collaborative led by
Eileen Murray
and
Bill Gaillard, MD
from the AES that includes representatives from the AAN, ACNS, CNF, EFA, ILAE, NAEC, and potentially other societies; we will coordinate informational materials and make them available to all each step of the way.
Thanks and, again, we’ll keep our collective chin up!
Phil
Phillip L. Pearl MD
President, Child Neurology Society
Director of Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology
William G. Lennox Chair, Department of Neurology
Boston Children’s Hospital
Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
Music and Health Institute, Berklee College of Music
Boston, MA
