Shoals Pediatric Group

02/24/2026

Medical professionals (or medical mamas!) -- what is the hardest word for you to say and/ or spell? For me, "arrhythmia" and "syncytial" are SO hard to spell.

02/23/2026

Yes! My eight-year-old still sits in a booster seat and will continue to for a while! The seatbelt should cross your child's chest, not his or her neck.

Under 4′9″? It’s booster time! When was the last time you measured your child? If they are under 4′9″ they should be riding in a booster seat for their safety.

Learn more: tntrafficsafety.org/cps

02/23/2026

02/22/2026

One of the catalysts for the social media addiction debate was a 2024 book called "The Anxious Generation" by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. His new book tries to help parents and kids break free from screens. Haidt joins CBS News to discuss Mark Zuckerberg, the ongoing social media addiction t...

02/20/2026

This!! Especially the line about us worrying about your kids. I do it all the time - mine and yours! 🥰

02/19/2026

So cool!

In the fight against common childhood illnesses, scientists have turned to an unusual source: the blood of paediatricians. It turns out that antibodies harvested from their blood are up to 25 times better at protecting against the common respiratory infection RSV than existing antibody therapies.

02/18/2026

Y'all are smart! Many of you correctly guessed what my top two after-hours phone calls are regarding high fevers (especially in babies) and toddler falls, covered here.

First thing I'll say, is that I never mind a phone call regarding either of these. If I can save you a trip to the ER at 7PM, I'm happy to do so. Concerning falls, we use a really cool tool called the PECARN head injury algorithm (linked in comments) to help us decide what we, as medical providers, should do next. Namely, should we obtain CT or not?

CT's ("cat scans") are the imaging of choice to look for a brain bleed. They're fast, easy, and accurate. However, they use a lot of radiation. Because of this, we want to limit the number of CT's we perform on kids' brains, especially when they're little and growing. The PECARN assessment tool came about to help decide when a CT is warranted. It splits kids into two categories, under and over 2 years of age, and it focuses on a few key details regarding your child's fall. These are:

1. Is there any altered mental status or a skull fracture we can feel? Automatic CT. (Of note, sleepiness does NOT always mean altered mental status! Many kids are sleepy after a fall, because it can be a traumatic and emotional event for the family.)

2. Is the child acting normally, and was there any loss of consciousness >5 second or vomiting after the event? CT vs prolonged observation in the ER or clinic. (Of note, this usually means vomiting immediately after. This does not necessarily include a child who got very upset and threw up after crying hard, which happens often.)

3. What the mechanism of injury severe? If yes, CT vs observation in the ER or clinic. If no (and everything else was no), CT not recommended. Severe mechanisms include fall from >3 feet, car accident, pedestrian or bike rider hit by a car. A child falling from standing height almost never warrants a CT. Notice I said "almost"! There are exceptions, and this is when talking to a medical professional is important.

Fortunately, the providers in our local ER follow these guidelines well, which has greatly reduced the number of unnecessary CT's our kids are getting. Most of these kids follow-up with us the next day in the office.

Feel free to check out the Head Injury Risk Calculator below. It's pretty cool to play around with. However, please do not ever use this tool on your own. There are many nuances that are involved, and talking to your pediatrician is important before deciding what to do next.

-Dr. Kelley

Picture of my dramatic son, who did not fall, but was VERY UPSET about something.

02/17/2026

What are the most common reasons I get phone calls after work? I'll do a post on one of those tomorrow!

02/16/2026

We've had more "No Show" appointments than usual lately. Please make every effort possible to come to your appointment or cancel in a timely manner. Repeat "no shows" may result in dismissal from our practice. If you are not receiving text message reminders, please call our office so we can get that set up for you.

02/16/2026

We don’t have to do it all, all the time.

02/15/2026