Pediatric Resources

Screening Guidelines, Tools, and Recommendations

The following resources on pediatric preventive screening are presented alphabetically by topic:

Anemia

• Iron-Deficiency Anemia chapter in Bright Futures in Practice: Nutrition
• Recommendations to Prevent and Control Iron Deficiency in the United States.

Blood Pressure

• Revised Blood Pressure Tables for Children and Adolescents (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Cholesterol

• Cholesterol in childhood (American Academy of Pediatrics)
• Hyperlipidemia chapter in Bright Futures in Practice: Nutrition

Developmental and Behavioral

• American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
  
  Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ)
• Ages & Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE2)
• Behavioral and Mental Health Resources (American Academy of Pediatrics)
• Bright Futures in Practice: Mental Health–Volume I, Practice Guide (Downloadable as PDF files)
• Bright Futures in Practice: Mental Health–Volume II, Toolkit (Downloadable as PDF files)
• Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Online
• Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development
• Identifying Infants and Young Children With Developmental Disorders in the Medical Home: An Algorithm for Developmental Surveillance and Screening, developed by the Council on Children With Disabilities, Section on Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, Bright Futures Steering Committee and Medical Home Initiatives for Children With Special Needs Project Advisory Committee.
• Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Challenges in CHildren and Adolescents (NCEMCH)
• The Role of Public Health Professionals (Center for Mental Health in Schools: School Mental Health Project)
• The Role of Primary Care Health Professionals (Center for Mental Health in Schools: School Mental Health Project)
• Pediatric Symptom Checklist and Pediatric Symptom Checklist—Youth Report (Y-PSC) from the Bright Futures in Practice: Mental Health: Toolkit (PDF)
• PEDS: Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status
• Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics
• Tool for Documentation Reimbursement of Developmental Assessment Services from the Bright Futures in Practice: Mental Health: Toolkit (PDF)
• What to Expect & When to Seek Help: Bright Futures Tools to Promote Social and Emotional Development Infancy, Early Childhood, Middle Childhood, and Adolescence.
• Where to Seek Help: Referral Tool for Providers

Growth Assessment and Measurement

• CDC Growth Charts
• Accurately Weighing and Measuring: Technique (Maternal and Child Health Bureau)
• BMI for Children and Teens
• BMI Calculator (developed by the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health). Quickly compute BMI by entering weight and height using Standard or Metric measures.
• Child and Teen BMI Calculator
• Measuring Head Circumference (Maternal and Child Health Bureau)

Hearing

See Vision and Hearing, below

HIV/AIDS

• HIV Counseling, Testing, and Referral (American Association of Family Physicians)
• Revised Guidelines for HIV Counseling, Testing, and Referral
• Revised Recommendations for HIV Screening of Pregnant Women

Lead

• Lead Exposure in Children: Prevention, Detection, and Management (American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Environmental Health)
• Verbal Lead Risk Assessment Questionnaire (Taken from CDC's Screening Young Children for Lead Poisoning: Guidance for State and Local Public Health Officials)
• Recommendations for Blood Lead Screening of Young Children Enrolled in Medicaid: Targeting a Group at High Risk
• Screening Young Children for Lead Poisoning: Guidance for State and Local Public Health Officials

Newborn Screening

• National Newborn Screening and Genetics Resource Center (PDF) - provides state-specific screening contacts
• Newborn Screening Fact Sheets (PDF) (American Academy of Pediatrics)
• Newborn Screening Tests Fact Sheet (March of Dimes)

Nutrition

• American Dietetic Association
• Bright Futures in Practice: Nutrition Pocket Guide
• Coordination Strategies Handbook: A Guide for WIC and Primary Care Professionals (USDA, Food & Nutrition Service)
• My Plate Food Guide
• Key Indicators of Nutrition Risk (PDF) from Bright Futures in Practice: Nutrition Pocket Guide
• USDA, Food and Nutrition Service
• Women, Infants, and Children Program
• WIC Works Resource System (WIC Program)

Oral Health

• American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
• American Dental Hygienists’ Association
• Bright Futures Oral Health Toolbox (National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center)
• Bright Futures in Practice: Oral Health Pocket Guide
• Caries Risk Assessment Tool (American Academy of Pediatrics)
• A Guide to Children’s Dental Care in Medicaid (PDF) (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
• National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center
• Oral Health Risk Assessment, Screening, and Follow-up Form
• Two Healthy Smiles: Tips to Keep You and Your Baby Healthy. Developed by Georgetown University, this brochure is designed to educate women about the importance of oral hygiene and oral health care during pregnancy. Topics include brushing, flossing, eating healthy foods, and getting dental checkups and treatment. Additional topics include the impact of hormonal changes during pregnancy on gum health, caring for an infant's gums and teeth, and finding a dentist.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)

• Recommendations for the Laboratory-Based Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae
• CDC's Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines
• STI Fact sheets (En Español)

Tuberculosis

• Tuberculine Skin Testing in Children (NCBI, NLM, NIH)
• Controlling Tuberculosis in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Vision and Hearing

Two to three out of every 1,000 children are born with hearing impairments, and many more children develop hearing problems after birth. Hearing impairments can lead to other problems, including interference with normal language development in young children. They can also delay a child’s social, emotional, and academic development. Additionally, about a quarter of all school-aged children have a significant vision problem. Common childhood eye conditions include nearsightedness, lazy eye, and misalignment of the eyes. Vision problems can be evidence of serious, degenerative conditions, and can also lead to delays in learning and social development.

Hearing and vision screenings are a required part of every well-child visit so that primary care providers can assist in identifying children with hearing and vision problems and refer them to the appropriate specialists for further evaluation and treatment. Hearing and vision screenings are covered by DC Medicaid under the EPSDT benefit.  For more information on how often hearing and vision screenings should be administered, check out the DC Health Check periodicity schedule.

Resources

Bright Futures offers clinical guidance on how to administer hearing screenings during well-child visits based on the age of a child.  The American Academy of Pediatrics publication, Eye Examination in Infants, Children, and Young Adults by Pediatricians, also provides clinical guidance on how to administer vision screenings during a well-child visit. The NHeLP issue brief, Vision Services for Children on Medicaid, provides an in-depth overview of vision service Medicaid coverage under EPSDT. 

Referring Families to Specialists

When a child fails a hearing and/or vision screening, primary care providers should refer them to the appropriate specialist for further evaluation and treatment. Treatment services for both vision and hearing services are covered by Medicaid under EPSDT. For more information on Medicaid covered services for children and adolescents, check out the DC HealthCheck brochure. To help families find a specialist that is accepting DC Medicaid, please call the appropriate number below:

• Amerigroup: Vision: (833) 554-1012; Hearing: (800) 600-4441
• AmeriHealth Caritas DC: (800) 408-7511
• Fee For Service: (202) 698-2000
• HSCSN: (866) 937-4549
• MedStar Family Choice: (888) 404-3549
• Trusted Health Plan: Hearing: (855) 326-4831; Vision (Avesis): (833) 554-1013

• Eye Examination Guidelines (see Table 1 on page 2 in PDF) from "Eye Examination in Infants, Children, and Young Adults by Pediatricians." Joint policy statement, Pediatrics 111(4) April 2003.
• Pediatric Vision Screening for the Family Physician (American Academy of Family Physicians)