The division provides specialty care services and consultative services for the population cared for by St. Louis Children's Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. This includes a population of approximately 2 million from the Greater St. Louis area and additional referrals from the surrounding areas of Missouri, central and southern Illinois, western Indiana, northern Arkansas and western Kentucky. Although all faculty and staff participate in clinical care and teaching activities related to all aspects of endocrinology and metabolism, the clinical services can loosely be divided into the general endocrinology service and the diabetes service. The outpatient clinical services are operated from the ambulatory office suites and meet four half-days per week at St. Louis Children's Hospital and approximately five half-days per month at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in western St. Louis County. These services account for approximately 6,500 patient visits per year. Approximately 40 percent of these represent patients with diabetes and approximately 1100 of these represent new patient consultations with other endocrine-related disorders or growth problems.
The outpatient endocrinology and diabetes services are staffed during each session with three attending physicians, two or three fellowship physicians, and pediatric residents and medical students as assigned to the service. In addition, the outpatient sessions devoted to diabetes are staffed by two diabetes clinical nurse specialists, a nutritionist and a social worker. In general, diabetic patients are primarily seen during four to five half-day sessions per month with the remaining sessions devoted to other cases. The division provides clinical nurse specialists, nutritionists, a social worker, and a psychologist to assist in the care of chronic diseases, especially diabetes.
The outpatient Endocrinology Service evaluates and follows children with all types of endocrine disorders. These include children with disorders of growth, pubertal development (delayed or early), thyroid disorders, adrenal disorders (including adrenal insufficiency, Cushing syndrome, and congenital adrenal hyperplasia), hypopituitarism, and disorders of bone and mineral metabolism. In addition, children with metabolic diseases or hormonal abnormalities associated with hypoglycemia are also evaluated and followed.
The Diabetes Service acts as a referral service following a wide variety of diabetic children and teenagers. The Diabetes Service operates in close collaboration with the primary care physician in the community but offers a full range of services related to the diabetes care. Currently, there are approximately 1,200 patients with diabetes followed and these are seen in clinic two to five times per year. The division provides 24-hour on-call coverage to all of our patients, including those with diabetes.
The inpatient Endocrinology and Metabolism Service at St. Louis Children's Hospital is staffed by the same physicians and other personnel as the outpatient service. The inpatient service consists primarily of children with diabetes mellitus who are admitted for initiation of therapy and training at the time of diagnosis or are admitted subsequently because of diabetes-related or other medical problems. In addition, the inpatient service serves as a consultative service for other divisions and departments within the hospital. These patients include a wide breadth of disorders. The inpatient consultation endocrinology service works especially closely with the Department of Neurology and the Department of Neurosurgery in the management of children with pituitary/hypothalamic disorders as a result of tumors or other CNS lesions, and also works closely with the Cystic Fibrosis service and Division of Allergy and Pulmonary Medicine in the management of patients with cystic fibrosis-related diabetes and those undergoing lung transplantation.
The clinical service in the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes has three regularly scheduled conferences each week. One is devoted to the discussion and planning of services related to the diabetic population. A second is devoted to discussion of new and interesting cases seen within the Division during the previous week. The third is a weekly discussion, in collaboration with the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes in the Department of Internal Medicine, to discuss interesting cases from the previous week. These conferences represent an important component of the clinical service as well as the endocrinology training program.
The division provides specialty care services and consultative services for the population cared for by St. Louis Children's Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. This includes a population of approximately 2 million from the Greater St. Louis area and additional referrals from the surrounding areas of Missouri, central and southern Illinois, western Indiana, northern Arkansas and western Kentucky. Although all faculty and staff participate in clinical care and teaching activities related to all aspects of endocrinology and metabolism, the clinical services can loosely be divided into the general endocrinology service and the diabetes service. The outpatient clinical services are operated from the ambulatory office suites and meet four half-days per week at St. Louis Children's Hospital and approximately five half-days per month at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in western St. Louis County. These services account for approximately 6,500 patient visits per year. Approximately 40 percent of these represent patients with diabetes and approximately 1100 of these represent new patient consultations with other endocrine-related disorders or growth problems.
The outpatient endocrinology and diabetes services are staffed during each session with three attending physicians, two or three fellowship physicians, and pediatric residents and medical students as assigned to the service. In addition, the outpatient sessions devoted to diabetes are staffed by two diabetes clinical nurse specialists, a nutritionist and a social worker. In general, diabetic patients are primarily seen during four to five half-day sessions per month with the remaining sessions devoted to other cases. The division provides clinical nurse specialists, nutritionists, a social worker, and a psychologist to assist in the care of chronic diseases, especially diabetes.
The outpatient Endocrinology Service evaluates and follows children with all types of endocrine disorders. These include children with disorders of growth, pubertal development (delayed or early), thyroid disorders, adrenal disorders (including adrenal insufficiency, Cushing syndrome, and congenital adrenal hyperplasia), hypopituitarism, and disorders of bone and mineral metabolism. In addition, children with metabolic diseases or hormonal abnormalities associated with hypoglycemia are also evaluated and followed.
The Diabetes Service acts as a referral service following a wide variety of diabetic children and teenagers. The Diabetes Service operates in close collaboration with the primary care physician in the community but offers a full range of services related to the diabetes care. Currently, there are approximately 1,200 patients with diabetes followed and these are seen in clinic two to five times per year. The division provides 24-hour on-call coverage to all of our patients, including those with diabetes.
The inpatient Endocrinology and Metabolism Service at St. Louis Children's Hospital is staffed by the same physicians and other personnel as the outpatient service. The inpatient service consists primarily of children with diabetes mellitus who are admitted for initiation of therapy and training at the time of diagnosis or are admitted subsequently because of diabetes-related or other medical problems. In addition, the inpatient service serves as a consultative service for other divisions and departments within the hospital. These patients include a wide breadth of disorders. The inpatient consultation endocrinology service works especially closely with the Department of Neurology and the Department of Neurosurgery in the management of children with pituitary/hypothalamic disorders as a result of tumors or other CNS lesions, and also works closely with the Cystic Fibrosis service and Division of Allergy and Pulmonary Medicine in the management of patients with cystic fibrosis-related diabetes and those undergoing lung transplantation.
The clinical service in the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes has three regularly scheduled conferences each week. One is devoted to the discussion and planning of services related to the diabetic population. A second is devoted to discussion of new and interesting cases seen within the Division during the previous week. The third is a weekly discussion, in collaboration with the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes in the Department of Internal Medicine, to discuss interesting cases from the previous week. These conferences represent an important component of the clinical service as well as the endocrinology training program.