President’s Letter from Dr. Kris Bryant

Drum roll, please. The PIDS/IDSA Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Diagnosis and Management of Acute Hematogenous Osteomyelitis in Pediatrics were published in JPIDS this week. I want to acknowledge all the members of the writing team, led by Dr. Charles Woods, and our partners at IDSA. Advancing clinical care in infectious diseases (and supporting our members in their clinical work) is one of our Society’s strategic aims. I think you’ll find this guideline does both. Please think about posting on PIDSConnect how the guidelines will change your practice. I’ll share with you—somewhat reluctantly—that I have been less than judicious in recommending end of therapy imaging. I’ll change that now. Learn more about the guidelines from authors Drs. Sandra Arnold and Matthew Kronman on a new PIDS podcast. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3lugr9a

I have been longing to write you a letter that had nothing to do with the pandemic… but I can’t do it, at least not this week.  Cases of COVID-19 are surging across the country. Some hospitals, including the one in which I practice, are admitting increased numbers of pediatric patients. Yesterday, I rounded on four kids in the intensive care unit. Kids are heading back to school and several school districts have adopted “mask optional” policies. PIDS has endorsed universal masking in schools. This is based on evidence. When school children and teachers wear masks, the in-school transmission of COVID-19 is minimal. It’s also based on common sense. When given an option, many, if not most kids will take off their masks. Kids who leave them on run the risk of stigmatization or bullying. Read the PIDS statement here. Many thanks to Drs. Charlotte Hobbs, Jason Newland, Jennifer Schuster, and Jennifer Goldman for their leadership around this important issue. I understand that in a Society of more than 1200 people, not all of us will agree. I invite you to share your opinion on PIDSConnect.

Last week, you received a notice from PIDS about our new association management system with a request to update your member information and password. You must do this to continue accessing members-only content on the website. We recognize your time is precious and this is going to take a minute or two. As many of you pointed out, our old system was antiquated and did not always work well. This new system will allow us to serve you better and that remains one of the most important goals.

Stay well.

Kris