Faculty physicians within the IU School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics Division of Rheumatology offer consultations and co-management services to patients and their physicians on the full spectrum of pediatric rheumatic diseases—sometimes on diseases that do not have a name yet. They diagnose and treat rare autoimmune diseases, including scleroderma, systemic vasculitis, dermatomyositis and a broad range of arthritis processes in childhood. Children with inborn errors in the mechanisms that control inflammation, autoinflammatory disorders like Familial Mediterranean Fever, TRAPS, NOMID and other recurrent fever syndromes are included in the patient population for these physicians.
Most often, they are able to reassure a worried family that their child does not have one of the chronic inflammatory diseases and explain to them the biomechanical issues that cause the child’s pain. In all rheumatology’s services, these physicians gather a detailed medical history, perform a thorough physical examination, and address the problems at hand while considering all aspects of the child’s health issues.