I was at my desk dictating a report when one of our pediatric endocrinologists knocked on my open door.
“Hi, Mark,” she said. “I have a 12-year-old patient whose mother is worried that she may have ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder]. She says her daughter has been getting more and more inattentive and disorganized and takes a long time to finish her homework. Her lab tests show that she might have resistance to thyroid hormone, which I know can cause ADHD symptoms. I’m not convinced she has that—because it’s pretty rare—but I’m also not sure she has ADHD. Since you know more about ADHD than I do, I’d like to get your opinion.”
“I’ll be happy to take a look. I’ll let you know what I think after I see her.”
