Pediatric Rheumatology

Our pediatric rheumatology team cares for children with autoimmune and autoinflammatory disorders — immune system disorders that target their body’s own joints, muscles, and connective tissues like skin and blood vessels. We treat chronic conditions to help children live full and active lives.

Advanced care

We focus on early intervention, personalized treatment options and rehabilitation plans, and in-depth patient education to drive the best possible outcomes for children and support their families.

Child-centered

We practice medicine with compassion and empathy and consider each child’s emotional, social, and functional needs. We explain conditions thoroughly and give families time to discuss their concerns and needs, so you feel empowered to make the right health care decisions for your child.

Collaborative approach

Rheumatic diseases often affect many systems of the body. We collaborate with many pediatric specialists in pediatric kidney care (nephrology), physical therapy, and many others to ensure your child gets the complete care they need.

We help children with arthritis, dermatomyositis, lupus, uvitis, and periodic fever symptoms as well as other autoinflammatory disorders, including:

Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM)

This disorder affects muscles, skin, and blood vessels. Symptoms include skin rashes (especially on eyelids, cheeks, and joints) and severe muscle soreness, weakness, and fatigue.

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)

These conditions cause joint swelling, warmth, tenderness, and morning stiffness.

Lupus

In this condition, the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues and organs. Symptoms vary widely depending on which parts of the body are affected, but can include pain, rashes, sores, fatigue, swelling, confusion, and many others.

Periodic fever syndromes

A child with one of these conditions will experience regular fevers, often alongside other symptoms, due to their body repeatedly activating the immune cells without any obvious source. Examples include:

• Familial Mediterranean fever, which often comes with chest, abdominal, and joint pain
• Periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, adenitis (PFAPA), which causes fever, canker sores in the mouth, sore throat, and swollen lymph nodes

Vasculitis

This condition causes inflammation of blood vessels, arteries, veins, or capillaries. This can cause a wide variety of symptoms such as fever, headache, fatigue, pain, or weight loss, depending on the location and severity of the vasculitis.

We provide a full range of diagnostic and treatment options for children with rheumatological conditions, including:

Diagnostic evaluation

Because many rheumatic diseases share similar symptoms, thorough and detailed diagnostic evaluation is essential. We may review your child’s medical history, conduct a physical exam, or order specialized blood tests and imaging, then we rigorously analyze all possible causes for their symptoms so that we can arrive at the correct treatment plan.

Immunotherapy management

Our team can provide a wide range of therapies designed to treat your child's illness and remove harmful immune system functions, including anti-inflammatories, immune modulators, and immunosuppressants. Treatments are carefully monitored for both safety and effectiveness.

Psychosocial support

Although medical treatments can be highly effective, rheumatic diseases still require lifelong management. We support children and families with resources and science-based guidance to help them manage the emotional and social challenges of chronic illness.