摘要：Training in environmental health in general, and pediatric environmental health in particular, is inadequate. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry began to develop pediatric environmental health specialty units (PEHSUs) after noting the dearth of practitioners who could evaluate and manage children with exposures to environmental health hazards. The Environmental Protection Agency subsequently joined in providing support for what has developed into a network of 13 PEHSUs in North America. PEHSUs provide services to families, act as consultants to clinicians and public agencies, develop educational materials, and respond to natural disasters, including hurricanes and wildfires. PEHSUs are relatively easy to organize and should be replicable internationally. PEDIATRIC ENVIRONMENTAL health specialty units (PEHSUs) were created to provide consultations to public agencies about children with known or potential environmental exposures and to provide (or support) the clinical evaluation of those children. PEHSUs also educate health professionals and others about issues related to children's health and the environment, particularly the effect of chronic, low-level exposures to air and water pollution, lead, mercury, mold, and low doses of pesticides. In addition, PEHSUs provide direct consultations to health care providers, parents, and others about specific known or suspected exposures and possible ways to manage exposures medically. We explain how PEHSUs got started in North America, describe the accomplishments of the PEHSU network, provide case examples of how PEHSUs work, and suggest how the PEHSU system can expand.
