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I owe Ted Eickhoff a debt I can never repay
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In July 1988, the first issue of Infectious Disease News was published (Figure 1, that’s right, I kept it all these years), with Dr. Ted Eickhoff as the Chief Medical Editor. Virtually all adult and pediatric infectious disease specialists received it at no cost. And although unsolicited publications (freebies) are often mostly a glorified collection of advertisements, IDN seemed different, with meaningful, well-written pieces, by very reputable experts, supplemented by high-quality pictures on glossy paper. It took the reputation of Dr. Eickhoff to recruit leading experts to contribute and his academic leadership to ensure overall quality.
From early on in my career, I fancied myself as a budding medical photographer, almost always using relevant clinical pictures in my lectures. By the time I received my second issue of IDN in August 1988, I felt like this was a publication not only to watch, but one with which to be involved. Therefore, I thought I would write Dr. Eickhoff (you know, the kind of letter you mail with a stamp) and volunteer my services. I had no specific goal in mind, but I was young and energetic, and took a shot. To my surprise, Dr. Eickhoff soon called and invited me to join the Editorial Board. Then he made a suggestion, that I put my pictures to use and begin writing a visual diagnosis column every month, using a multiple-choice quiz format, suggesting that we call it “What’s Your Diagnosis?” We decided on alternating between adult and pediatric cases. So I joined the IDN Board with the November 1988 issue, and my first column appeared in the December issue (Figure 2), which was a pediatric case of congenital toxoplasmosis (Figure 3).
Dr. Eickhoff ensured quality by critically reviewing everything that went into IDN, including my column — helping me develop the style that I still use today in the “sister publication,” Infectious Diseases in Children (IDC).
IDC was launched in the same year (1988), with the venerable Dr. Phil Brunell as the Chief Medical Editor. However, at that time, I was not on the mailing list for IDC, because it primarily targeted general pediatricians. The “What’s Your Diagnosis?” column idea got the attention of Dr. Brunell, and while we were walking together from our hotel to the Los Angeles Convention Center during the old ICAAC meeting in late October 1988, he recruited me to write a similar column for IDC, which began with a case of cat scratch disease in April 1989.
After a couple of years of writing alternating adult and pediatric columns in IDN, as well as my column in IDC (which on alternate months would be the same pediatric case shown in IDN), I had to give up writing for IDN on a regular basis, mainly because I ran out of adult cases to use (including relatives).
Even though my partnership as a columnist for Ted and IDN was relatively brief, with about 25 columns, “What’s Your Diagnosis?” continues in IDC. Except for some military-related absences along the way, it has been uninterrupted for 29 years, with a total of 330 pediatric columns written as of June. Working with Dr. Brunell inspired me to continue this long-lasting partnership with IDC, which is still going strong today under Dr. Richard Jacobs, Chief Medical Editor, and Dr. David Kimberlin, program director of the publication’s annual meeting, IDC New York. However, it all started with the vision of Ted Eickhoff by answering my letter almost 30 years ago.
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- James H. Brien, DO, is an adjunct professor of pediatrics with the section of infectious diseases at McLane Children’s Hospital, Baylor Scott & White Health, Texas A&M College of Medicine in Temple, Texas. He also is a member of the Infectious Diseases in Children and Infectious Disease News Editorial Boards. Brien can be reached at: jhbrien@aol.com.
Disclosure: Brien reports no relevant financial disclosures.