Medical Specialties Commons^™

Impact Of Transfused Citrate On Pathophysiology In Massive Transfusion, Jacob B Schriner, J Michael Van Gent, M Adam Meledeo, Scott D Olson, Bryan A Cotton, Charles S Cox, Brijesh S Gill

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This narrative review article seeks to highlight the effects of citrate on physiology during massive transfusion of the bleeding patient.

DATA SOURCES: A limited library of curated articles was created using search terms including "citrate intoxication," "citrate massive transfusion," "citrate pharmacokinetics," "hypocalcemia of trauma," "citrate phosphate dextrose," and "hypocalcemia in massive transfusion." Review articles, as well as prospective and retrospective studies were selected based on their relevance for inclusion in this review.

STUDY SELECTION: Given the limited number of relevant studies, studies were reviewed and included if they were written in English. This is not a systematic review nor a …

Association Between Early Prostacyclin Therapy And Extracorporeal Life Support Use In Patients With Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, Akila B Ramaraj, Samuel E Rice-Townsend, Carrie L Foster, Delphine Yung, Emma O Jackson, Ashley H Ebanks, Matthew T Harting, Rebecca A Stark, Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Study Group

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

IMPORTANCE: Prostacyclin (PGI2) is a therapeutic option to treat congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH)-associated pulmonary hypertension in neonates. Its use may decrease the need for extracorporeal life support (ECLS).

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of early PGI2 therapy with ECLS use and outcomes among patients with CDH.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This was a cohort study from the CDH Study Group (CDHSG) registry of patients born from January 2007 to December 2019. Patients were from 88 different tertiary pediatric referral centers worldwide that contributed data to the CDHSG. Patients were included in the study if they were admitted within the first …

Perception Of Treatment Success And Impact On Function With Antibiotics Or Appendectomy For Appendicitis: A Randomized Clinical Trial With An Observational Cohort, Callie M Thompson, Emily C Voldal, Giana H Davidson, Sabrina E Sanchez, Patricia Ayoung-Chee, Jesse Victory, Mary Guiden, Bonnie Bizzell, Jacob Glaser, Christopher Hults, Thea P Price, Nicole Siparsky, Kristin Ohe, Katherine A Mandell, Daniel A Deugarte, Amy H Kaji, Lisandra Uribe, Lillian S Kao, Krislynn M Mueck, Farhood Farjah, Wesley H Self, Sunday Clark, F Thurston Drake, Katherine Fischkoff, Elizaveta Minko, Joseph Cuschieri, Brett Faine, Dionne A Skeete, Naila Dhanani, Mike K Liang, Anusha Krishnadasan, David A Talan, Erin Fannon, Larry G Kessler, Bryan A Comstock, Patrick J Heagerty, Sarah E Monsell, Sarah O Lawrence, David R Flum, Danielle C Lavallee, Writing Group For The Coda Collaborative

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: To compare secondary patient reported outcomes of perceptions of treatment success and function for patients treated for appendicitis with appendectomy vs. antibiotics at 30 days.

SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: The Comparison of Outcomes of antibiotic Drugs and Appendectomy trial found antibiotics noninferior to appendectomy based on 30-day health status. To address questions about outcomes among participants with lower socioeconomic status, we explored the relationship of sociodemographic and clinical factors and outcomes.

METHODS: We focused on 4 patient reported outcomes at 30 days: high decisional regret, dissatisfaction with treatment, problems performing usual activities, and missing >10 days of work. The randomized …

The Detrimental Role Of Angiotensin Receptor Agonistic Autoantibodies In Intrauterine Growth Restriction Seen In Preeclampsia, Monika M Safford, Doyle M Cummings, Jacqueline Halladay, James M Shikany, Joshua Richman, Suzanne Oparil, James Hollenberg, Alyssa Adams, Muna Anabtawi, Lynn Andreae, Elizabeth Baquero, Joanna Bryan, Debra Clark, Ethel Johnson, Erica Richman, Orysya Soroka, James Tillman, Andrea L Cherrington

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Impoverished African Americans (AA) with hypertension face poor health outcomes.

PURPOSE: To conduct a cluster-randomized trial testing two interventions, alone and in combination, to improve blood pressure (BP) control in AA with persistently uncontrolled hypertension.

METHODS: We engaged primary care practices serving rural Alabama and North Carolina residents, and in each practice we recruited approximately 25 AA adults with persistently uncontrolled hypertension (mean systolic BP >140 mmHg over the year prior to enrollment plus enrollment day BP assessed by research assistants ≥140/90 mmHg). Practices were randomized to peer coaching (PC), practice facilitation (PF), both PC and PF (PC + …

Creating A Data Dictionary For Pediatric Autonomic Disorders, Jeffrey R Boris, Hasan Abdallah, Shelley Ahrens, Gisela Chelimsky, Thomas C Chelimsky, Philip R Fischer, John E Fortunato, Raewyn Gavin, Janice L Gilden, Renato Gonik, Blair P Grubb, Kelsey M Klaas, Erin Marriott, Lauren E Marsillio, Marvin S Medow, Lucy Norcliffe-Kaufmann, Mohammed T Numan, Erin Olufs, Laura A Pace, Paul T Pianosi, Pippa Simpson, Julian M Stewart, Sally Tarbell, Natalie R Van Waning, Debra E Weese-Mayer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Whether evaluating patients clinically, documenting care in the electronic health record, performing research, or communicating with administrative agencies, the use of a common set of terms and definitions is vital to ensure appropriate use of language. At a 2017 meeting of the Pediatric Section of the American Autonomic Society, it was determined that an autonomic data dictionary comprising aspects of evaluation and management of pediatric patients with autonomic disorders would be an important resource for multiple stakeholders.

METHODS: Our group created the list of terms for the dictionary. Definitions were prioritized to be obtained from established sources with which …

Evolving Antibiotic Resistance In Group B Streptococci Causing Invasive Infant Disease: 1970–2021, Elizabeth Marie Sabroske, Misu Ailin Sanson Iglesias, Marcia Rench, Trevor Moore, Hanna Harvey, Morven Edwards, Carol J Baker, Anthony R Flores

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: We sought to define the frequency of antibiotic resistance over time in a collection of invasive GBS isolates derived from infant early-onset disease (EOD), late-onset disease (LOD), and late-late onset disease (LLOD).

METHODS: A multicenter retrospective review of infants born from 1970 to 2021 with GBS isolated from blood, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, cellulitis, or bone. All isolates were serotyped and antimicrobial susceptibility testing performed using disk diffusion.

RESULTS: The most common serotypes in our 2017 isolates were III (n = 1112, 55.1%), Ia (n = 445, 22%), Ib (n = 182, 9%) and II (n = 146, 7.2%). …

Red Blood Cell Transfusion Thresholds For Anemia Of Prematurity, Lindsay F Holzapfel, Matthew A Rysavy, Edward F Bell

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Anemia of prematurity affects the majority of preterm infants, particularly extremely low birthweight infants. Anemia of prematurity arises from both innate and iatrogenic causes and results in more than 80% of extremely preterm infants receiving red blood cell transfusions during the first month after birth. Multiple randomized controlled trials were conducted to evaluate the effect of using lower versus higher transfusion thresholds based on hemoglobin levels. These trials showed no difference in the primary outcome of neurodevelopmental impairment at 2 years of age between lower and higher thresholds. However, some uncertainties about transfusion thresholds remain. This review elaborates the following: …

Sedation And Analgesia For Reduction Of Pediatric Ileocolic Intussusception, Naveen Poonai, Daniel M Cohen, Doug Macdowell, Rakesh D Mistry, Santiago Mintegi, Simon Craig, Damian Roland, Michael Miller, Itai Shavit, Paediatric Emergency Research Networks (Pern) Paint Study Group;, Yvette Wang, Alan Nager, Theodore Heyming, Rebekah Burns, Indi Trehan, Matthew Lipshaw, Carmen Sulton, Joyce Li, Aderonke Ojo, Susan Kelly, Matthew Thornton, Kerry Caperell, Iluonose Amoni, Anna Abrams, Myto Duong, Muhammad Wassem, Adrienne Davis, Jocelyn Gravel, Evelyne Doyon Trottier, Neta Bar Am, Graham Thompson, Vikram Sabhaney, Garth Meckler, Rini Jain, Samina Ali, Silvia Bressan, Tiziana Zangardi, Giovanna Villa, Martina Giacalone, Michelle Seiler, Cyril Sahyoun, Fabrizio Romano, Zsolt Bognar, Szofia Hajosi-Kalcakosz, Lisa Amir, Said Hachimi-Idrissi, Zanda Pucuka, Astra Zviedre, Emilija Zeltina, Natalie Phillips, Meredith Borland, Sharon O'Brien, Jeanette Marchant, Amit Kochar, Shane George, Victoria Pennington, Mark Lyttle, Jen Browning, Anna Mcloughlin, Stuart Hartshorn, Chaman Urooj, Lucy Johnston, Emily Walton, Deepika Subrahmanyam Puthucode, Phil Peacock, James Conroy, Rafael Marañon, Silvia Garcia, Nuria Cahís, Amaia Cámara-Otegui, Arantxa Gomez, Maria Carbonero, Carlos Angelats-Romero, Adriana Yock-Corrales, Gabriela Hualde, Fabian Spigariol, Alex Donas, Cinthia Gübeli Linné, Alessia Rocchi, Alessia Pedrazzini, Giorgio Cozzi, Dino Barbi, Laura Baggio, Giovana La Fauci, Angela Mauro, Matthew Steimle, Danilo Buonsenso, Irma Ugalde, Gaby Nieva, Charlotte Harper, Idanna Sforzi, Shobhit Jain

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

IMPORTANCE: Ileocolic intussusception is an important cause of intestinal obstruction in children. Reduction of ileocolic intussusception using air or fluid enema is the standard of care. This likely distressing procedure is usually performed without sedation or analgesia, but practice variation exists.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the prevalence of opioid analgesia and sedation and assess their association with intestinal perforation and failed reduction.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study reviewed medical records of children aged 4 to 48 months with attempted reduction of ileocolic intussusception at 86 pediatric tertiary care institutions in 14 countries from January 2017 to December 2019. Of …

Ehealth Technology In Cardiac Exercise Therapeutics For Pediatric Patients With Congenital And Acquired Heart Conditions: A Summary Of Evidence And Future Directions., David A. White, Aimee M. Layton, Tracy Curran, Naomi Gauthier, William B. Orr, Kendra Ward, Meg Vernon, Matthew N. Martinez, Malloree C. Rice, Katherine Hansen, Megan Prusi, Jesse E. Hansen

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Many children and adolescents with congenital and acquired heart disease (CHD) are physically inactive and participate in an insufficient amount of moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise. Although physical activity (PA) and exercise interventions are effective at improving short- and long-term physiological and psychosocial outcomes in youth with CHD, several barriers including resource limitations, financial costs, and knowledge inhibit widespread implementation and dissemination of these beneficial programs. New and developing eHealth, mHealth, and remote monitoring technologies offer a potentially transformative and cost-effective solution to increase access to PA and exercise programs for youth with CHD, yet little has been written on this topic. …

Climate Change Imperils Pediatric Health: Child Advocacy Through Fossil Fuel Divestment., Sandra H. Jee, Elizabeth Friedman, Ruth A. Etzel, Vi T. Nguyen, Todd L. Sack, Kathi J. Kemper

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Climate change poses an existential threat to children's health. Divestment of ownership stakes in fossil fuel companies is one tool available to pediatricians to address climate change. Pediatricians are trusted messengers regarding children's health and therefore bear a unique responsibility to advocate for climate and health policies that affect children. Among the impacts of climate change on pediatric patients are allergic rhinitis and asthma; heat-related illnesses; premature birth; injuries from severe storms and fires; vector-borne diseases; and mental illnesses. Children are disproportionately affected as well by climate-related displacement of populations, drought, water shortages, and famine. The human-generated burning of fossil …

Factors Predictive Of Being Bullies Or Victims Of Bullies In Us Elementary Schools, Paul L Morgan, George Farkas, Adrienne D Woods, Yangyang Wang, Marianne M Hillemeier, Yoonkyung Oh

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We analyzed a population-representative cohort (N=13,611; Mage at kindergarten, first, and second grade = 67.5, 79.5, and 91.5 months, respectively) to identify kindergarten to second grade factors predictive of being bullies or victims during third to fifth grade. We did so by estimating a block recursive structural equation model (SEM) with three sets of predictors. These were: (a) individual and school socio-demographics; (b) family distress and harsh parenting; and (c) individual behavior and achievement. Relations between each of the included variables and the bullying outcomes were simultaneously estimated within the SEM. Thus, each variable served as a control …

Kawasaki Disease And Mis-C At A Community Children’S Hospital In Pennsylvania: A Five-And-A-Half Year Retrospective Study, Kelsey Kaplan Do, Kayle Barndt Do, Ruchi Gupta Md, Kris Rooney Md, Kyle Shaak Mph

Department of Pediatrics

No abstract provided.

Incorporating Sexual And Gender Minority Patient Care Competencies: A Case Based Curriculum For Caring For Gender Diverse Youth, Eileen Cichoskikelly, Suzanne Kingery, Susan Sawning

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

There is a gap in medical education training content specifically focused on the care of Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) people and people with Differences in Sex Development (DSD). Inadequate training contributes to suboptimal health care access, utilization, and experiences among SGM-DSD people. Improving medical education training can be challenging as many clinician educators received sparse instruction themselves in these areas and there are limited teaching resources that expand beyond didactic instruction. In 2014 the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Advisory Committee on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Sex Development published a landmark document identifying 30 specifiers of competence …

Synapse-Specific Changes In Arc And Bdnf In Rat Hippocampus Following Chronic Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, Daniel L Egbenya, Suleman Hussain, Yi-Chen Lai, Anne E Anderson, Svend Davanger

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Expression of immediate early genes (IEGs) in the brain is important for synaptic plasticity, and probably also in neurodegenerative conditions. To understand the cellular mechanisms of the underlying neuropathophysiological processes in epilepsy, we need to pinpoint changes in concentration of synaptic plasticity-related proteins at subsynaptic levels. In this study, we examined changes in synaptic expression of Activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated (Arc) and Brai Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in a rat model of kainate-induced temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Western blotting showed reduced concentrations of Arc and increased concentrations of BDNF in hippocampal synaptosomes in chronic TLE rats. Then, using quantitative electron microscopy, we …

An International Delphi Consensus Statement On Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease And Risk Of Chronic Kidney Disease, Dan-Qin Sun, Giovanni Targher, Christopher D Byrne, David C Wheeler, Vincent Wai-Sun Wong, Jian-Gao Fan, Herbert Tilg, Wei-Jie Yuan, Christoph Wanner, Xin Gao, Michelle T Long, Mehmet Kanbay, Mindie H Nguyen, Sankar D Navaneethan, Yusuf Yilmaz, Yuli Huang, Rino A Gani, Pierluigi Marzuillo, Jérôme Boursier, Huijie Zhang, Chan-Young Jung, Jin Chai, Luca Valenti, George Papatheodoridis, Giovanni Musso, Yu-Jun Wong, Mohamed El-Kassas, Nahum Méndez-Sánchez, Silvia Sookoian, Michael Pavlides, Ajay Duseja, Adriaan G Holleboom, Junping Shi, Wah-Kheong Chan, Yasser Fouad, Junwei Yang, Sombat Treeprasertsuk, Helena Cortez-Pinto, Masahide Hamaguchi, Manuel Romero-Gomez, Mamun Al Mahtab, Ponsiano Ocama, Atsushi Nakajima, Chunsun Dai, Mohammed Eslam, Lai Wei, Jacob George, Ming-Hua Zheng

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: With the rising global prevalence of fatty liver disease related to metabolic dysfunction, the association of this common liver condition with chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become increasingly evident. In 2020, the more inclusive term metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) was proposed to replace the term non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The observed association between MAFLD and CKD and our understanding that CKD can be a consequence of underlying metabolic dysfunction support the notion that individuals with MAFLD are at higher risk of having and developing CKD compared with those without MAFLD. However, to date, there is no …

Pediatric Ercp In The Setting Of Acute Pancreatitis: A Secondary Analysis Of An International Multicenter Cohort Study, Carolena Trocchia, Racha Khalaf, Ernest Amankwah, Wenly Ruan, Douglas S Fishman, Bradley A Barth, Quin Y Liu, Matthew Giefer, Kyung Mo Kim, Mercedes Martinez, Luigi Dall'oglio, Filippo Torroni, Paola De Angelis, Simona Faraci, Sam Bitton, Steven L Werlin, Kulwinder Dua, Roberto Gugig, Clifton Huang, Petar Mamula, J Antonio Quiros, Yuhua Zheng, Travis Piester, Amit Grover, Victor L Fox, Michael Wilsey, David M Troendle

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Previous studies have demonstrated the safety of performing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in the pediatric population; however, few have addressed the outcomes of children undergoing ERCP during acute pancreatitis (AP). We hypothesize that ERCP performed in the setting of AP can be executed with similar technical success and adverse event profiles to those in pediatric patients without pancreatitis. Using the Pediatric ERCP Database Initiative, a multi-national and multi-institutional prospectively collected dataset, we analyzed 1124 ERCPs. One hundred and ninety-four (17%) of these procedures were performed in the setting of AP. There were no difference in the procedure success rate, procedure …

Clinical Spectrum And Genetic Causes Of Mitochondrial Hepatopathy Phenotype In Children, James E Squires, Alexander G Miethke, C Alexander Valencia, Kieran Hawthorne, Lisa Henn, Johan L K Van Hove, Robert H Squires, Kevin Bove, Simon Horslen, Rohit Kohli, Jean P Molleston, Rene Romero, Estella M Alonso, Jorge A Bezerra, Stephen L Guthery, Evelyn Hsu, Saul J Karpen, Kathleen M Loomes, Vicky L Ng, Philip Rosenthal, Krupa Mysore, Kasper S Wang, Marisa W Friederich, John C Magee, Ronald J Sokol, Childhood Liver Disease Research Network (Children)

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Alterations in both mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear DNA genes affect mitochondria function, causing a range of liver-based conditions termed mitochondrial hepatopathies (MH), which are subcategorized as mtDNA depletion, RNA translation, mtDNA deletion, and enzymatic disorders. We aim to enhance the understanding of pathogenesis and natural history of MH.

METHODS: We analyzed data from patients with MH phenotypes to identify genetic causes, characterize the spectrum of clinical presentation, and determine outcomes.

RESULTS: Three enrollment phenotypes, that is, acute liver failure (ALF, n = 37), chronic liver disease (Chronic, n = 40), and post-liver transplant (n = 9), were analyzed. …

Examination Of Parent-Reported Differences In Children’S Daily Screen Use, Sleep, And Sleep Hygiene Behaviors During The School Year And Summer And Their Association With Bmi, Jennette P Moreno, Alexis C Wood, Brooke Reichek, Hafza Dadabhoy, Tom Baranowski, Debbe Thompson, Teresia M O'Connor

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: The current study examined school-summer differences in children's sleep patterns and sleep hygiene. Cross-sectional relationships with children's sleep, sleep hygiene, and weight status were explored during the school year and summer.

METHODS: Children (5-8 years) and their parents (n = 197 dyads) were recruited from 4 schools in southeastern Texas and via Facebook. Parents reported children's school year and summer sleep, sleep hygiene, and screen media use. Children's body mass index (BMI) was objectively assessed at the beginning and end of the summer. Associations between children's sleep hygiene and screen media use, sleep duration, and weight status were explored. …

Medication-Induced Mood Disorders Following Epidural Steroid Injections In Patients With Pain: A Case Series, Christian T Vangeison, Joseph P Roys, Marissa N Catalanotto, Wyatt I Kupperman, Alexander R Kovacs, Dan Sebastian Dîrzu, Emanuel N Husu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

KEY CLINICAL MESSAGE: Medication-induced mood disorders following epidural steroid injections are possible therefore should be disclosed to the patient.

ABSTRACT: Medication-induced mood disorders have been rarely reported following epidural steroid injections (ESI). This case series presents three patients who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria for substance/medication-induced mood disorder after an ESI. In considering a candidacy for ESI, the rare but significant, side effects of psychiatric side effects should be disclosed to patients.

Promoting Ocd Wellness And Resilience (Power) Study: Rationale, Design, And Methods, Jessica D Leuchter, Minjee Kook, Daniel A Geller, Alyssa G Hertz, Jessica Garcia, Erika S Trent, Tracey Dibbs, Ogechi Onyeka, Wayne K Goodman, Andrew G Guzick, Andrew D Wiese, Amanda D Palo, Brent J Small, H Blair Simpson, Lauren K Havel, Sohail A Nibras, Kirti Saxena, Eric A Storch

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects 1-2% of children and is associated with functional impairment and diminished quality of life. Several treatments are efficacious: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with exposure and response prevention, serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) monotherapy, and combined treatment (SRI + CBT). Expert clinician-informed practice parameters suggest that youth with mild to moderate OCD should be treated initially with CBT yet SRIs are frequently employed as the first-line intervention or in combination with psychotherapy in applied practice. Empirical data to guide SRI discontinuation in pediatric OCD are very limited. This study, Promoting OCD Wellness and Resiliency (POWER), aims to address …

Association Of Area Deprivation Index With Severity Of Covid-19 In Pediatric Patients: A Multisite Study Of Racially And Ethnically Diverse Children, Sebastian Acosta, Srinivasan Suresh, Anna K Ettinger, Fabio Savorgnan, Ananth Annapragada, Nirupama Kannikeswaran, Usha Sethuraman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Area deprivation index (ADI) is associated with the risk of severe COVID-19 in adults. However, this association has not been established in children. Information on ADI, demographics, clinical features, disease severity, and outcomes was analyzed for 3434 children with COVID-19. A multivariate logistic regression revealed that non-Hispanic Asians, extremes of weight, and higher ADI were associated with severe disease.

Rolling Out New Anti-Tuberculosis Drugs Without Diagnostic Capacity, Tara Ness, Le Hong Van, Ilze Petermane, Raquel Duarte, Christoph Lange, Dick Menzies, Daniela Maria Cirillo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Deaths from tuberculosis (TB) reached over 1.6 million in 2021 with 10.6 million people becoming ill. Multidrug-resistant TB, defined as the Mycobacterium tuberculosis organism having resistance to at least isoniazid and rifampicin, represented 3.9% of new TB cases and 18% of previously treated cases. While new drug regimens continue to be developed and introduced to improve treatment of drug-resistant forms of TB, diagnostic capability to identify drug resistance lags woefully behind. While significant mortality benefits exist for these newer drug regimens, implementing them without proper drug resistance diagnostic capacity could lead to development of more drug resistances and exhaust these …

Preterm Birth Alters The Feeding-Induced Activation Of Akt Signaling In The Muscle Of Neonatal Piglets, Agus Suryawan, Marko Rudar, Jane K Naberhuis, Marta L Fiorotto, Teresa A Davis

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Postnatal lean mass accretion is commonly reduced in preterm infants. This study investigated mechanisms involved in the blunted feeding-induced activation of Akt in the skeletal muscle of preterm pigs that contributes to lower protein synthesis rates.

METHODS: On day 3 following cesarean section, preterm and term piglets were fasted or fed an enteral meal. Activation of Akt signaling pathways in skeletal muscle was determined.

RESULTS: Akt1 and Akt2, but not Akt3, phosphorylation were lower in the skeletal muscle of preterm than in term pigs (P < 0.05). Activation of Akt-positive regulators, PDK1 and mTORC2, but not FAK, were lower in preterm than in term (P < 0.05). The formation of Akt complexes with GAPDH and Hsp90 and the abundance of Ubl4A were lower in preterm than in term (P < 0.05). The abundance of Akt inhibitors, PHLPP and SHIP2, but not PTEN and IP6K1, were higher in preterm than in term pigs (P < 0.05). PP2A activation was inhibited by feeding in term but not in preterm pigs (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that preterm birth impairs regulatory components involved in Akt activation, …

Covid-19 Vaccines And The Pandemic: Lessons Learnt For Other Neglected Diseases And Future Threats, Peter J Hotez, Sarah Gilbert, Melanie Saville, Lois Privor-Dumm, Salim Abdool-Karim, Didi Thompson, Jean-Louis Excler, Jerome H Kim

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Through the experiences gained by accelerating new vaccines for both Ebola virus infection and COVID-19 in a public health emergency, vaccine development has benefited from a 'multiple shots on goal' approach to new vaccine targets. This approach embraces simultaneous development of candidates with differing technologies, including, when feasible, vesicular stomatitis virus or adenovirus vectors, messenger RNA (mRNA), whole inactivated virus, nanoparticle and recombinant protein technologies, which led to multiple effective COVID-19 vaccines. The challenge of COVID-19 vaccine inequity, as COVID-19 spread globally, created a situation where cutting-edge mRNA technologies were preferentially supplied by multinational pharmaceutical companies to high-income countries while …

Imaging Of Pediatric Cardiac Tumors: A Cog Diagnostic Imaging Committee/Spr Oncology Committee White Paper, Cara E Morin, Lindsay M Griffin, Rebecca S Beroukhim, Pablo Caro-Domínguez, Sherwin Chan, Jason N Johnson, Juan C Infante, Christopher Z Lam, Ladonna J Malone, Elizabeth R Tang, Michael D Taylor, James C Wilkinson, Prakash M Masand

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Cardiac tumors in children are rare and the majority are benign. The most common cardiac tumor in children is rhabdomyoma, usually associated with tuberous sclerosis complex. Other benign cardiac masses include fibromas, myxomas, hemangiomas, and teratomas. Primary malignant cardiac tumors are exceedingly rare, with the most common pathology being soft tissue sarcomas. This paper provides consensus-based imaging recommendations for the evaluation of patients with cardiac tumors at diagnosis and follow-up, including during and after therapy.

Divergent Clinical Presentations And Outcomes Among Children And Adolescents With Kaposi Sarcoma In Malawi And Tanzania, Liane R Campbell, Allison Silverstein, Erin Peckham-Gregory, William Kamiyango, Jimmy Villiera, Casey L Mcatee, Jason M Bacha, Carrie L Kovarik, Parth S Mehta, Toni Chanroo, Asulwisye Kapesa, Beatrice Malingoti, Rizine Mzikamanda, Nmazuo W Ozuah, Carl E Allen, Michael E Scheurer, Nader K El-Mallawany

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Objectives: The Kaposi sarcoma (KS) T0 versus T1 staging classification does not address the unique clinical features of paediatric KS in human gammaherpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) endemic regions of Africa. This study seeks to define patterns of childhood KS using a paediatric-specific approach.

Methods: The Lilongwe paediatric KS staging classification categorizes disease based on clinical phenotype: stage 1 = mild/moderate KS limited to cutaneous/oral involvement, stage 2 = primarily lymphadenopathic disease, stage 3 = woody edema KS, stage 4 = visceral and/or severe/disseminated mucocutaneous disease. Characteristics and outcomes were evaluated from paediatric referral centres in Lilongwe, Malawi, and Mbeya, Tanzania.

Results: …

Pulse Oximetry And Arterial Saturation Difference In Pediatric Covid-19 Patients: Retrospective Analysis By Race, Fabio Savorgnan, Adel Hassan, Nirica Borges, Sebastian Acosta

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: Pulse oximetry (Sp o2 ) may overestimate arterial oxygen saturation (Sa o2 ) in blood laboratory testing. This study aimed to assess Sp o2 -Sa o2 difference in relation to race (i.e., patient self-reporting as Black or White), occult hypoxemia, and length of stay (LOS) in pediatric patients with COVID-19.

DESIGN: Single-center retrospective study in pediatric COVID-19 patients. We used multivariable linear regressions to examine the association between race and oximetry measurements and between occult hypoxemia and LOS. Oximetry bias was defined using Sp o2 and Sa o2 data according to approved comparisons. Occult hypoxemia was defined as Sp …

Fluid Overload Precedes And Masks Cryptic Kidney Injury In Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Celeste G Dixon, Sameer Thadani, Julie C Fitzgerald, Ayse Akcan-Arikan, Nadir Yehya

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: Given the complex interrelatedness of fluid overload (FO), creatinine, acute kidney injury (AKI), and clinical outcomes, the association of AKI with poor outcomes in critically ill children may be underestimated due to definitions used. We aimed to disentangle these temporal relationships in a large cohort of children with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING: Quaternary care PICU.

PATIENTS: Seven hundred twenty intubated children with ARDS between 2011 and 2019.

INTERVENTIONS: None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Daily fluid balance, urine output (UOP), and creatinine for days 1-7 of ARDS were retrospectively abstracted. A subset of patients …

Factors, Enablers And Challenges For Covid-19 Vaccine Development, Jean-Louis Excler, Melanie Saville, Lois Privor-Dumm, Sarah Gilbert, Peter J Hotez, Didi Thompson, Salim Abdool-Karim, Jerome H Kim

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a sense of vulnerability and urgency that led to concerted actions by governments, funders, regulators and industry to overcome traditional challenges for the development of vaccine candidates and to reach authorisation. Unprecedented financial investments, massive demand, accelerated clinical development and regulatory reviews were among the key factors that contributed to accelerating the development and approval of COVID-19 vaccines. The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines benefited of previous scientific innovations such as mRNA and recombinant vectors and proteins. This has created a new era of vaccinology, with powerful platform technologies and a new model for vaccine development. …

Vaccine Access, Equity And Justice: Covid-19 Vaccines And Vaccination, Lois Privor-Dumm, Jean-Louis Excler, Sarah Gilbert, Salim S Abdool Karim, Peter J Hotez, Didi Thompson, Jerome H Kim

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Although significant progress has been made in achieving goals for COVID-19 vaccine access, the quest for equity and justice remains an unfinished agenda. Vaccine nationalism has prompted calls for new approaches to achieve equitable access and justice not only for vaccines but also for vaccination. This includes ensuring country and community participation in global discussions and that local needs to strengthen health systems, address issues related to social determinants of health, build trust and leverage acceptance to vaccines, are addressed. Regional vaccine technology and manufacturing hubs are promising approaches to address access challenges and must be integrated with efforts to …