Pediatrics Commons^™

Repeat Tracheal Aspirates In Pediatric Intensive Care Patients: Understanding Clinical Application, Edward Lyon

Research Days

Background: Tracheal aspirate cultures (TA) are regularly obtained in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) when clinical changes in intubated or tracheostomy dependent children occur. Positive TA results are often unable to distinguish infection from colonization. There is no data describing the frequency and impact of repeated TAs on patients in the PICU.

Goal: Our objectives were to describe the frequency of repeated TAs in PICU children and emergence of multidrug resistant organisms (MDRO), identify bacterial profile of TAs, and examine antibiotic prescribing patterns related to these cultures.

Methods: A retrospective chart review occurred on 15 patients in the PICU …

Rates Of Physical Abuse Screening And Detection In Infants With Brief Resolved Unexplained Events (Brues), Angela Doswell

Research Days

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Background: “Apparent Life-Threatening Events” (ALTEs) have been associated with child physical abuse (CPA). In 2016, “Brief Resolved Unexplained Event” (BRUE) and development of its clinical guidelines and risk-stratification replaced ALTE. It is unknown if there is a similar association between BRUEs and CPA.

Objectives: To determine the rate of CPA in infants presenting with a BRUE, examine differences between infants with/without CPA, and examine rates of diagnostic testing used to detect CPA.

Methods/Design: This study was part of the BRUE Research and Quality Improvement Network, composed of 15 academic and community hospitals. Subjects were infants …

Healthcare Utilization Of Victims Of Commercial Sexual Exploitation Compared To Non-Victims, Cree Kachelski

Research Days

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Background: Approximately 17,000 US children are victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) annually. Nearly 75% of adolescent CSEC victims received medical care within 6 months prior to identification. Screening tools have been developed based on known characteristics of CSEC victims; however, little is known about how CSEC victims compare to non-CSEC adolescents in healthcare utilization. Thus, appropriate medical CSEC screening settings are unknown.

Objectives/Goal: We aimed to identify where and how often adolescents presented to medical care in the 12 months prior to CSEC identification. We hypothesized that compared to controls, CSEC positive …

Cvst As A Rare Complication Of Acute Pediatric Covid-19, Erin Bolen

Research Days

Background: A previously healthy 13-year-old male was admitted to the hospital for a bacterial superinfection in the setting of recent COVID-19, including orbital cellulitis and pansinusitis with subgaleal, epidural, and subdural empyema. Further workup identified an occult, non-occlusive cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) along the length of the superior sagittal sinus.

Objectives/Goal: To evaluate the reported cases of CVST as a potential complication of COVID-19 in the pediatric population and identify meaningful trends in demographics, presentation, and diagnostic course.

Methods/Design: A literature search was run with various combinations of the following terms, always including “COVID”: “pediatric,” “adolescent,” “CVST,” “cerebral venous …

Evaluation Of A Hirschsprung Disease Systemwide Enterocolitis De-Escalation Strategy, Albert Aickareth

Research Days

Problem Statement/Question: Components of systems that identify, treat and prevent enterocolitis are not well described. In addition, for patients with HSCR both pre and post pull-through, questions regarding a child’s clinical status occur through several different medical access points and may occur outside of colorectal center clinic hours.

Background/Project Intent (Aim Statement): Hirschsprung associated enterocolitis (HAEC) is a severe and potentially life-threatening complication of Hirschsprung Disease (HSCR) that can present with a variety of symptoms from mild abdominal pain to fulminant colitis. We evaluated our system-wide enterocolitis de-escalation strategy for both hospital staff and patient caregivers. Our primary analysis was …

Impact Of A Mental Health Screening Process In A Pediatric Ed, Bryan Stocker Do, Shobhit Jain Md, Kathryn Worland Msw, Celeste Tarantino Md, Lina Patel Md, Shayla Sullivant Md

Research Days

Background: Up to 20% of children in the United States experience a mental health disorder and suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents. Children presenting with mental health concerns to the Emergency Department (ED) can be challenging due to lack of access to trained professionals and long lengths of stay. Specialized teams have shown to be beneficial, but little is known about their impact in the ED.

Objectives/Goal: This study explored the impact of specialized social workers partnering with emergency medicine providers to provide care during an acute mental health crisis.

Methods/Design: We performed this work at …

X-Linked Nephrogenic Syndrome Of Inappropriate Antidiuresis Secondary To Vasopressin Receptor 2 Mutation, Erica Zarse

Research Days

Background: X-linked nephrogenic syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis (NSIAD) is a rare cause of hyponatremia with a similar biochemical evaluation to the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion but with suppressed vasopressin (AVP) levels.

Objectives: We present a case of hyponatremia due to NSIAD.

Results: A 25-month-old male with developmental delay became unresponsive 30 minutes after falling off a couch onto a hardwood floor. He presented with tonic-clonic movements and eye deviation requiring antiepileptics. Serum laboratories noted hyponatremia (123 mmol/L), hypoosmolality (262 mOsm/kg) and hypochloremia (90 mmol/L) prompting endocrine consult. Head imaging normal. Urine dilute with specific gravity 1.004, osmolality 160 …

Covid-19: Perspectives From Youth In Detention, April Mcneill-Johnson

Research Days

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic amplified health disparities among youth in detention. Understanding perspectives of these youth on the pandemic and COVID-19 vaccination may identify strategies to mitigate pandemic-related health disparities in this group.

Objectives/Goal: To explore perspectives on the COVID-19 pandemic, effect on detention experience and the COVID vaccine among youth in detention.

Methods/Design: This is a secondary analysis of a study examining healthcare needs and experiences of youth in detention. We recruited a convenience sample of youth (14-17 years) detained in urban midwestern juvenile detention centers from January-November 2021. We conducted semistructured individual interviews & used a thematic analysis …

Gastrointestinal Fibromatosis: A Case Of Successful Oral Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Delivery To An Infant With Proximal Duodenal Obstruction, Darius Blanding

Research Days

Background: Infantile myofibromatosis (IM) is a rare disorder characterized by the fibrous proliferation of the skin, bone, muscle, and viscera that usually presents at birth, or soon after. Although IM is a benign condition, significantly higher morbidity and mortality have been reported when the viscera is involved. This case report is of a 6-week-old female who presented with poor feeding along with subcutaneous nodules that were diagnosed as IM. Upper and lower endoscopy were performed for worsening feeding intolerance showing marked nodularity throughout the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, including partial obstruction of the proximal duodenum by biopsy-proven myofibromas, confirming visceral IM …

Subclinical Status Epilepticus In The Setting Of An Acute Covid-19 Infection, Thomas Rieth

Research Days

Background: While COVID-19 commonly presents as an upper respiratory infection, acute COVID infections has the potential to have multisystem involvement. Neurological symptoms, which have mainly been reported in adults, are rare in children and are not well recognized. Better understanding of the neurological manifestations of COVID-19 in children can lead to earlier detection of COVID-19 and help with medical decision making and treatment.

Objectives/Goal: To describe an unusual presentation of COVID-19 in a previously healthy female and explore the neurological presentations of COVID-19.

Results: A 10 year old previously healthy female presented with a 1 day history of altered mental …

A Case Of Fibrous Hamartoma In Term Neonate, Elizabeth Perry

Research Days

Case report abstract: Fibrous hamartoma of infancy (FHI) is a rare, benign lesion characterized as a tumor of myofibroblastic origin that has characteristic features of triphasic histology. FHI was first described in 1956 by Reye and formally named by Enzinger in 1965 (1, 2). The lesion is defined as a hamartoma due to the histologic presentation of disorganized mesenchymal, fibrous, and adipose tissue with absence of mitotic figures; this combination of derived tissue without evidence of anaplasia is diagnostic for FHI. These lesions typically arise as a single, solitary mass, are most commonly located on the extremities, trunk, sacrum, or …

Early Onset Obesity In A 4-Year-Old Female Found To Have Variants In Both The Single-Minded Homolog 1 And Sh2b Adaptor Protein 1 Genes, Erica Zarse

Research Days

No abstract provided.

Testicular Torsion Education: Improving Awareness Among Boys And Their Caregivers Regarding The Urgency Of Evaluating Scrotal Pain, Abby Taylor

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Introduction: Testicular torsion is a urologic emergency that requires prompt medical evaluation and surgical intervention. The length of time from onset of the torsion to evaluation in the emergency department is often delayed due to lack of knowledge of the urgency of the situation amongst boys and their caregivers. We hypothesize that an animated educational video will increase awareness of the condition and prompt urgent evaluation in the emergency department.

Methods: A 5-minute animated educational video was created following a boy, Danny, as he develops testicular torsion. Four population groups: boys, parents, school nurses, and pediatricians, completed group-specific pre- and …

The Individualized Education Program (Iep) Team As Interprofessional Health Care Team: Team Members' And Pediatric Residents' Perceptions, Tara Minor

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Background: Interprofessional health care teams have been widely studied. Neglected in the discussion of interprofessional health care teams, however, are Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams, despite their integral connection to children's health care. This study explored the concept of IEP teams as interprofessional health care teams by examining how IEP members, including pediatricians, conceptualize individuals' team roles and whether a simulated IEP meeting affects pediatric residents' attitudes about the interprofessional nature of and their roles on IEP teams.

Methods: Pediatric residents (n=18) from a large, urban academic medical center participated in a simulated IEP meeting. Quantitative data from the Interprofessional …

Structure Of The Hsp110:Hsc70 Nucleotide Exchange Machine, Yusra Ahmed, Jeremy Miciak, W Pat Taylor, David J Francis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We evaluate the direct and inferential mediation (DIME) model for reading comprehension with a sample of struggling readers in Grades 3 to 5 (N = 364) in the context of a large-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT) investigating two theoretically distinct reading interventions (text processing + foundational skills [n = 117] or text processing only [n = 120]) and a control condition (n = 127). We investigate whether the intervention affects not just reading comprehension levels, but also how variables within the reading system interrelate. This approach allows the focus to shift from intervention as influencing a …

The Novel Use Of Biplane Imaging For Ultrasound-Guided Regional Anesthesia, Yusra Ahmed, Shawn Kent, Paul T Cirino, Milena Keller-Margulis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Research suggests that executive function, motivation, transcription, and composition processes are implicated in the writing quality and productivity of children with and without learning difficulties. However, numerous components embedded within these constructs create both conceptual and empirical challenges to the study of written expression. These challenges are reflected in the writing research by way of poor delineation of constructs and insufficient distinction among domain general resources (e.g. working memory) versus processes related to the academic domain of writing (e.g. pre-planning), as well as among lower- (e.g. handwriting) and higher-order (e.g. editing) writing-specific processes. The current study utilizes the Not-so-Simple View …

Informal Science, Technology, Engineering And Math Learning Conditions To Increase Parent Involvement With Young Children Experiencing Poverty, Tricia A Zucker, Gloria Yeomans Maldonado, Michael Assel, Cheryl Mccallum, Cindy Elias, John M Swint, Lincy Lal

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Broadening participation in early science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning outside of school is important for families experiencing poverty. We evaluated variations of the Teaching Together STEM pre-kindergarten program for increasing parent involvement in STEM learning. This informal STEM, family engagement program was offered in 20 schools where 92% of students received free/reduced lunch. The core treatment included a series of family education workshops, text messages, and family museum passes. The workshops were delivered at school sites by museum outreach educators. We randomly assigned schools to business-as-usual control or one of three additive treatment groups. Using an additive treatment …

Does Digital Literacy Empower Adolescent Girls In Low- And Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review, Salima Meherali, Komal Abdul Rahim, Sandra Campbell, Zohra S. Lassi

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Background: The vast majority (90%) of the world's adolescents aged 10-19 live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); and in those resource-limited settings, girls face distinct challenges across multiple health, social, and economic domains. Gender equality and girls' empowerment are key goals in their own right and are central to all other development goals. Digital literacy is a great enabler for the empowerment of young girls. This systematic review aims to assess the range and nature of digital literacy interventions implemented to empower adolescent girls in LMICs and identify evidence about adolescent girls' access and use of digital technologies in …

Health Technology In School-Based Health Centers: Supporting Continuous Care During Covid-19, Erin Sullivan, Anna Goddard, Paula Fields, Suzanne Mackey

Nursing Faculty Publications

Background: Children and adolescents in the United States face disparities by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, including unequal access to consistent and high-quality healthcare. School-based health centers (SBHCs) promote health equity by delivering primary, mental, and other health services directly to students in their schools. The COVID-19 outbreak in the United States resulted in schools and SBHCs closing their physical sites and pivoting to virtual service delivery. Methods: In the months immediately following school closures, school-based health center practitioners and sponsors participated in an online listening series to share how they used technology to creatively advertise services, engage with students, …

Use Of Artificial Intelligence To Identify Predictors Of Functional Outcomes In Patients With Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy, Natalie K. Katz

Research Days

Background: Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is one of the most common forms of muscular dystrophy characterized by slowly progressive muscle weakness. Symptoms initially involve the facial and shoulder girdle muscles, with later involvement of the distal lower extremities, pelvic girdle and proximal lower extremities. FSHD type 1 (FHSD1) is the most common form (~95% of individuals) and is caused by deletion of microsatellite repeats in the D4Z4 region on chromosome 4 (4q35). Normal individuals have >10 repeats whereas individuals with FSHD1 have 1-10 repeats. There is significant variability in regards to disease severity, rates of progression and functional outcomes, but …

Prevalence Of Adolescent Sexual Health Outcomes At Children’S Hospitals During Covid-19, Margarita Abella

Research Days

Background: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic mitigation strategies, including social distancing, decreased structured environments, and decreased sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care access, could negatively impact adolescent SRH behaviors and related outcomes. To date, little is known regarding changes in adolescent SRH outcomes during COVID-19.

Objectives/Goal: Our goals were to assess changes in adolescent SRH outcomes, including sexually transmitted infections (STIs), pregnancy, and sexual assault in the hospital (emergency department [ED] and inpatient [IP]) during COVID-19 compared to pre-COVID-19.

Methods/Design: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adolescent (11-18 years old) IP or ED hospital visits using the Pediatric …

Characterization Of Comorbidities In Patients With A Dual Diagnosis Of Down Syndrome And Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Cerner Health Facts, Michael Slogic

Research Days

Background: Up to 19% of patients with Down syndrome (DS) meet diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (Channell, et al, 2019). While the medical and psychological comorbidities for patients with DS or ASD are well characterized, comorbidities and outcomes for patients with a dual diagnosis (DS-ASD) are poorly understood. A large cohort of patients with DS-ASD, as well as those with ASD and DS alone, are needed to better understand this. Methods for grouping and analyzing complex diagnostic phenotypes are also needed.

Objectives/Goal: Our objective is to utilize Cerner Health Facts, a multi-institutional healthcare database, to identify large populations …

Effectiveness And Safety Of Repeat Dexamethasone For Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia, Christian Oliveros

Research Days

Background: Although a short course of steroids maybe beneficial in infants at high risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia, response to treatment is variable. In infants with persistent lung disease despite initial treatment, repeat courses of steroids have been described but not well-studied. This 10-year observational study from a single tertiary referral center evaluates the effectiveness and safety of repeat steroid treatment for bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Objectives/Goal: To describe effectiveness of repeat dexamethasone treatment for bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and to evaluate potential detrimental effects on growth and neurodevelopment.

Methods/Design: This was a 10-year single-center observational study of infants <30 >weeks’ gestational age at birth …

A Study Examining The Safety And Efficacy Of Ferric Carboxymaltose In A Large Pediatric Cohort, Chandni Dargan Md, David Simon Do

Research Days

Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is common in the pediatric population with varying high-risk factors. Intravenous (IV) iron supplementation has become more desirable in patients with moderate to severe anemia and in patients who are either unresponsive to or have adverse side-effects secondary to oral iron. Iron sucrose and Iron dextran have been traditionally used in pediatrics while ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) has only been FDA approved in adults. One of the major advantages of FCM is the ease of dosing and efficacy. Though FCM was approved for adults in 2013 and there have been no safety concerns, it is not …

Attitudes Of Pediatric Residents In The Care Of Transgender Youth, Michelle Knoll

Research Days

Background: Transgender individuals have health disparities compared to the general population and face several barriers to medical care. Prior studies indicate physician knowledge on transgender topics is poor and that transphobia is associated with poor knowledge even after educational interventions. Objectives/Goal: We sought to examine pediatric residents’ attitudes about transgender individuals and assess concerns related to the treatment of transgender youth. Methods: A survey was sent to 89 US Pediatric and combined (e.g. Med-Peds) residency programs and advertised on social media. Approximately 32 programs forwarded the survey to an estimated 1325 residents; 138 residents completed it. The survey consisted of …

Portable Low Field Strength Mri: Preliminary Experience In Neonates And Children, Johnston Fite

Research Days

Background: High field strength MRI (HF-MRI) is a pediatric imaging staple. However, HF-MRI access is limited by strong (1.5 – 3.0 T) magnetic fields with associated safety concerns, space requirements, and cost. To address these limitations, Hyperfine (Guilford, CT) developed a low magnetic field (0.064 T) portable MRI device, named Swoop. Preliminary data in adults shows benefits despite decreased image quality. In this study, initial evaluation of Swoop’s image quality in pediatric patients was assessed.

Objectives/Goal: The objective in this study was the initial evaluation of Swoop’s image quality in pediatric patients to serve as a baseline.

Methods/Design: The study …

Variability In Blood Gas Levels During Non-Invasive Ventilatory Support Following Planned Extubation And Association To 36-Week Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia In Preterm Neonates, Michelle Klueppelberg

Research Days

Background: Despite shifts to non-invasive support, as of 2012, 87% of preterm infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) continued to receive some form of invasive mechanical ventilation1 . As a result, research around how prolonged respiratory support may impact the development of chronic lung disease, specifically bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) has flourished. To date, literature has established associations between the time on invasive mechanical ventilation and incidence BPD2,3. Resulting in the development of standardized extubation strategies and bringing with them objective measures of extubation readiness4,5. Yet, due to their volatile conditions, some neonates will inevitably need to be …

Antibiotic Durations For Skin And Soft Tissue Infections In Pediatric Urgent Care Clinics, Megan Hamner

Research Days

Background: Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are the second most common diagnosis leading to pediatric antibiotic prescriptions in the outpatient setting after respiratory diagnoses. However, most antibiotic stewardship programs have mainly focused on the latter. Children seen in the ambulatory setting for SSTIs often receive >7 days of antibiotics, although current society guidelines recommend 5-7 days for most diagnoses.

Objectives/Goal: To determine the baseline percentage of patients receiving antibiotic prescriptions for >7 days for SSTIs in Children’s Mercy urgent care clinics (UCC)s and to evaluate factors that influence providers towards longer durations.

Methods/Design: We built a report that extracted …

A New Paradigm: Ecmo Therapy In Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Patients, Igor Areinamo

Research Days

Background: The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for support of pediatric patients has significantly increased in the past years. Patients with known oncologic diseases, immunodeficiencies, or bone marrow transplants (BMT) have traditionally not been considered candidates for Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) due to perceived high risk for mortality. Ongoing advances have continued to push the boundaries of ECMO use and we report our recent experience with this patient population

Objectives/Goal: To evaluate survival to discharge of pediatric patients who require ECMO support and who also have an underlying hematologic or oncologic disease process. To determine specific patient characteristics that …

Low Dose Doxorubicin Inhibits Immune Checkpoint Upregulation In Acute Leukemias, Bradley C. Stockard

Research Days

Background: Evasion of drug and immune response in therapy-resistant leukemic stem cells (LSCs) is a major cause of relapse. A previous study has identified an alternative mechanism of action for low-dose doxorubicin (DXR) that inhibits upregulation of immune checkpoints (IC) in LSCs.

Objectives/Goal: The objective of this study is to establish the DXR dose range that will achieve the inhibition of immune checkpoint expression in leukemic cell lines.

Methods/Design: Cells were analyzed for expression of CTLA-4, LAG-3, PD-1, TIGIT, and TIM-3 via flow cytometry. Analysis was performed on days 3, 5, and 8 of treatment at concentrations identified as low, …