Pediatrics Commons^™

Prune1 C933g>A Synonymous Variant Induces Exon 7 Skipping, Disrupts The Dhha2 Domain, And Leads To An Atypical Nmihba Syndrome Presentation: Case Report And Review Of The Literature, Christina L Magyar, David R Murdock, Lindsay C Burrage, Hongzheng Dai, Seema R Lalani, Richard A Lewis, Yuezhen Lin, Marcela F Astudillo, Jill A Rosenfeld, Alyssa A Tran, James B Gibson, Undiagnosed Diseases Network, Carlos A Bacino, Brendan H Lee, Hsiao-Tuan Chao

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Prune exopolyphosphatase-1 (PRUNE1) encodes a member of the aspartic acid-histidine-histidine (DHH) phosphodiesterase superfamily that regulates cell migration and proliferation during brain development. In 2015, biallelic PRUNE1 loss-of-function variants were identified to cause the neurodevelopmental disorder with microcephaly, hypotonia, and variable brain abnormalities (NMIHBA, OMIM#617481). NMIHBA is characterized by the namesake features and structural brain anomalies including thinning of the corpus callosum, cerebral and cerebellar atrophy, and delayed myelination. To date, 47 individuals have been reported in the literature, but the phenotypic spectrum of PRUNE1-related disorders and their causative variants remains to be characterized fully. Here, we report a novel homozygous …

Evolution Of International Pediatric Endoscopic Practice Changes During The Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic, Wenly Ruan, Douglas S Fishman, Diana G Lerner, Raoul I Furlano, Mike Thomson, Catharine M Walsh

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has drastically altered endoscopic practices. We initially reported the international impact of COVID-19 on pediatric endoscopic practice. This follow-up study aimed to assess changes 7 months following the initial survey to delineate practice change patterns as the pandemic evolved.

METHODS: Pediatric gastroenterologists who responded to the initial survey were re-surveyed seven months later using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap). The survey recorded information on changes in pediatric endoscopic practice patterns, including COVID-19 screening and testing processes and personal protective equipment (PPE) utilization. Additionally, endoscopists' risk tolerance of COVID-19 transmission was evaluated.

RESULTS: Seventy-five …

Detoxification Role Of Metabolic Glutathione S-Transferase (Gst) Genes In Blood Lead Concentrations Of Jamaican Children With And Without Autism Spectrum Disorder, Mohammad H Rahbar, Maureen Samms-Vaughan, Sori Kim, Sepideh Saroukhani, Jan Bressler, Manouchehr Hessabi, Megan L Grove, Sydonnie Shakspeare-Pellington, Katherine A Loveland

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Glutathione S-transferases (GST) are involved in the detoxification of exogenous chemicals including lead (Pb). Using data from 344 pairs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) cases and age- and sex-matched typically developing (TD) controls (2−8 years old) from Jamaica, we investigated the interaction between three GST genes and ASD status as determinants of blood Pb concentrations (BPbCs). We found that ASD cases had lower geometric mean BPbCs than TD children (1.74 vs. 2.27 µg/dL, p < 0.01). Using a co-dominant genetic model, ASD cases with the Ile/Val genotype for the GSTP1 Ile105Val polymorphism had lower GM BPbCs than TD controls, after adjusting for a known interaction between GSTP1 and GSTT1, child’s parish, socioeconomic status, consumption of lettuce, fried plantains, and canned fish (Ile/Val: 1.78 vs. 2.13 µg/dL, p = 0.03). Similarly, among carriers of the I/I or I/D (I*) genotype for GSTT1 and GSTM1, ASD cases had lower adjusted GM BPbCs than TD controls (GSTT1 I*: 1.61 vs. 1.91 µg/dL, p = 0.01; GSTM1 I*: 1.71 vs. 2.04 µg/dL, p = 0.01). Our findings suggest that genetic polymorphisms in GST genes may influence detoxification of Pb by the enzymes they encode in Jamaican children with and without ASD.

Cross-Reactive Immunity Against The Sars-Cov-2 Omicron Variant Is Low In Pediatric Patients With Prior Covid-19 Or Mis-C., Juanjie Tang, Tanya Novak, Julian Hecker, Gabrielle Grubbs, Fatema Tuz Zahra, Lorenza Bellusci, Sara Pourhashemi, Janet Chou, Kristin Moffitt, Natasha B. Halasa, Stephanie P. Schwartz, Tracie C. Walker, Keiko M. Tarquinio, Matt S. Zinter, Mary A. Staat, Shira J. Gertz, Natalie Z. Cvijanovich, Jennifer E. Schuster, Laura L. Loftis, Bria M. Coates, Elizabeth H. Mack, Katherine Irby, Julie C. Fitzgerald, Courtney M. Rowan, Michele Kong, Heidi R. Flori, Aline B. Maddux, Steven L. Shein, Hillary Crandall, Janet R. Hume, Charlotte V. Hobbs, Adriana H. Tremoulet, Chisato Shimizu, Jane C. Burns, Sabrina R. Chen, Hye Kyung Moon, Christoph Lange, Adrienne G. Randolph, Surender Khurana

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Neutralization capacity of antibodies against Omicron after a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and adolescents is not well studied. Therefore, we evaluated virus-neutralizing capacity against SARS-CoV-2 Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron variants by age-stratified analyses (5 years of age. As expected, convalescent pediatric COVID-19 and MIS-C cohorts demonstrate higher neutralization titers than hospitalized acute COVID-19 patients. Overall, children and adolescents show some loss of cross-neutralization against all variants, with the most pronounced loss against Omicron. In contrast to SARS-CoV-2 infection, children vaccinated twice demonstrated higher titers against Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron. These findings can influence transmission, re-infection …

Rapid Molecular Diagnostics Of Tuberculosis Resistance By Targeted Stool Sequencing, Doctor B Sibandze, Alexander Kay, Viola Dreyer, Welile Sikhondze, Qiniso Dlamini, Andrew Dinardo, Godwin Mtetwa, Bhekumusa Lukhele, Debrah Vambe, Christoph Lange, Muyalo Glenn Dlamini, Tara Ness, Rojelio Mejia, Barbara Kalsdorf, Jan Heyckendorf, Martin Kuhns, Florian P Maurer, Sindisiwe Dlamini, Gugu Maphalala, Stefan Niemann, Anna Mandalakas

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Stool is an important diagnostic specimen for tuberculosis in populations who struggle to provide sputum, such as children or people living with HIV. However, the culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) complex strains from stool perform poorly. This limits the opportunity for phenotypic drug resistance testing with this specimen. Therefore, reliable molecular methods are urgently needed for comprehensive drug resistance testing on stool specimens.

METHODS: We evaluated the performance of targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS, Deeplex® Myc-TB) for the detection of mutations associated with M. tuberculosis complex drug resistance on DNA isolated from stool specimens provided by participants from a …

Sex, Race, And Primary Language On Opioid Prescribing In Pediatrics, Lubna Begum, Brian Begley, Catherine Cerniglia, Mones Aboeletta, Grace Gilbert, Justin Matthew, Stephen Meixner, Corinna Franklin, Rey Ramirez

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Over-prescription of pain medication has led to an opioid epidemic in the United States. Many factors can contribute to the amount of pain medication prescribed to patients. The amount of pain medication prescribed to patients is affected by many factors and previous research has shown:

• Men are prescribed more than women
• Whites more than non-whites
• English-speaking more than non-English-speaking

The goal of the study was to look at whether this held true in a pediatric orthopedic population. We also looked at the trends in opiate prescribing over time.

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Pediatric Obesity In School-Aged Children, Amaani Faizal, Maryanna Schweininger, Suzanna Hosein

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The prevalence of childhood obesity in those aged 2-19 in the United States was 19.3% in 2017-2018. Childhood obesity is a major health concern with growing rates of incidence. Being overweight or obese put children at risk for developing several chronic conditions such as coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension and asthma at a younger age. Studies have shown that higher BMI numbers in childhood added an increased risk of being obese as an adult.

The pathophysiology of developing obesity includes several complex factors ranging from nutrition, physical activity, genetic background and lifestyle preferences. Among children, nutrition and …

Novel Fold Of Rotavirus Glycan-Binding Domain Predicted By Alphafold2 And Determined By X-Ray Crystallography, Liya Hu, Wilhelm Salmen, Banumathi Sankaran, Yi Lasanajak, David F Smith, Sue E Crawford, Mary K Estes, B V Venkataram Prasad

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The VP8* domain of spike protein VP4 in group A and C rotaviruses, which cause epidemic gastroenteritis in children, exhibits a conserved galectin-like fold for recognizing glycans during cell entry. In group B rotavirus, which causes significant diarrheal outbreaks in adults, the VP8* domain (VP8*B) surprisingly lacks sequence similarity with VP8* of group A or group C rotavirus. Here, by using the recently developed AlphaFold2 for ab initio structure prediction and validating the predicted model by determining a 1.3-Å crystal structure, we show that VP8*B exhibits a novel fold distinct from the galectin fold. This fold with a β-sheet clasping …

Iv Sotalol Use In Pediatric And Congenital Heart Patients: A Multicenter Registry Study., Lindsey Malloy-Walton, Nicholas H. Von Bergen, Seshadri Balaji, Peter S. Fischbach, Jason M. Garnreiter, S Yukiko Asaki, Jeffrey P. Moak, Luis A. Ochoa, Philip M. Chang, Hoang H. Nguyen, Akash R. Patel, Christa Kirk, Ashley K. Sherman, Jennifer N. Avari Silva, J Philip Saul

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Background There is limited information regarding the clinical use and effectiveness of IV sotalol in pediatric patients and patients with congenital heart disease, including those with severe myocardial dysfunction. A multicenter registry study was designed to evaluate the safety, efficacy, and dosing of IV sotalol. Methods and Results A total of 85 patients (age 1 day-36 years) received IV sotalol, of whom 45 (53%) had additional congenital cardiac diagnoses and 4 (5%) were greater than 18 years of age. In 79 patients (93%), IV sotalol was used to treat supraventricular tachycardia and 4 (5%) received it to treat ventricular arrhythmias. …

Iv Sotalol Use In Pediatric And Congenital Heart Patients: A Multicenter Registry Study, Lindsey E Malloy-Walton, Nicholas H Von Bergen, Seshadri Balaji, Peter S Fischbach, Jason M Garnreiter, S Yukiko Asaki, Jeffrey P Moak, Luis A Ochoa, Philip M Chang, Hoang H Nguyen, Akash R Patel, Christa Kirk, Ashley K Sherman, Jennifer N Avari Silva, J Philip Saul

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background There is limited information regarding the clinical use and effectiveness of IV sotalol in pediatric patients and patients with congenital heart disease, including those with severe myocardial dysfunction. A multicenter registry study was designed to evaluate the safety, efficacy, and dosing of IV sotalol. Methods and Results A total of 85 patients (age 1 day-36 years) received IV sotalol, of whom 45 (53%) had additional congenital cardiac diagnoses and 4 (5%) were greater than 18 years of age. In 79 patients (93%), IV sotalol was used to treat supraventricular tachycardia and 4 (5%) received it to treat ventricular arrhythmias. …

Association Of Physical Activity, Sports, And Screen Time With Adolescent Behaviors In Youth Who Visit The Pediatric Emergency Department, Rohit P Shenoi, James G Linakis, Julie R Bromberg, T Charles Casper, Rachel Richards, Thomas H Chun, Victor M Gonzalez, Michael J Mello, Anthony Spirito

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sports, and reduced screen time are associated with favorable youth risk profiles. We evaluated the association of MVPA, sports, and screen time with adolescent behaviors among pediatric emergency department youth. Adolescents were assessed for alcohol/drug use, risky behavior, conduct disorder, and depressive mood. MVPA was activity for ≥5 days/week and ≥60 minutes/day. Increased screen time was ≥3 hours/day computer/TV use for non-schoolwork. Multivariable regression studied association between MVPA, sports, and increased screen time and outcomes adjusting for demographics and academic achievement. Older age and lower academic achievement were significantly associated with risky behaviors, conduct …

Health-Related Quality Of Life In Pediatric Acute Recurrent Or Chronic Pancreatitis: Association With Biopsychosocial Risk Factors, See Wan Tham, Fuchenchu Wang, Cheryl E Gariepy, Gretchen A Cress, Maisam A Abu-El-Haija, Melena D Bellin, Kate M Ellery, Douglas S Fishman, Tanja Gonska, Melvin B Heyman, Tom K Lin, Asim Maqbool, Brian A Mcferron, Veronique D Morinville, Jaimie D Nathan, Chee Y Ooi, Emily R Perito, Sarah Jane Schwarzenberg, Zachary M Sellers, Uzma Shah, David M Troendle, Michael Wilschanski, Yuhua Zheng, Ying Yuan, Mark E Lowe, Aliye Uc, Tonya M Palermo, International Study Group Of Pediatric Pancreatitis: In Search For A Cure (Insppire) And Consortium For The Study Of Chronic Pancreatitis, Diabetes And Pancreatic Cancer (Cpdpc)

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: Abdominal pain, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations impact lives of children with acute recurrent pancreatitis (ARP) and chronic pancreatitis (CP). Data on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in this population, however, remains limited. We aimed to evaluate HRQOL in children with ARP or CP; and test biopsychosocial risk factors associated with low HRQOL.

METHODS: Data were acquired from the INternational Study Group of Pediatric Pancreatitis: In search for a cuRE registry. Baseline demographic and clinical questionnaires, the Child Health Questionnaire (measures HRQOL) and Child Behavior Checklist (measures emotional and behavioral functioning) were completed at enrollment.

RESULTS: The sample included …

Analyzing Relationships Between Economic And Neighborhood-Related Social Determinants Of Health And Intensive Care Unit Length Of Stay For Critically Ill Children With Medical Complexity Presenting With Severe Sepsis, Hunter Hamilton, Alina N West, Nariman Ammar, Lokesh Chinthala, Fatma Gunturkun, Tamekia Jones, Arash Shaban-Nejad, Samir H Shah

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: Of the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH), we evaluated socioeconomic and neighborhood-related factors which may affect children with medical complexity (CMC) admitted to a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) in Shelby County, Tennessee with severe sepsis and their association with PICU length of stay (LOS). We hypothesized that census tract-level socioeconomic and neighborhood factors were associated with prolonged PICU LOS in CMC admitted with severe sepsis in the underserved community.

METHODS: This single-center retrospective observational study included CMC living in Shelby County, Tennessee admitted to the ICU with severe sepsis over an 18-month period. Severe sepsis CMC patients were …

Methylation Quantitative Trait Loci Are Largely Consistent Across Disease States In Crohn’S Disease, Suresh Venkateswaran, Hari K Somineni, Varun Kilaru, Seyma Katrinli, Jarod Prince, David T Okou, Jeffrey S Hyams, Lee A Denson, Richard Kellermayer, Greg Gibson, David J Cutler, Alicia K Smith, Subra Kugathasan, Karen N Conneely

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Recently, we identified 1,189 CpG sites whose DNA methylation level in blood associated with Crohn's disease. Here, we examined associations between DNA methylation and genetic variants to identify methylation quantitative trait loci across disease states in (1) 402 blood samples from 164 newly diagnosed pediatric Crohn's disease patients taken at 2 time points (diagnosis and follow-up), and 74 non-inflammatory bowel disease controls, (2) 780 blood samples from a non-Crohn's disease adult population, and (3) 40 ileal biopsies (17 Crohn's disease cases and 23 non-inflammatory bowel disease controls) from group (1). Genome-wide DNAm profiling and genotyping were performed using the Illumina …

Barriers, Access And Management Of Paediatric Epilepsy With Telehealth., Kari Gali, Sucheta Joshi, Sarah Hueneke, Alexis Katzenbach, Linda Radecki, Trisha Calabrese, Linda Fletcher, Cristina Trandafir, Carey Wilson, Monisha Goyal, Courtney J. Wusthoff, Jean-Baptist Lepichon, Rhonda Corvalan, April Golson, Jessica Hardy, Michael Smith, Elizabeth Cook, Joshua L. Bonkowsky

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Access to paediatric neurology care is complex, resulting in significant wait times and negative patient outcomes. The goal of the American Academy of Pediatrics National Coordinating Center for Epilepsy's project, Access Improvement and Management of Epilepsy with Telehealth (AIM-ET), was to identify access and management challenges in the deployment of telehealth technology. AIM-ET organised four paediatric neurology teams to partner with primary-care providers (PCP) and their multidisciplinary teams. Telehealth visits were conducted for paediatric epilepsy patients. A post-visit survey assessed access and satisfaction with the telehealth visit compared to an in-person visit. Pre/post surveys completed by PCPs and neurologists captured …

Pediatric Growth Patterns In Youth-Onset Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Implications For Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic Models., Chelsea M. Hosey, Kelsee Halpin, Valentina Shakhnovich, Chengpeng Bi, Brooke Sweeney, Yun Yan, J Steven Leeder

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

An accurate understanding of the changes in height and weight of children with age is critical to the development of models predicting drug concentrations in children (i.e., physiologically-based pharmacokinetic models). However, curves describing the growth of a typical population of children may not accurately characterize growth of children with various conditions, such as obesity. Therefore, to develop height and weight versus age growth curves for youth who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, we extracted data from electronic medical records. Robust nonlinear models were parameterized to the equations describing height and weight versus age as defined by the Centers for …

Characteristics And Predictors Of Intensive Care Unit Admission In Pediatric Blunt Abdominal Trauma, Steven C Mehl, Megan E Cunningham, Christian J Streck, Rowland Pettit, Eunice Y Huang, Matthew T Santore, Kuojen Tsao, Richard A Falcone, Melvin S Dassinger, Jeffrey H Haynes, Robert T Russell, Bindi J Naik-Mathuria, Shawn D St Peter, David Mooney, Jeffrey Upperman, Martin L Blakely, Adam M Vogel

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Pediatric trauma patients sustaining blunt abdominal trauma (BAT) with intra-abdominal injury (IAI) are frequently admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). This study was performed to identify predictors for ICU admission following BAT.

METHODS: Prospective study of children (< 16 years) who presented to 14 Level-One Pediatric Trauma Centers following BAT over a 1-year period. Patients were categorized as ICU or non-ICU patients. Data collected included vitals, physical exam findings, laboratory results, imaging, and traumatic injuries. A multivariable hierarchical logistic regression model was used to identify predictors of ICU admission. Predictive ability of the model was assessed via tenfold cross-validated area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (cvAUC).

RESULTS: Included were 2,182 children with 21% (n = 463) admitted to the ICU. On univariate analysis, ICU patients were associated with abnormal age-adjusted shock index, increased injury severity scores (ISS), lower Glasgow coma scores (GCS), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and severe solid organ injury (SOI). With multivariable logistic regression, factors associated with ICU admission were severe trauma (ISS > 15), …

Derivation And Validation Of A Novel Risk Assessment Tool To Identify Children Aged 2–59 Months At Risk Of Hospitalised Pneumonia-Related Mortality In 20 Countries, Chris A Rees, Tim Colbourn, Shubhada Hooli, Carina King, Norman Lufesi, Eric D Mccollum, Charles Mwansambo, Clare Cutland, Shabir Ahmed Madhi, Marta Nunes, Joseph L Matthew, Emmanuel Addo-Yobo, Noel Chisaka, Mumtaz Hassan, Patricia L Hibberd, Prakash M Jeena, Juan M Lozano, William B Macleod, Archana Patel, Donald M Thea, Ngoc Tuong Vy Nguyen, Cissy B Kartasasmita, Marilla Lucero, Shally Awasthi, Ashish Bavdekar, Monidarin Chou, Pagbajabyn Nymadawa, Jean-William Pape, Glaucia Paranhos-Baccala, Valentina S Picot, Mala Rakoto-Andrianarivelo, Vanessa Rouzier, Graciela Russomando, Mariam Sylla, Philippe Vanhems, Jianwei Wang, Rai Asghar, Salem Banajeh, Imran Iqbal, Irene Maulen-Radovan, Greta Mino-Leon, Samir K Saha, Mathuram Santosham, Sunit Singhi, Sudha Basnet, Tor A Strand, Shinjini Bhatnagar, Nitya Wadhwa, Rakesh Lodha, Satinder Aneja, Alexey W Clara, Harry Campbell, Harish Nair, Jennifer Falconer, Shamim A Qazi, Yasir B Nisar, Mark I Neuman, World Health Organization Prepare Study Group

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: Existing risk assessment tools to identify children at risk of hospitalised pneumonia-related mortality have shown suboptimal discriminatory value during external validation. Our objective was to derive and validate a novel risk assessment tool to identify children aged 2-59 months at risk of hospitalised pneumonia-related mortality across various settings.

METHODS: We used primary, baseline, patient-level data from 11 studies, including children evaluated for pneumonia in 20 low-income and middle-income countries. Patients with complete data were included in a logistic regression model to assess the association of candidate variables with the outcome hospitalised pneumonia-related mortality. Adjusted log coefficients were calculated for …

Fungi: Friend Or Foe? A Mycobiome Evaluation In Children With Autism And Gastrointestinal Symptoms, Jane Alookaran, Yuying Liu, Thomas A Auchtung, Amirali Tahanan, Manouchehr Hessabi, Parisa Asgarisabet, Mohammad H Rahbar, Nicole Y Fatheree, Deborah A Pearson, Rosleen Mansour, Melissa R Van Arsdall, Fernando Navarro, J Marc Rhoads

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms often affect children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and GI symptoms have been associated with an abnormal fecal microbiome. There is limited evidence of Candida species being more prevalent in children with ASD. We enrolled 20 children with ASD and GI symptoms (ASD + GI), 10 children with ASD but no GI symptoms (ASD - GI), and 20 from typically developing (TD) children in this pilot study. Fecal mycobiome taxa were analyzed by Internal Transcribed Spacer sequencing. GI symptoms (GI Severity Index [GSI]), behavioral symptoms (Social Responsiveness Scale -2 [SRS-2]), inflammation and fungal immunity (fecal calprotectin and …

Fungi: Friend Or Foe? A Mycobiome Evaluation In Children With Autism And Gastrointestinal Symptoms, Jane Alookaran, Yuying Liu, Thomas A Auchtung, Amirali Tahanan, Manouchehr Hessabi, Parisa Asgarisabet, Mohammad H Rahbar, Nicole Y Fatheree, Deborah A Pearson, Rosleen Mansour, Melissa R Van Arsdall, Fernando Navarro, J Marc Rhoads

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms often affect children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and GI symptoms have been associated with an abnormal fecal microbiome. There is limited evidence of Candida species being more prevalent in children with ASD. We enrolled 20 children with ASD and GI symptoms (ASD+GI), 10 children with ASD but no GI symptoms (ASD−GI), and 20 from typically developing (TD) children (TD) in this pilot study. Fecal mycobiome taxa were analyzed by ITS sequencing. GI symptoms (GI Severity Index (GSI)), behavioral symptoms (Social Responsiveness Scale −2 (SRS-2)), inflammation and fungal immunity (fecal calprotectin and serum dectin-1 (ELISA)) were evaluated. …

Fungi: Friend Or Foe? A Mycobiome Evaluation In Children With Autism And Gastrointestinal Symptoms, Jane Alookaran, Yuying Liu, Thomas A Auchtung, Amirali Tahanan, Manouchehr Hessabi, Parisa Asgarisabet, Mohammad H Rahbar, Nicole Y Fatheree, Deborah A Pearson, Rosleen Mansour, Melissa R Van Arsdall, Fernando Navarro, J Marc Rhoads

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms often affect children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and GI symptoms have been associated with an abnormal fecal microbiome. There is limited evidence of Candida species being more prevalent in children with ASD. We enrolled 20 children with ASD and GI symptoms (ASD + GI), 10 children with ASD but no GI symptoms (ASD - GI), and 20 from typically developing (TD) children in this pilot study. Fecal mycobiome taxa were analyzed by Internal Transcribed Spacer sequencing. GI symptoms (GI Severity Index [GSI]), behavioral symptoms (Social Responsiveness Scale -2 [SRS-2]), inflammation and fungal immunity (fecal calprotectin and …

Kaposiform Lymphangiomatosis Presenting With A Group A Streptococcus Pericardial Effusion, Taylor Koerner, Mehul D Patel, Vinay Pai, Gitanjali Indramohan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

A 4-year-old child was transferred to the paediatric intensive care unit with acute respiratory failure following 4 days of fever, nausea and vomiting. Chest X-ray on admission had an enlarged cardiac silhouette and transthoracic echo confirmed a large pericardial effusion. An emergent pericardiocentesis was performed at bedside which drained nearly 1000 mL of purulent fluid. Postdrainage course was complicated by acute systolic and diastolic heart failure, thrombocytopenia and acute renal failure. A chest CT and MRI were concerning for a diffuse mediastinal soft-tissue density, so the patient underwent interventional radiology-guided biopsy complicated by haemorrhage requiring mediastinal exploration and subtotal thymectomy. …

Symptom Clusters, Physical Activity, And Quality Of Life: A Latent Class Analysis Of Children During Maintenance Therapy For Leukemia, Mary C Hooke, Michelle A Mathiason, Audrey Blommer, Jessica Hutter, Pauline Mitby, Olga Taylor, Michael E Scheurer, Alicia S Kunin-Batson, Wei Pan, Marilyn J Hockenberry

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Children undergoing treatment for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) report co-occurring symptoms of fatigue, sleep disturbances, and depression as a symptom cluster. Physical activity (PA) may influence symptom severity and quality of life (QOL).

OBJECTIVES: This study examined changes in symptoms and QOL during ALL maintenance in children categorized by symptom cluster and explored the influence of PA and symptoms on QOL.

METHODS: Self-report of fatigue, sleep disturbance, and depression; QOL; and PA were measured at the beginning and end of maintenance in 42 children aged 3 to 18 years with ALL. Children were categorized into symptom cluster groups based …

Sleep Challenges And Interventions In Children With Visual Impairment., David G. Ingram Md, Jose M. Cruz, Erin Stahl, Nicole M. Carr, Lisa J. Lind, Carla C. Keirns

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

PURPOSE: To examine sleep patterns in a large and heterogeneous group of children with visual impairment.

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of parents of children with visual impairment was offered via the National Federation of the Blind and the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation.

RESULTS: Complete survey results were available for 72 participants, aged 1 to 16 years. Parents of 52 (72%) children reported that their child had cycles of good sleep and bad sleep, and 50 (69%) reported that their child's sleep patterns caused significant stress for them or their family. Scores on the Childhood Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) …

Factors Associated With Penicillin Allergy Labels In Electronic Health Records Of Children In 2 Large Us Pediatric Primary Care Networks, Margaret G Taylor, Torsten Joerger, Yun Li, Michael E Scheurer, Michael E Russo, Jeffrey S Gerber, Debra L Palazzi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

IMPORTANCE: Penicillin allergy labels influence clinical decision-making, yet most children who are labeled do not have type 1 hypersensitivity allergic reactions and instead have a history of predictable adverse reactions or unspecified illness symptoms while receiving penicillin for viral infections. Studies describing penicillin allergy labeling in the pediatric outpatient setting are lacking.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiology and factors associated with penicillin allergy labels across 2 large US pediatric primary care networks.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This retrospective, longitudinal birth cohort study was conducted in 90 primary care pediatric practices serving a diverse population of children across Houston, Texas, Austin, …

Design, Usability, And Acceptability Of A Needs-Based, Automated Dashboard To Provide Individualized Patient-Care Data To Pediatric Residents, Julia K W Yarahuan, Huay-Ying Lo, Lanessa Bass, Jeff Wright, Lauren M Hess

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Pediatric residency programs are required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education to provide residents with patient-care and quality metrics to facilitate self-identification of knowledge gaps to prioritize improvement efforts. Trainees are interested in receiving this data, but this is a largely unmet need. Our objectives were to (1) design and implement an automated dashboard providing individualized data to residents, and (2) examine the usability and acceptability of the dashboard among pediatric residents.

METHODS: We developed a dashboard containing individualized patient-care data for pediatric residents with emphasis on needs identified by residents and residency leadership. To …

Randomised Trial: Peppermint Oil (Menthol) Pharmacokinetics In Children And Effects On Gut Motility In Children With Functional Abdominal Pain, Robert J Shulman, Bruno P Chumpitazi, Susan M Abdel-Rahman, Uttam Garg, Salma Musaad, Gregory L Kearns

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

AIMS: Little is known regarding the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of menthol, the active ingredient in peppermint oil (PMO). Our aim was to investigate the pharmacokinetics of menthol at 3 dose levels in children and determine their effects on gut motility and transit.

METHODS: Thirty children ages 7-12 years with functional abdominal pain underwent wireless motility capsule (WMC) testing. Approximately 1 week later they were randomized to 180, 360 or 540 mg of enteric coated PMO (10 participants per dose). Menthol pharmacokinetics were determined via blood sampling over 24 hours. They then took their respective dose of PMO (180 mg once, …

Mild Encephalitis/Encephalopathy With A Reversible Splenial Lesion Associated With Systemic Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Infection In North America: A Case Report, Nafee T Talukder, Ashlea Feezel, Jeremy E Lankford

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Mild encephalitis/encephalopathy with reversible splenial lesion is a clinical-radiological entity found to occur in the setting of an acute systemic inflammatory state with isolated lesions of the splenium of the corpus callosum and mild encephalopathy. Mild encephalitis/encephalopathy with reversible splenial lesion is commonly found to occur in children in the setting of viral infections. It has rarely been associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae in the United States, unlike in Eastern and Southern Asia where this is much more prominent.

CASE PRESENTATIONS: A 5-year-old African-American boy with autism spectrum disorder presented to our emergency department with acute onset intractable vomiting, diarrhea, …

Body Region-Specific 3d Age-Scaling Functions For Scaling Whole-Body Computed Tomography Anatomy For Pediatric Late Effects Studies, Aashish C Gupta, Constance A Owens, Suman Shrestha, Choonsik Lee, Susan A Smith, Rita E Weathers, Tucker Netherton, Peter A Balter, Stephen F Kry, David S Followill, Keith T Griffin, James P Long, Gregory T Armstrong, Rebecca M Howell

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose:

Radiation epidemiology studies of childhood cancer survivors treated in the pre-computed tomography (CT) era reconstruct the patients’ treatment fields on computational phantoms. For such studies, the phantoms are commonly scaled to age at the time of radiotherapy treatment because age is the generally available anthropometric parameter. Several reference size phantoms are used in such studies, but reference size phantoms are only available at discrete ages (e.g.: newborn, 1, 5, 10, 15, and Adult). When such phantoms are used for RT dose reconstructions, the nearest discrete-aged phantom is selected to represent a survivor of a specific age. In this work, …

Multidisciplinary Care For Refractory Pediatric Functional Abdominal Pain Decreases Emergency And Inpatient Utilization, Andrew S Chu, Laura Torres, Grace Kao, Caroyl Gilbert, Evelyn Caro Monico, Bruno P Chumpitazi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Children with refractory functional abdominal pain (FAP) experience functional disability and may utilize emergency department (ED) and/or inpatient services. Whether multidisciplinary programs which help care for children with refractory FAP affect acute healthcare utilization is unknown. A retrospective chart review of children initially evaluated by the outpatient Multidisciplinary Abdominal Pain Program (MAPP) from October 2016 to May 2019 was completed. Patient characteristics and number of ED visits and hospitalizations for abdominal pain in the year prior to versus year after MAPP evaluation were captured. Thirty-eight children (ages 9-17 years [median 13 years]) were included. The median number of ED visits/patient/year …