Transformational Pediatrics features interviews with physicians and researchers at Children’s Mercy Kansas City who are transforming pediatric care through genomic medicine, personalized therapeutics, health services and outcomes research, and innovations in health care delivery.
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Health Care Informatics
Andrew Wilner and Jill Westcott
What is informatics and why is it important in health care? Listen as Jill Westcott, MD, MS, FACOG, Physician Informaticist for the Fetal Health Center at Children's Mercy, shares her expertise on the topic and how informatics is improving patient outcomes in fetal health.
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Genomic Answers for Kids Establishes New Paradigm in Rare Disease Research
Melanie Cole and Tomi Pastinen
The Children’s Mercy Research Institute® is undertaking a research initiative to build a first-of-its-kind pediatric data repository to facilitate the search for answers and novel treatments for pediatric genetic conditions. Our goal is to collect genomic data and health information for 30,000 children and their families over the next seven years, creating a database of nearly 100,000 genomes.
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Transforming Pediatric Research
Melanie Cole and Tom Curran
How do we create a healthier future for children? The Children's Mercy Research Institute with a core focus on genomics, personalized therapeutics, population health, health care innovation and bioethics is positioned to fundamentally transform pediatric research and create a world of well-being for all children. Listen as Thomas Curran, PhD, FRS, Chief Scientific Officer, discusses the institute and the future of pediatric research.
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Achieving Transplant Excellence Through Personalized Medicine
Melanie Cole and Bradley Warady
Children’s Mercy Kansas City is recognized as one of the top 10 nephrology programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, and the kidney transplant program has incorporated a number of innovative practices into their management plan that are designed to enhance patient outcomes. Join us as Dr. Bradley Warady discusses how the program’s personalized approach to meeting each patient’s unique needs — including repeated surveillance biopsies, epitope matching and pharmacokinetic assessment of immunosuppressive medication — has contributed to a 100% three-year patient and graft survival rate for the past six years.
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Pediatric Hemodialysis and Advances in Infection Prevention and Vascular Preservation
Melanie Cole and Bradley A. Warady
To reduce the risk of complications related to hemodialysis, the Children’s Mercy Kansas City Division of Nephrology has implemented several strategies. Listen as Dr. Bradley Warady shares how the institution of standardized infection prevention practices has resulted in more than 1,200 consecutive days without an outpatient central line-associated blood stream infection (CLABSI) in a hemodialysis (HD) patient. In addition, Dr. Warady discusses how vascular preservation protocols also are improving the long-term venous access options for these and future patients.
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Impact of Race & Ethnicity on Responses to Folic Acid Dosing
Melanie Cole and Devika Maulik
Devika Maulik MD shares her translational research as it relates to folic acid and different responses to dosing among women of various races and ethnicities. She is using the information gathered to create recommended guidelines for folic acid dosing. She discusses current literature on this topic, as well as her studies in this area.
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Pediatric Recurrent Intentional Foreign Body Ingestion: Case Series and Review of the Literature
Melanie Cole and Christina M. Low Kapalu
Dr. Christina Low Kapalu discusses cases and literature surrounding pediatric recurrent intentional foreign body ingestion.
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Variations in Morning Serum Cortisol Levels Based on Sex and Pubertal Status
Melanie Cole and Sarah Tsai
Dr. Sarah Tsai discusses his recent findings from his study surround serum morning cortisol levels.
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Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome: Algorithm for Diagnosing and Treating
Melanie Cole and Emanuel Vlastos
Dr. Emanuel "Mike" Vlastos discusses the algorithm for diagnosing and trading twin to twin transfusion syndrome.
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Improved Outcomes for Liver Transplantation with Biliary Atresia
Melanie Cole and James F. Daniel
Dr. James Daniel discusses improved outcomes for liver transplantation with Biliary Atresia.
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Clinical Characteristics of Fractures in Pediatric Patients Exposed to PPIs
Michael Smith and Nathan R. Fleishman
Dr. Nathan Fleishman discusses the clinical characteristics of fractures in pediatric patients exposed to PPIs.
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Pediatric Provider Well-Being and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Melanie Cole and Jennifer Bickel
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented work environment for pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists. How we practice medicine has been dramatically changed. When discussing physical precautions such as PPE and social distancing, provider mental well-being also should be a part of the conversation.
In this podcast, Jennifer Bickel, MD, pediatric neurologist and Medical Director of the Children’s Mercy Center for Professional Well-Being, discusses how pediatricians have responded to the pandemic on a personal and professional level, the impact on physical and mental health, adjusting to the decrease in patient and peer contact, warning signs of burnout and mental health issues, steps Children’s Mercy is taking to address physician well-being, and more. -
Preventing Type 2 Diabetes
Michael Smith and Kelsee Halpin
Dr. Kelsee Halpin discusses Endocrinology and Diabetes.
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Bariatric Surgery
Michael Smith and Jason D. Fraser
Childhood Obesity continues to be on the rise and causes serious health consequences. In this podcast, Dr. Jason Fraser discusses the Bariatric Surgery program at Children's Mercy. We learn who is a candidate for bariatric surgery, the requirements for surgery, why Children's Mercy decided to offer bariatric surgery, the type of bariatric surgery offered at Children's Mercy and results.
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Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Current Concepts for A Complex Condition
Michael Smith and Tania S. Burgert
Dr. Tania Burgert discusses Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and the current ideas surrounding a complex condition.
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How the Cardiac High Acuity Monitoring Program (CHAMP) is Helping Change Lives
Michael Smith and Hayley S. Hancock
CHAMP (Cardiac High Acuity Monitoring Program) is a multi-disciplinary based team that has been designed to meet the needs of the most complex cardiac population with single ventricle heart disease. The program closely monitors patients with single ventricle heart disease between the critical first and second stages (before stage II Glenn surgery). The team at the Ward Family Heart Center at Children's Mercy has also developed a tool that makes it easier for families to report their single ventricle child's vital signs from home and provides the hospital team with frequent updates needed to keep these patients well between visits. Dr. Hancock discusses everything you need to know about CHAMP.
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CKiD Expansion
Michael Smith and Bradley A. Warady
The CKiD study was recently approved for an additional five years and $4.7 million of funding, making 20 consecutive years of funding. Historically, when participants developed end-stage disease, they left the study. The next phase of study will focus on the entire spectrum of the disease, starting with early CKiD in infants and following those who progress to kidney failure, requiring dialysis and transplant. Currently, CKiD is enrolling an additional 190 children in the new cohort. The study will attempt to detect abnormalities earlier in the process for more timely interventions.
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Targeted Therapy to Reduce Relapse of Pediatric Leukemia
Michael Smith and John M. Perry
Patients that have residual leukemia stem cells after chemotherapy and other treatments have substantially higher risk for relapse. Survival rates for relapsed leukemia are very poor. Even when patients survive long-term, the very toxic anti-cancer treatments are escalated in treating relapsed leukemia. This particularly risks long-term health and substantially increases the risk of early death due to side-effects of the treatment itself.
John Perry, PhD, faculty member of the Children's Research Institute at Children's Mercy Kansas City is studying how leukemia stem cells resist current anti-cancer treatments.
Join us for this podcast as Dr. Perry discusses the promise of low-dose doxorubicin as a targeted therapy against leukemia stem cells rather than a broadly toxic chemotherapy drug. -
Identifying Novel Drug Treatment Options for Pediatric Osteosarcoma
Michael Smith and Tomoo Iwakuma
Osteosarcoma is highly metastatic and drug-resistant cancer. The survival rate for metastatic osteosarcoma remains less than 20 percent for the last 40 years. Tomoo Iwakuma, MD, PhD, is leading research focused on the elucidation of mechanisms underlying osteosarcoma progression and the discovery of novel drugs against this osteosarcoma. His laboratory has identified a lead compound that specifically killed canine and human osteosarcoma cells lacking the activity of the tumor suppressor p53, with minimal impact on non-tumor cells. Join us as we visit with Dr. Iwakuma about this promising research.
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Management and Treatment for Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome
Michael Smith, Thomas M. Attard, and Caitlin E. Lawson
Peutz-jeghers syndrome (PJS) is an inherited syndrome, characterized by the development of gastrointestinal polyps and characteristic mucocutaneous freckling. Individuals that present with PJS tend to have polyps often in their small intestine as well as their stomach and large intestine. Recently the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) group published the first set of guidelines in treating PJS in pediatric patients.
Hear from Thomas Attard MD, a core contributing author to the ESPGHAN guidelines and Caitlin Lawson, MS, CGC, on how Children’s Mercy manages pediatric patients in view of the new recommendations and how novel techniques available at Children’s Mercy impact patient management and outcomes. -
Getting in Front of Type 2 Diabetes
Michael Smith and Yun Yan
Type 2 diabetes was commonly associated with the adult population. This diagnosis was even referenced as adult-onset diabetes but in recent years type 2 diabetes in children is on the rise.
Although researchers aren’t clear as to why some children develop type 2 diabetes there are some causes that can increase the risk. When children present with these risks the Children Mercy Diabetes Center can evaluate these patients and create a care plan to possibly alter the path to such a diagnosis.
Hear from Dr. Yan as she explains the types of children that can be seen in clinic and how to proactively get in front of a life altering diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. -
Is There a Role for Fecal Transplant in IBD?
Michael Smith and Alka Goyal
Can an effective treatment for medically refractive Crohn’s disease be found in the gastrointestinal tract itself?
Dr. Alka Goyal with Children’s Mercy Kansas City is exploring the role of fecal transplant as a rescue therapy for patients whose inflammatory bowel disease has not responded to traditional treatment. Early research showed that a single transplant is relatively safe and can result in a short-term response in young patients with active IBD but doesn’t provide long-term relief. Now Dr. Goyal is launching a new study to help determine whether there is an advantage to a stronger induction phase for transplant, and any benefit to performing maintenance therapy for patients with Crohn’s.
Dr. Goyal highlights her research findings recently published in the IBD Journal, reviews her next study and the potential it holds for patients whose disease requires longer-term effective therapy. -
Tourette Syndrome: Using an Evidence-based Algorithm to Guide Treatment
Michael Smith, Keith A. Coffman, and Julio Quezada
As an expert in the treatment of Tourette Syndrome (TS), recently, Dr. Coffman was asked to author an article on the pharmacological treatment of Tourette Syndrome.
In collaboration with Dr. Quezada, the paper was published in CNS Drugs Journal, focusing on current approaches and new developments regarding treatment of Tourette Syndrome. The team developed a visual algorithm to help guide the treatment of TS using medication based on the level-of-evidence and side-effects. It has been designed for others to use both inside the U.S. and globally. In this podcast, Drs. Coffman and Quezada will discuss the findings of the review publication. -
Precision Therapeutics in the NICU
Michael Smith and Tamorah R. Lewis
Neonatal pharmacotherapy is a field ripe with opportunity. Efficacy and toxicity is unpredictable and varies greatly for many drug classes commonly used. Weight-based dosing continues to be the standard of care as individualized drug markers are lacking. To better understand variability in drug response, the focus must shift from drug dosing to drug exposure.
Tamorah Lewis, MD, neonatologist and clinical pharmacologist, joins us to discuss how pharmacotherapy and individualized medicine can transform care for critically ill newborns. -
Cancer Genomics: Finding Answers Through Data and DNA
Michael Smith and Erin M. Guest
Approximately 10 to 15 percent of childhood cancer cases are due to a genetic predisposition. Children’s Mercy Kansas City is searching within the genetic code to not only identify genes that may lead to cancer, but to find answers in how to better treat or cure pediatric cancer.
Erin Guest, MD, Director of Cancer Genomics at Children’s Mercy, discusses the growing role of cancer genomics and how big data, new tests, and personalized treatments could change the future of pediatric cancer treatment.
