New Research from Packard Children's Hospital Experts Presented at Pediatric Academic Societies' Annual Meeting

Business Wire, May 5, 2007

STANFORD, Calif. -- The annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies provides researchers an opportunity to present their latest findings to their peers. Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford researchers are well-represented at this year's meeting in Toronto, Canada on May 5th through May 8th. Following are a few of the topics being presented by the team from Packard Children's:

When a yellow baby equals red alert

Severe, untreated neonatal jaundice can be deadly. Packard neonatologist Vinod Bhutani, MD, and colleagues explored the causes of and treatments for the condition in several presentations. They looked at how to predict which newborns are most at risk and how best to treat the disorder. They've found that treating severe episodes as a medical emergency--the 'crash cart' approach--can reduce the likelihood of irreversible neurological damage. They also used methods familiar to aviation safety experts to identify the common lapses, misunderstandings and oversights in care that lead to irreversible neurological damage. Some of the culprits? Failure to quickly identify and treat the condition, and inadequate or delayed responses to concerned parents.

Presentations: May 5, 8 am EDT (predicting newborns at risk); May 8, 10 am EDT (crash cart approach to care and root causes and recommendations).

Special kids need special care

Chronic illnesses such as asthma and kidney disease account for an increasing proportion of kids' hospital stays in California. But not every child gets the same care. Packard pediatric health care researcher Paul Wise, MD, MPH, and colleagues, analyzed access to specialized centers and health care status in chronically ill children and in children of immigrants with special health care needs in two presentations. They found that access to specialized care varies widely for chronically ill children in California, and that children with special health care needs who live in immigrant families are less able than those in non-immigrant families to access care.

Presentations: May 5, 2:15 pm EDT (children in immigrant families have less access) and May 7, 3 pm EDT (variations in access for chronically ill children to specialty care).

Keep those preemies warm!

Hypothermia is an important risk factor for death in newborns, but until now its prevalence in premature infants had not been well-documented. When neonatologist Henry Lee, MD, and colleagues examined records from nearly 120 neonatal intensive care units, they found that more than 60 percent of very low birth weight infants suffer from some degree of hypothermia after birth; the smallest infants are at greatest risk. In a second study, they documented the success at Packard Children's of quality improvement measures aimed at keeping these fragile infants warm.

Presentations: May 6, 11 am EDT (Many very low birth weight preemies are hypothermic) and May 7, 3 pm EDT (quality improvement measures work).

Looking Closely at Childhood Leukemia

Relapsed leukemia is the leading cause of cancer deaths in childhood. Understanding why some patients relapse and some don't will help physicians predict risk and design new treatments. Packard Children's researchers like Joshua Schiffman, MD, and Gary Dahl, MD, have developed a molecular biological technology to identify an event called Loss of Heterozygosity that is linked to cancer progression. The technique may help determine which children may be most at risk.

Presentation: May 5, 4 pm EDT

About Lucile Packard Children's Hospital

Ranked as one of the best pediatric hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report and Child magazine, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford is a 264-bed hospital devoted to the care of children and expectant mothers. Providing pediatric and obstetric medical and surgical services and associated with the Stanford University School of Medicine, Packard Children's offers patients locally, regionally and nationally the full range of health care programs and services -- from preventive and routine care to the diagnosis and treatment of serious illness and injury. For more information, visit http://www.lpch.org.

About Stanford University Medical Center

Stanford University Medical Center integrates research, medical education and patient care at its three institutions -- Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. For more information, please visit the Web site of the medical center's Office of Communication & Public Affairs at http://mednews.stanford.edu.