Although good vision is important for children’s physical development and academic success, 24 percent of Chicago’s children and adolescents ages 1-17 have not had their vision tested, according to a survey of parents released by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH).
The current recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) call for introducing to infants one single-ingredient food at a time and waiting three to five days to observe for food allergy before introducing another new food. However, the long waiting period might be too long, given that food allergy becomes apparent within minutes to a few hours after eating a new food. A recent survey of pediatricians, published in JAMA Network Open, found significant variability in their recommendations to parents about solid food introduction, which calls into question the relevance of the current guidelines.
Scientists from Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago discovered that a set of genes with decreased expression in individuals with Down syndrome may lead to clinical abnormalities in this population, such as poor muscle development and heart valve problems. Impairment in these same genes may also protect people with Down syndrome from developing solid tumors. Their findings were published in Scientific Reports.
Prevalence of asthma in Chicago’s youth is higher than state and national levels, according to the latest survey of parents released by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH). The survey found that 16 percent of families have a child who had ever been diagnosed with asthma, above the 11 percent rate across Illinois and 12 percent nationwide.
A study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago discovered that children younger than 5 years with mild to moderate COVID-19 have much higher levels of genetic material for the virus in the nose compared to older children and adults. Findings, published in JAMA Pediatrics, point to the possibility that the youngest children transmit the virus as much as other age groups. The ability of younger children to spread COVID-19 may have been under-recognized given the rapid and sustained closure of schools and daycare during the pandemic.
While 93 percent of U.S. pediatricians surveyed were aware of the national guidelines on peanut allergy prevention in infants, only 30 percent were fully implementing the recommended practices and 64 percent reported partial implementation, according to the study published in JAMA Network Open.
A study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago found that children with a MED-EL Synchrony cochlear implant device can undergo MRI safely, with no discomfort and reduced need for sedation or anesthesia. Findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Laryngoscope.
A report from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago shows that infants under 90 days of age who tested positive for COVID-19 tend to be well, with little or no respiratory involvement. Fever was often found to be the primary or only symptom. Findings were published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
Prevalence of food allergy among Medicaid-enrolled children across the U.S. was substantially lower (0.6 percent), compared to previous national estimates using parent surveys (7.6 percent) and reports of physician confirmation of food allergy (4.7 percent). The study, published in Academic Pediatrics, was the first to analyze Medicaid claims data of over 23 million children to estimate prevalence of food allergy diagnosis.
Blood biomarkers that reflect the body’s response to infection – including white blood cell count, absolute neutrophil count, C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin – are generally not useful in predicting the overall severity of community-acquired pneumonia in children, according to a study published in Pediatrics.
A study of over 4 million children and adolescents in the U.S. enrolled in Medicaid found that those who rely on urgent care centers for more than a third of their outpatient health care needs had fewer visits to primary care providers. This may result in missed opportunities for preventative services, such as vaccinations, and identification and management of chronic conditions, such as obesity or asthma. Findings were published in JAMA Network Open.
Young girls who are about to undergo treatment for cancer or other therapies that pose high risk of infertility can opt to have an ovary removed and preserved for future transplantation when they are ready to pursue pregnancy. However, the tiny ovary can be easily damaged during surgery and the quality of ovarian tissue for fertility preservation is affected by the surgical removal technique, according to a study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery. Using an experimental piglet model, researchers defined the safest laparoscopic technique for removing the ovary that also results in the best quality ovarian tissue for later use.
When asked who should do more to address bullying, 83 percent of Chicago parents who considered it a big problem for youth responded “parents,” according to the latest survey results released by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH). Teachers and school administrators were next on the list, each selected by 45 percent of parents in response to the question.
A study led by Jennifer Hoffmann, MD, from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, found that higher county-level poverty is associated with increased youth suicide rates among children 5-19 years old in the United States in 2007-2016. Children and adolescents from counties where 20 percent or more of the population lives below the federal poverty level were 37 percent more likely to die by suicide, compared to communities with the lowest poverty concentration. Youth suicide by firearms was 87 percent more likely in areas with the highest poverty levels. Findings were published in JAMA Pediatrics.
Treating septic shock in children with a combination of intravenous vitamin C, vitamin B1 and hydrocortisone (a commonly used steroid) is associated with lower mortality, according to a study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. This is the first pediatric study of the safe and relatively inexpensive treatment for septic shock, and the preliminary data supports the promising outcomes seen in adults. Findings were published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
“When is my baby going home?” is one of the first questions asked by families of infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Now clinicians have a data-based answer. Moderate to late preterm babies (born at gestational age of 32 to 36 weeks) who have no significant medical problems on admission are likely to be discharged at 36 weeks of postmenstrual age (gestational age plus age since birth), according to a study published in the American Journal of Perinatology. Small for gestational age infants and those with specific diagnoses may stay longer.
For the first time, scientists identified and mapped the location of structural proteins in a pig ovary. Ongoing development of an “ink” with these proteins will be used for 3-D printing an artificial (or bio-prosthetic) ovary that could be implanted and allow a woman to have a child. Findings were recently published in Scientific Reports.
Pregnant women living with HIV don’t always receive antiretroviral medications recommended for use in pregnancy, according to a recent study published in Jama Network Open this week. Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago’s researchers collaborated in the multi-site Surveillance Monitoring for ART Toxicities (SMARTT) study of the Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study (PHACS) network.
New model of integrated care is expected to improve health outcomes and lower healthcare costs by addressing social factors that impact health, coordinating services, and reducing avoidable emergency department visits and hospitalizations
In Chicago, 7 percent of parents said that their child or children were limited or prevented in their ability to do things most peers can do, according to the latest survey results released by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH).
Most neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) participating in the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium are unable to reliably and consistently monitor caloric intake delivered to critically ill infants at risk for growth failure, according to a study published in the Journal of Perinatology. Managing optimal nutrition for preemies is a complex process, especially when the baby is transitioned from receiving nutrition intravenously to enteral (or through the gut) feeds. The study found low prevalence of fully automated clinical decision support systems used to calculate and adjust nutritional intake for premature infants.
Lifelong lower socioeconomic status of fathers, as defined by early life and adulthood neighborhood income, is a newly identified risk factor for early preterm birth (at less than 34 weeks), according to a study published in Maternal and Child Health Journal.
Consistent with last year, Chicago parents again selected gun violence, bullying/cyberbullying and poverty as the top three social problems for children and adolescents in the city, according to the latest survey results released by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH). Hunger was new to this year’s top 10 list of social issues facing youth, with 62 percent of parents across all community areas in Chicago considering it a big problem.
Along with the promise that CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology can offer new human therapies is the need to ensure its safety. A recent study showed that CRISPR-Cas9 did not produce off-target gene mutations in zebrafish. These results, published in Frontiers in Genetics, confirm previous data in animal models that the risk to the rest of the genome from gene editing is minimal.
Children’s deaths from choking on small objects dropped by 75 percent from 1968 to 2017, according to a report published in JAMA. Various choking hazard regulations enacted during the past 50 years may have played a role in the large decline in choking deaths, although the study design cannot establish a direct causal link. However, despite warning label legislation and other regulations, 184 children in the U.S. died from choking in 2017.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago was awarded $7 million by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to compare two approaches commonly used to treat pediatric anxiety disorders – cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) alone and CBT combined with antidepressant medication. Results from the study will help families make more informed decisions on the treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents.
In the first large-scale clinical study to characterize stem cells from the umbilical cord blood and tissues of premature infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia – a severe, chronic lung disease – researchers found that these babies had more stem cells at birth. They also found that a growth factor (G-CSF), which is responsible for stem cell migration and differentiation, is decreased in these infants.
Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago adds another fetal surgeon to complement its robust program.
A study in humans and mice demonstrated that a fetus has its own microbiome, or communities of bacteria living in the gut, which are known to play important roles in the immune system and metabolism. Researchers also confirmed that the fetal microbiome is transmitted from the mother. These findings open the door to potential interventions during pregnancy to stimulate the fetal microbiome when a premature birth is expected, to help the baby grow faster and be better equipped to tolerate early life infection risk. The study was published in the journal JCI Insight.
In a study using non-invasive tape strips in young children with eczema (or atopic dermatitis), researchers found many molecular signs of immune dysfunction and skin changes that relate to disease activity. These signs (or biomarkers) were present even before eczema was visible and can be used to track disease activity over time. With more research, these biomarkers also may help predict response to medicine and development of conditions associated with eczema, such as asthma, other allergies, infections and even attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Findings were published in JAMA Dermatology.
African-American infants are twice as likely to die in the first year of life than white infants, for reasons that are complex and not well understood. Results from a recent study suggest that specific abnormalities in the placenta from African-American preterm births may hold clues to the physical mechanisms behind racial disparities in preemie health outcomes.
A new study of African Americans with poorly controlled asthma, found differences in patients’ responses to commonly used treatments. Contrary to what researchers had expected, almost half of young children in the study responded differently than older children and adults, and than white children in prior studies.
Chicago adults identified stress, drug abuse, and depression as the top three big health problems for children and adolescents in the city, according to results from a new survey developed by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH). Similar to last year, many of the top 10 concerns were related to mental health.
Young adults with childhood history of both parental incarceration and juvenile justice involvement were nearly three times more likely to have depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared to peers without any experience with the criminal justice system
Exposure to C. difficile in infancy produces an immune response that might protect against this gastrointestinal infection later in childhood, according to a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases journal.
Four in 10 parents live in a Chicago community area with limited grocery access, and they report more challenges to healthy eating for their children, such as time for sit-down family meals, cost of healthy foods, and convenience of fast food, according to results of a new survey released by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH).
The lab of Yongchao Ma, PhD, from Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, discovered how the genetic defect in fragile X syndrome – a type of autism – delays production of neurons (nerve cells) at a critical time in the embryo’s brain development. In a study published in Cell Reports, Dr. Ma and colleagues describe a previously unknown regulatory mechanism controlling how stem cells differentiate into neurons. They identified early disruptions in this process in fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited intellectual disability in children.
Extremely premature infants who fail to grow as expected have delayed development of their microbiome, or communities of bacteria and other micro-organisms living in the gut, according to a new study published in Scientific Reports. Analysis of these infants’ metabolism revealed that their bodies are responding as if they were fasting, despite caloric intake similar to extremely premature infants with appropriate growth. The study findings also suggest that the unique makeup of the microbiome in infants with growth failure might contribute to their inability to properly metabolize nutrients.
The odds of child physical abuse vs. accidental injury increased substantially when the caregiver at the time of injury was male, according to a new study published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
A new study has found a high incidence of headaches in pediatric stroke survivors and identified a possible association between post-stroke headache and stroke recurrence.
Preschool children with community-acquired pneumonia often receive unnecessary tests and treatment at outpatient clinics and emergency departments, according to a nationally representative study led by Todd Florin, MD, MSCE, from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.
Child health experts from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago offer recommendations to address the national shortage of nurses who provide care at home for children with serious chronic health conditions often caused by complications of premature birth.
Cholesterol levels in U.S. youth have improved from 1999 to 2016, but only half of children and adolescents are in the ideal range and 25 percent are in the clinically high range, according to a study published in JAMA, led by Amanda Marma Perak, MD MS, cardiologist at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.
Cutting-edge discovery in the lab of Catherine Hunter, MD, from Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago offers a new direction toward treatment of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) – a devastating intestinal emergency that occurs in up to 10 percent of premature infants.
In the first study of its kind in the U.S., researchers found that normally developing preschool children with chronic constipation have underlying sensory issues that contribute to their difficulties with toileting behaviors. These children are often picky eaters who might be overly sensitive to food textures, tastes, or odors. They also might have an exaggerated response to noises, bright lights, or other sensory stimuli. Findings were published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
In the first study to evaluate inhaler technique in children hospitalized for asthma – the group at highest risk for complications and death from asthma – researchers found that nearly half of participants demonstrated improper inhaler use, which means they routinely were not taking in the full dose of medication. Adolescents most commonly displayed critical errors in inhaler technique. They also often skipped using a spacer, which is a device that is recommended for use with an inhaler to help the right amount of asthma medication reach the lungs. Findings were published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine.
For the first time in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), patients get a chance to scuba dive, snowboard, and go on a safari or other adventures, all from their hospital bed. The 360 degree immersions into virtual environments were extremely well received by PICU patients and their parents, according to results from a pilot study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago that were published in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine.
The nondescript yet mysterious fatty tissue that hangs like an apron from the stomach – called the omentum – holds great promise for thousands of children born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome(HLHS) or other severe cardiac defects, who might need a heart transplant within their first 10 years of life. Using an animal model, researchers found that surgically attaching the omentum to the overburdened heart reduces signs of injury, allowing the heart to function normally. Their findings were published in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery.
Paid leave allows working parents to care for sick children and take them to the doctor when needed. But in Chicago, four in 10 working parents say that they do not have paid leave, according to results of a new survey released by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH).
To assess risk factors for chronic fatigue syndrome after mononucleosis, researchers developed and validated a scale for rating the severity of mononucleosis. In a study with 126 college students, they found that participants with a higher mononucleosis severity score had over three times the risk of meeting two or more sets of diagnostic criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome after six months, as well as almost twice the chance of being prescribed steroids and an increased risk of being hospitalized during the acute illness. Their findings were published in the Journal of Pediatrics.
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