Charting Pediatrics

Cellular therapy is a new type of immunotherapy that is bringing hope to pediatric patients with blood cancers.

The therapy is more specifically known as chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy (or CAR-T cell therapy), and it has been hailed as a breakthrough in the field of immunotherapy. CAR-T cell therapy "takes the brakes" off the immune system's response. Essentially, it trains the cells within the immune system, called T cells, to see tumors they weren't naturally developed to recognize.

Two years ago, we had the brilliant team of Terry Fry, MD and Mike Verneris, MD join us to discuss this therapy for patients with leukemia and other cancers; you can go back and listen to that initial discussion on Season 1, episode 33. We continue to hear from listeners how much they enjoyed this discussion of clinical invocation and application and decided that it was time to bring Dr. Fry and Dr. Verneris back to hear an update on their work and what the latest in the space of CAR-T cell therapy is.

As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its 8th month, we continue to learn more about how SARS-CoV2 impacts our pediatric population, including the severe Kawasaki-like disease, Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children Associated with COVID-19, or MIS-C. In this, our 17th COVID-19 podcast we will cover the clinical presentation of MIS-C, how it differs from Kawasaki's and what the early literature is saying. We are fortunate to be joined by two giants in the field of Pediatric Infectious Diseases: Jim Todd, MD and Mimi Glode, MD.

Dr. Glode is the former Section Head of Infectious Diseases at Children's Colorado and is Professor Emerita of Pediatric Infectious Disease at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Dr. Glode is an internationally recognized as an expert on Kawasaki disease and immunization pioneered the use of IVIG for the treatment for Kawasaki disease.

Dr. Todd is the former-Jules Amer Chair in Community Pediatrics and Section Head of Epidemiology at Children's Hospital Colorado and Clinical Professor Emeritus in Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and is known for his discovery of Toxic Shock Syndrome.

What We Know About Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) Associated with COVID-19

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Prenatally diagnosed with hydronephrosis, babies of ethnic minorities get surgery sooner than white ones, often within the first year. That's well documented; the trickier question is why. What role does implicit bias play, or at what point during the process does it come into play? What imaging studies do surgeons order, and how do they interpret the findings? How do those interpretations influence the decision whether to do surgery, or when?

On today's episode, we are going to talk with Vijaya Vemulakonda, MD, JD, about her work studying demographic disparity in medicine and how the electronic health record can help close the gap. Dr. Vemulakonda is a pediatric urologist at Children's Colorado and Associate Professor of Surgery and Urology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Read more about Dr. Vemulakonda's research

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In this our 16th COVID-19 podcast, we will delve into the return to school guidance that both Children's Hospital Colorado and the American Academy of Pediatrics have released and talk about how pediatricians can be advocates for the safe return to in-person learning in their communities.

When schools across the United States halted in-person learning because of COVID-19 this Spring, many of us never predicted that students would remain in a remote learning status for the remainder of the school year. As school districts and teachers worked tirelessly to utilize all resources at their disposal, it became apparent that virtual learning was not an ideal education setting. From the lack of learning equity and access to critical services for many students to mental health impacts, many educators and pediatricians began talking about the importance of in-person learning resuming in some fashion for fall 2020.

Today we are joined by returning guest Sean O'Leary, MD. Sean is an infectious disease physician at Children's Colorado and Director of the Colorado Pediatric Practice-Based Research Network.

And we are happy to welcome Heidi Baskfield, JD to the podcast. Heidi is a lawyer by training and the Vice President of Population Health and Advocacy at Children's Hospital Colorado.

COVID-19 Return to School Risk-Based Guide from Children's Hospital Colorado

COVID-19 Planning Considerations: Guidance For School Re-Entry from the AAP

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Months of progress in the United States has been overshadowed this week by a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, with areas of the South and West experiencing their first strong wave of cases. Earlier this week Texas Children's Hospital announced they are admitting adult patients to help with surge capacity in Houston. As pediatric providers, we are considering ongoing PPE preparedness for an unknown future, what the latest literature is telling us about the virus in kids and what a vaccine or treatment option might look like. In this our 15th COVID-19 podcast, we will delve into these topics and more as we unpack what we've learned about COVID-19 in pediatrics with Dr. Sam Dominguez.

Today we are fortunate to be joined once again by my un-official Charting Pediatrics co-host, Sam Dominguez, MD. Sam is a pediatric infectious diseases physician at Children's Hospital Colorado and Professor of Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

COVID-19 Risk/Benefit Gauge from the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment

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Across our organization, our Children's Hospital Colorado team members have engaged in dialogue about the institutional origins of systemic racism, the targeted injustices that continue in Black communities, and the ways our social structures produce disparities in education, housing, economics, and health. Today we want to bring this conversation to the podcast and talk about the opportunity our pediatric provider community has in turning the passion of these conversations into progress by providing positive impact to equity in pediatric medicine. In this moment, it is necessary for us all to demonstrate clarity, courage and fortitude to address these long-standing injustices.

Today our guest is Brandi Freeman, MD. Dr. Freeman is a pediatrician at the Children's Colorado Child Health Clinic and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She is an advocate for Diversity and Inclusion in the Health Professions workforce.

As communities begin to emerge from stay-at-home orders, the question of return to sports and recreation is on the minds of many. While professional and collegiate sports may take longer to resume play and allow spectators in the stands, youth sports organizations are hopeful that they may be able to lead the way in restoring a sense of normalcy to everyday life. Given the unprecedented circumstances posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is no clear prescription for success, but guidance is emerging to help shape the re-opening of youth sports. In this our 14th COVID-19 podcast, we will discuss those considerations and guidance with Julie Wilson, MD and Aubrey Armento, MD.

Dr. Wilson has joined us on Season 1 and 2 of the podcast to discuss the topic of concussion management – she serves as Club Outreach Medical Director of the Children's CO Sports Medicine Center and is an Assistant Professor of Orthopedics and Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Dr. Armento is a Primary Care Sports Medicine Physician at Children's Sports Medicine Center and Assistant Professor of Orthopedics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• Aspen Institute Project Play Return to Play COVID-19 Risk Assessment Tool
• CDC Considerations for Youth Sports
• NFHS Guidance for Opening up High School Athletics and Activities
• A Game Plan for the Resumption of Sport and Exercise after Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Infection
• Cardiac Considerations for Athletes with COVID-19 from the Pediatric Sports Medicine Podcast with Dr. Mark Halstead

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Clinical effectiveness seeks to answer the question "What works?" in healthcare; what are the best ways to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases in children? Today we are going to talk with Lalit Bajaj, MD, MPH/MPSH and dive in to clinical effectiveness and look at how those practices are be applied here at Children's Colorado and beyond and the impact of this work to the primary care setting.

Dr. Bajaj is a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physician, Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and Director of Clinical Effectiveness at Children's Hospital Colorado.

Pediatric Clinical Pathways

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This episode was recorded prior to COVID-19.

We are privileged to have John Barnard, MD join us on the podcast today to discuss exciting pediatric research breakthroughs in fields of genomics, gene therapy, and more.

Dr. Barnard is from Nationwide Children's Hospital where he serves as the chief of Pediatrics, president of The Research Institute and holds the Ann I. Wolfe Endowed Chair in Pediatric Research Leadership. He is also the chair of the Department of Pediatrics and professor of Pediatrics, Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

This episode was recorded prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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In this episode we cover the COVID-19 global pandemic, en Español with Edwin Asturias, MD.

Dr. Asturias is part of the Infectious Disease Team and Director for Latin America at Children's Colorado and Professor of Pediatrics & Infectious Diseases at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Dr. Asturias is headed for Guatemala on May 24 to become their Presidential Commissioner for the COVID-19 Response.

Do you have thoughts about today's episode or suggestions for a future topic? Write to us, [email protected]