2018

Children with life-threatening respiratory failure who require mechanical ventilation in a pediatric intensive care unit commonly experience rapid muscle atrophy, according to a study published online Dec. 19, 2018, in PLOS ONE. 

We are one of only twelve children’s hospitals in the country to achieve this distinction, which is given to surgery centers who have improved surgical quality, prevented complications, reduced costs and saved lives.

Standardizing feeding practices, including the timing for fortifying breast milk and formula with essential elements like zinc and protein, improves growth trends for the tiniest preterm infants, according to Children’s research presented during the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) 2018 Scientific Symposium. The symposium is held in conjunction with the IHI National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care.

Shriprasad Deshpande, M.B.B.S., M.S., a pediatric cardiologist, joins Children’s National Health System as the director of the advanced cardiac therapies and heart transplant program. 

Children’s National Health System has been named a 2018 “Top Children’s Hospital” by Leapfrog Group for distinct achievements in patient safety and quality. We are proud to have been recognized as a Top Children’s Hospital 10 times and have received this distinction more than any other pediatric hospital since 2007.

On Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018, Children’s National Health System marked the official start of construction on its pediatric research and innovation campus with a groundbreaking event. It will be distinct nationally as a freestanding research and innovation complex focused on pediatric medicine.  

Ultrasound (US) imaging performed during pregnancy and after childbirth revealed most Zika-related brain abnormalities experienced by infants exposed to the Zika virus during pregnancy, according to a prospective cohort study published online Nov. 26, 2018, in JAMA Pediatrics. Some Zika-exposed infants whose imaging had been normal during pregnancy had mild brain abnormalities detected by US and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after they were born.

Craig Sable, M.D., associate chief of the division of cardiology and director of echocardiography at Children’s National Health System, earned a lifetime achievement award, formally known as the 2018 Cardiovascular Disease in the Young (CVDY) Meritorious Achievement Award, on Nov. 10 at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2018. 

A standardized care pathway for children with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis undergoing spinal fusion surgery reduces the need for opioid pain medications and shortens hospital stays at Children’s National Health System. 

At 2:15 p.m. C.T. on Sunday, Nov. 11, Rohan Kumthekar, M.D., a cardiology fellow working in Dr. Charles Berul’s bioengineering lab at the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, part of Children’s National Health System, presents a prototype for a miniature pacemaker at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2018.