Transformational Pediatrics

Early onset scoliosis (EOS) is a complex and heterogeneous group of disorders in children under 5 years of age. It involves a spectrum of conditions from infantile resolving scoliosis to more severe deformity that is less likely to resolve without aggressive treatment. EOS imaging technology captures whole-body images of a standing patient in a single scan. Frontal and lateral digital images can b...

For more than a decade, the Preventive Cardiology Clinic at Children’s Mercy has been providing comprehensive evaluation, risk factor counseling and management for children with familial dyslipidemia, lifestyle-induced dyslipidemia and chronic diseases that associated with development of atherosclerosis. Each year, the clinic sees approximately 300 patients. The Preventive Cardiology Clinic began...

Children’s Mercy is preparing to become one of the few institutions in the country to perform a procedure known as “Double Balloon Enteroscopy” (DBE) for children with small bowel disorders. Listen in as Thomas Attard, MD, FAAP, FACG, Medical Director of Endoscopy Services-Division of Gastroenterology, has shared that DBE provides a more complete evaluation of the small intestine because the instr...

Drug-resistant temporal epilepsy can now be treated with minimally invasive Stereotactic Laser Amygdalohippocampectomy (SLAH). This same technology also is being used to treat certain brain tumors, further expanding treatment options for children. The state-of-the art technology allows patients to remain neurologically intact and be discharged home within one day of the surgery. The technology dra...

While 80 percent of pharyngitis is viral in etiology, Group A streptococcus (GAS) remains an important cause of pharyngotonsillitis in the pediatric population. Inappropriate testing for GAS pharyngitis inevitably leads to overuse of antibiotics, which can result in a pitfall of treatment with an inappropriate antimicrobial agent. Join Dr. Myers, MD, MPH to learn more about an algorithm your offic...

Typically, less than 10 percent of the patients transported by traditional “adult” transport teams are under the age of 14. Research has shown that outcomes are better when children are transported by dedicated neonatal and pediatric transport teams. Highly specialized neonatal and pediatric programs, such as the Critical Care Transport Program at Children’s Mercy Kansas City, can be the differenc...

Based on guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), approximately 0.8 percent of adolescents 12 to 17 years old with dyslipidemia may qualify for pharmacological treatment. That translates into approximately 200,000 adolescents who could be eligible for statin therapy. With the increasing prevalence of overweight children, the incidence of clinically diagnosed coronary artery diseas...

Food allergies have increased dramatically over the past 15 years with more and more children affected. In addition to traditional food allergies such as peanuts, dairy products and shellfish, there has been a increase in children with reactions to foods not previously considered part of the top eight allergens. Specialists are now seeing allergies to sesame, fruits, and other foods as we are impo...

Neurological movement disorders can cause symptoms that negatively impact a child’s quality of life. Dystonia is of special concern in children, because research shows early intervention is imperative. Deep brain stimulation is available as a treatment option for dystonia and other movement disorders to children as young as seven years old. It works by altering abnormal signals in the brain that i...

Children’s Mercy Kansas City is one of only 20 children’s hospitals in the nation selected to participate in the early user group for the MAGEC® (MAGnetic Expansion Control) System. In early 2015, a seven-year-old became the first patient in Kansas and Missouri to receive a new, ground-breaking treatment for scoliosis, aptly named MAGEC. To brace the spine and minimize the progression of spinal cu...

In the NICU, the decision to initiate inotropic therapy, provide volume support, or initiate antihyperintensive therapy is often guided by blood pressure measurements. However, research led by Doug Blowey at Children’s Mercy and reported in the Journal of the American Society of Hypertension, found that standard oscillometric measurement overestimates the blood pressure in very ill neonates. Dr. B...

Children’s Mercy Kansas City’s Infant Tracheostomy and Home Ventilator Program provides infants and children who require long-term ventilation, individualized care in the home setting. Children’s Mercy’s program is one of the largest in the U.S., with more than 25 new patients treated each year.   While at home, patients and their families are given the opportunity to have a sense of normalcy and...

Home to a Level IV designated Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Children's Mercy offers one of the largest ketogenic diet programs in the U.S. The diet is an effective non-medication treatment for intractable epilepsy. While it is unclear exactly how the diet works, it has been shown to control seizures and minimize the need for antiepileptic drugs, which can have unpleasant side effects. Children’s...

Children’s Mercy Kansas City understands that children are not simply small adults. From physical to cognitive process, pediatric medicine requires a holistic understanding of the child – including how they react to radiation. With the guidance of staff physicist, Nima Kasraie, PhD, Children’s Mercy Kansas City radiology treatments provide the least amount of radiation possible to its patient – th...

The Children’s Mercy Beacon Program provides a patient-centered primary care medical home for children with the most complex special needs, as well as for their siblings. The Beacon team communicates with health care providers in clinics, hospitals, schools and at home to coordinate care and assist with transition throughout the health care system. The program streamlines the health care process f...

Bronchiolitis is a common lung infection in children and the leading cause of hospitalization in children under 2. The Children’s Mercy Respiratory Outpatient Clinic provides 24/7 outpatient treatment for young infants who have been referred by their primary care provider following assessment and diagnosis of bronchiolitis. Pediatric registered respiratory therapists provide respiratory assessment...

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 Child...

Clinicians involved in palliative care are inclined to be sensitive to the humanistic aspects clinical practice – foremost among them being good communication. For both children and their families choosing the time, manner, environment and context into which communication about care that is oriented towards optimizing the quality of their days throughout a disease trajectory is extremely important...

As many as 5 million women in the U.S. may be affected by polycystic ovary syndrome, a hormonal imbalance in which the ovaries make more androgen than normal.   PCOS can occur in girls as young as 11 years old and may lead to acne, excessive hair growth, weight gain, high blood pressure, pelvic pain, and problems with menstrual cycles and fertility. The cause of PCOS is not known, but some have li...

Though survival rates are increasing, critically ill premature and term babies are often at risk for long-term developmental issues due to neurological damage from hypoxia, hemorrhages, brain malformations, genetic disorders, seizures and other injuries and disorders. New treatment approaches, as well as technology, are helping providers prevent, diagnose and treat neurodevelopmental disorders in...

Feeding problems are quite common, affecting approximately 25 % of children. With all these children, the number one treatment goal is to identify the underlying causes of the problem to better enable adequate growth. Children’s Mercy Kansas City utilizes a multidisciplinary feeding clinic to bring all the specialists needed together to address the often complex needs of these patients.  Team memb...

Venous thromboembolism in children is becoming a more common problem, particularly in the hospitalized population. A retrospective study of patients between 2001 and 2007 found VTE increase 70% during the period of study, from 34 to 58 cases per 100,000 admissions. The complications of VTE are serious, with 16-20% resulting in pulmonary embolus and 1-4% leading to death. Prevention where possible...

Simulation-based training facilitates the use of higher order thinking skills. The simulations Children’s Mercy Kansas City have developed in the NICU, Fetal Health Center and with ECMO challenge medical teams to develop cognitive, technical and behavioral skills through the use of mannequins, working medical equipment and colleagues. During scenarios, trainees must make use of their knowledge bas...

Historically, infants with end-stage renal disease who received dialysis in the first year of life have been less likely to survive or receive a kidney transplant compared with those who started dialysis later in childhood. In a study published in the September 2015 issue of Pediatrics, Dr. Bradley Warady and colleagues looked at recent NAPRTCs data and found that survival and transplant rates hav...

The highly complex nature of hematology disorders and cancer care in children requires a well-coordinated, multidisciplinary team approach. Children’s Mercy takes a holistic approach looking at the whole child to ensure that each child is meeting with every professional resource needed to manage the disease. Every patient is assigned a case manager, usually an advanced practice nurse or physician’...