From cancer drugs designed to match a child's specific molecular abnormality, to a phone app that can offer a dermatologic diagnosis quicker than an office visit, the future of children's healthcare is unfolding right before our eyes at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute.
Many families of premature infants quickly become familiar with a powerful research tool called a randomized clinical trial (RCT). Neonatologists may invite them to participate in RCTs, as they investigate ways to help prevent, treat, and manage the myriad complications that can occur when these babies’ organs are not ready for life outside their mothers’ wombs.
When an infant is born, we usually think of the strenuous effort labor entails for the mother, but it also requires a fair amount of work on the baby’s part.
A study led by a CHOP neonatology expert showed that infants with severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) diagnosed and treated under modern protocols remain at risk of nonvisual disabilities, even if blindness can be averted in most children.
A neonatologist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia led a new study showing current non-invasive techniques for respiratory support are less effective than previously thought in reducing severe lung injury in very premature infants. Neonatologists commonly use non-invasive nasal ventilation instead of mechanical ventilation via a breathing tube in hopes of avoiding bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).
