Tag Archive for: ENT

Caring for the senses to support children’s development

Diego Preciado, MD, PhD, examines a patient

Diego Preciado, MD, PhD, examines a patient.

Hear, smell, taste. These senses impact and shape children’s everyday lives. Diego Preciado, MD, PhD, chief of Otolaryngology and Joseph E. Robert, Jr. Professor of Pediatric Otolaryngology, aims to set the gold standard for care of a child’s ear, nose and throat (ENT) — pathways to the senses. “We treat the senses that drive an individual’s personality,” he says. “ENT care has seen wonderful advances in the last 30 years, but there is still more work to do. That’s why I entered the field.”

Dr. Preciado is an innovator. His team, at the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, helped to advance early detection and treatment of otolaryngology disorders, such as hearing loss, the most common sensory impairment in children. Four in every 1,000 infants are born with it.

In the laboratory, the team uncovered fundamental molecular aspects of chronic ear disease. This led to the development of new medications aimed at reducing the need for surgery. The team and collaborators are developing a drug delivery method, using liposomal nanoparticles — spherical vesicles that are insoluble in water — to carry treatments directly into the ear canal. It could potentially eliminate the need for oral antibiotics and surgery in children with recurrent ear infections. The team also developed an app to guide patients through critical aspects of ENT care. It will help kids with hearing impairments in language development after cochlear implantation.

“At Children’s National,” says Dr. Preciado, “the future is all about helping children get better faster.”

Dr. Preciado’s team works across the hospital and with parent groups in our community to remove barriers to ENT care. “All care is not equal,” he says. “Sadly, families with public or no health insurance typically only receive care at a much later date. This delay often permanently impacts their children’s hearing, speech and social skills.”

Currently in development is a medical and educational intervention model for patients with complex ENT needs. It includes expanding critical wraparound services and creating new care solutions. The focus is precision medicine and personalized therapies. Continuing refinement of our fellowship program to train pediatric otolaryngologists is helping to build a strong workforce for the future.

“Real change can happen only by adopting a team approach to care. An effective leader must be an equal member of the team and lead by example. Children’s National is committed to this approach and ensuring that everyone receives expert care in the same manner.”

Diego Preciado, M.D., Ph.D., named division chief of Otolaryngology

Diego Preciado

“It is the privilege of a lifetime for me to be able to continue my service to Children’s National in this leadership role,” said Dr. Preciado.

Children’s National Hospital has named Diego Preciado, M.D., Ph.D., as its new chief of the Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology. Dr. Preciado joined Children’s National in 2006 where he has practiced for the past 16 years.

“It is the privilege of a lifetime for me to be able to continue my service to Children’s National in this leadership role,” said Dr. Preciado. “Every otolaryngologist in the world knows of the extraordinary work and tradition of excellence established by my predecessor Dr. George Zalzal. I will work with the surgeon-in-chief to accelerate our mission by engaging our diverse and loyal faculty to become the global leader for complex pediatric otolaryngology care, research, education and advocacy.”

Dr. Preciado is a professor with tenure of Surgery and Pediatrics, Genomics and Precision Medicine at Children’s National and George Washington University. He holds the Joseph E. Robert Endowed Chair in Pediatric Otolaryngology, has served as the vice chief of the Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology for the past seven years, and the program director of the ACGME accredited Pediatric Otolaryngology fellowship since 2009. His clinical practice interests are primarily focused on pediatric airway reconstruction, childhood hearing loss/cochlear implants and velopharyngeal insufficiency.

Dr. Preciado’s translational research lab has been funded over the years through various awards including R01, U01 and R21 National Institutes of Health grants. He has authored over 130 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 20 book chapters, and has been an invited speaker regionally, nationally and internationally. In 2020, he received the Robert Ruben Scientific Achievement Award from the Society for Ear Nose and Throat Advances in Children.

He served as past president of the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology (2020-2021) and currently serves as president of the International Society for Otitis Media (2019-2023). He is a senior examiner for the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery where he also serves on the Complex Pediatric Otolaryngology Steering Committee.

“Given Dr. Preciado’s superb clinical, research and leadership background, we know the division is well-positioned for continued growth under his guidance,” said Dr. Anthony Sandler, M.D., senior vice president and surgeon-in-chief of the Joseph E. Robert Jr., Center for Surgical Care at Children’s National.

Combating ENT wrong patient errors

Electronic medical record on tablet

A recent article published in ENTtoday highlights specific ways ENT physicians can improve quality and care for patients to work towards eliminating wrong patient errors and achieving a zero-harm environment.

In the article, Rahul Shah, M.D., Vice President and Chief Quality & Safety Officer at Children’s National Health System, points out that ENTs are especially vulnerable to wrong patient errors (WPEs) due to the wide variety of settings in which they see patients. He asserts that with this knowledge in mind, ENTS can find ways to “block and tackle” to prevent WPEs from occurring. Key to success is the development of a supportive culture of reporting where all staff are encouraged and empowered to speak up.

“With any size of practice, you need to talk about safety and quality. If doesn’t have to be formal, and don’t overthink it. Something as easy as a safety huddle a couple of times a week goes a long way toward shaping the culture.”

Read the full article here.