Tag Archive for: open-heart surgery

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Children’s National in the News: 2023

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Explore some of the notable medical advancements and stories of bravery that defined 2023, showcasing the steadfast commitment of healthcare professionals at Children’s National Hospital and the resilient spirit of the children they support. Delve into our 2023 news highlights for more.

1. COVID during pregnancy dramatically increases the risk of complications and maternal death, large new study finds

According to a study published in British Medical Journal Global Health, women who get COVID during pregnancy are nearly eight times more likely to die and face a significantly elevated risk of ICU admission and pneumonia. Sarah Mulkey, M.D., prenatal-neonatologist neurologist, discussed findings based on her work with pregnant women and their babies.
(Fortune)

2. Rest isn’t necessarily best for concussion recovery in children, study says

A study led by Christopher Vaughan, Psy.D., pediatric neuropsychologist, suggests that — despite what many people may presume — getting kids back to school quickly is the best way to boost their chance for a rapid recovery after a concussion.
(CNN)

3. Pediatric hospital beds are in high demand for ailing children. Here’s why

David Wessel, M.D., executive vice president, chief medical officer and physician-in-chief, explained that one reason parents were still having trouble getting their children beds in a pediatric hospital or a pediatric unit after the fall 2022 respiratory surge is that pediatric hospitals are paid less by insurance.
(CNN)

4. Anisha Abraham details impact of social media use on children: ‘True mental health crisis’

Anisha Abraham, M.D., M.P.H., chief of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, joined America’s Newsroom to discuss the impact social media access has had on children’s mental health.
(FOX News)

5. Saving Antonio: Can a renowned hospital keep a boy from being shot again?

After 13-year-old Antonio was nearly killed outside his mom’s apartment, Children’s National Hospital went beyond treating his bullet wounds. Read how our Youth Violence Intervention Program team supported him and his family during his recovery.
(The Washington Post)

6. Formerly conjoined twins reunite with doctors who separated them

Erin and Jade Buckles underwent a successful separation at Children’s National Hospital. Nearly 20 years later they returned to meet with some of the medical staff who helped make it happen.
(Good Morning America)

7. Asthma mortality rates differ by location, race/ethnicity, age

Shilpa Patel, M.D., M.P.H., medical director of the Children’s National IMPACT DC Asthma Clinic, weighed in on a letter published in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, asserting that the disparities in mortality due to asthma in the United States vary based on whether they occurred in a hospital, ethnicity or race and age of the patient.
(Healio)

8. How one Afghan family made the perilous journey across the U.S.-Mexico border

After one family embarked on a perilous journey from Afghanistan through Mexico to the U.S.-Mexico border, they eventually secured entry to the U.S. where Karen Smith, M.D., medical director of Global Services, aided the family’s transition and provided their daughter with necessary immediate medical treatment.
(NPR)

9. When a child is shot, doctors must heal more than just bullet holes

With the number of young people shot by guns on the rise in the U.S., providers and staff at Children’s National Hospital are trying to break the cycle of violence. But it’s not just the physical wounds though that need treating: young victims may also need help getting back on the right track — whether that means enrolling in school, finding a new group of friends or getting a job.
(BBC News)

10. This 6-year-old is a pioneer in the quest to treat a deadly brain tumor

Callie, a 6-year-old diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, was treated with low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) at Children’s National Hospital and is the second child in the world to receive this treatment for a brain tumor. LIFU is an emerging technology that experts like Hasan Syed, M.D., and Adrianna Fonseca, M.D., are trialing to treat this fatal childhood brain tumor.
(The Washington Post)

11. F.D.A. approves sickle cell treatments, including one that uses CRISPR

The FDA approved a new genetic therapy, giving people with sickle cell disease new opportunities to eliminate their symptoms. David Jacobsohn, M.B.A., M.D., confirmed that Children’s National Hospital is one of the authorized treatment centers and talked about giving priority to the sickest patients if they are on Vertex’s list.
(The New York Times)

12. 6-year-old fulfils wish to dance in the Nutcracker

After the potential need for open-heart surgery threatened Caroline’s Nutcracker performance, Manan Desai, M.D., a cardiac surgeon, figured out a less invasive procedure to help reduce her recovery time so she could perform in time for the holidays.
(Good Morning America)

Craig Sable

Can a vaccine prevent the earliest forms of rheumatic heart disease?

Craig Sable

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.

The CVDY Council bestows the prestigious award to individuals making a significant impact in the field of cardiovascular disease in the young. The CVDY Council supports the mission to improve the health of children and adults with congenital heart disease and acquired heart disease during childhood through research, education, prevention and advocacy.

Dr. Sable is recognized for his entire body of research, education and advocacy focused on congenital and acquired heart disease, but especially for his rheumatic heart disease (RHD) research in Uganda.

Over the past 15 years, Dr. Sable has brought more than 100 doctors and medical staff to Kampala, the capital and largest city in Uganda, partnering with more than 100 local doctors and clinicians to develop a template for a sustainable infrastructure to diagnose, treat and prevent both RHD and congenital heart disease.

RHD is a result of damage to the heart valves after acute rheumatic fever (ARF). The process starts with a sore throat from streptococcal infection, which many children in the United States treat with antibiotics.

“For patients who develop strep throat, their body’s reaction to the strep throat, in addition to resolving its primary symptoms, can result in attacking the heart,” says Dr. Sable. “The initial damage is called acute rheumatic fever. In many cases this disease is self-limited, but if undetected, over years, it can lead to long-term heart valve damage called rheumatic heart disease. Unfortunately, once severe RHD develops the only treatment is open-heart surgery.”

In 2017, Sable and the researchers published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine about the global burden of RHD, which is often referred to as a disease of poverty.

RHD is observed more frequently in low- and middle-income countries as well as in marginalized communities in high-income countries. RHD has declined on a global scale, but it remains the most significant cause of morbidity and mortality from heart disease in children and young adults throughout the world.

In 2017 there were 39.4 million causes of RHD, which resulted in 285,000 deaths and 9.4 million disability-adjusted life-years.

In 2018 the World Health Organization issued a referendum recognizing rheumatic heart disease as an important disease that member states and ministries of health need to prioritize in their public health efforts.

The common denominator that drives Dr. Sable and the global researchers, many of whom have received grants from the American Heart Association to study RHD, is the impact that creating a scalable solution, such as widespread adoption of vaccines, can have on entire communities.

“The cost of an open-heart surgery in Uganda is $5,000 to $10,000, while treatment for a child with penicillin for one year costs less than $1,” says Dr. Sable. “Investment in prevention strategies holds the best promise on a large scale to eradicate rheumatic heart disease.”

Sable and the team have screened more than 100,000 children and are conducting the first randomized controlled RHD trial, enrolling nearly 1,000 children, to examine the effectiveness of using penicillin to prevent progression of latent or subclinical heart disease, the earliest form of RHD.

During the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Dr. Sable and a team of surgeons will fly back to Uganda to operate on children affected by RHD, while also advancing their research efforts to produce a scalable solution, exported on a global scale, to prevent RHD in its earliest stages.

Dr. Sable and colleagues from around the world partner on several grant-funded research projects. Over the next few years, the team hopes to answer several important questions, including: Does penicillin prevent the earliest form of RHD and can we develop a vaccine to prevent RHD?

To view the team’s previously-published research, visit Sable’s PubMed profile.

To learn about global health initiatives led by researchers at Children’s National, visit www.GHICN.org.