OBJECTIVE Survival rates for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have significantly improved and late effects of therapy have been important in the follow-up of survivors. The objective of this study is to identify the endocrinological and cardiological late effects of ALL patients treated in our pediatric hematology unit. MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients treated for ALL with BFM proto...

BACKGROUND Hematopoietic stem-cell transplant (HSCT) is associated with many risk factors for life-threatening complications. Post-transplant critical illness often requires admission to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). METHODS A retrospective analysis was made on the risk factors associated with PICU admission and mortality of all HSCT patients at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital fro...

BACKGROUND Tools to predict death or spontaneous survival are necessary to inform liver transplantation (LTx) decisions in pediatric acute liver failure (PALF), but such tools are not available. Recent data suggest that immune/inflammatory dysregulation occurs in the setting of acute liver failure. We hypothesized that specific, dynamic, and measurable patterns of immune/inflammatory dysregulat...

IMPORTANCE That too few youth with special health care needs make the transition to adult-oriented health care successfully may be due, in part, to lack of readiness to transfer care. There is a lack of theoretical models to guide development and implementation of evidence-based guidelines, assessments, and interventions to improve transition readiness. OBJECTIVE To further validate the Socia...

BACKGROUND More than 50% of >270 000 childhood cancer survivors in the United States have been treated with anthracyclines and are therefore at risk of developing cardiotoxicity. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has demonstrated utility to detect diffuse interstitial fibrosis and changes in regional myocardial function. We hypothesized that CMR would identify occult cardiotoxicity characterized...

Objective To evaluate the clinical and prognostic utility of procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), and lactic acid in children admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of a university teaching hospital. Materials and Methods Medical records of children (1 month-16 years) tested for serum PCT at the time of admission in the PICU of our hospital from July 1, 2013, to Januar...