Impact of Consumer Wearables Data on Pediatric Surgery Clinicians' Management: Multi-Institutional Scenario-Based Usability Study.

Background: At present, parents lack objective methods to evaluate their child's postoperative recovery following discharge from the hospital. As a result, clinicians are dependent upon a parent's subjective assessment of the child's health status and the child's ability to communicate their symptoms. This subjective nature of home monitoring contributes to unnecessary emergency department (ED) use as well as delays in treatment.

Staged surgical approach of neonates with esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistula from low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Neonates born in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with esophageal atresia (EA) and tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) often do not have access to adequate surgical care. We have partnered with the non-profit organization World Pediatric Project (WPP) to facilitate care for such patients.

Methods: Our protocol included placement of a gastrostomy tube by local surgeons before definitive repair at the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU (CHoR).

Rabbit IgA Hinges That Resist IgA1 Protease Action Provide Options for Improved IgA-Based Therapeutic Agents.

Immunoglobulin A provides a major line of defence against pathogens and plays a key role in the maintenance of the commensal microbiota in the intestinal tract. Having been shown to be more effective at tumour cell killing than IgG and strongly active against pathogens present in the mucosae, IgA antibodies have been attracting significant attention in recent years for use as therapeutic antibodies. To improve their therapeutic potential, bioengineered IgA forms with increased serum half-life and neutralizing abilities have been developed but the IgA hinge, which impacts susceptibility to bacterial proteases and ability to bridge between target and effector cells, has not yet been explored.

Providing care to children from low and middle-income countries with complex surgical problems: An 18 year review.

Purpose: The burden of surgical disease in children from low and middle-income countries (LMICs) is becoming more recognized as significant and undertreated.  We recently reviewed our health system's experience with providing quaternary-level surgical care to children from LMICs through a partnership with World Pediatric Project (WPP), a not-for-profit organization.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed of all WPP-sponsored patients who received surgical care at our children's hospital from LMICs in the Caribbean and Central America from July 2000 to August 2018.

Novel and emerging devices and operations in the treatment of obesity in children and adolescents.

Obesity is among the most common and costly chronic disorders worldwide. Estimates suggest that in the United States obesity affects one-third of adults, accounts for up to one-third of total mortality, is concentrated among lower income groups, and increasingly affects children as well as adults. A lack of effective options for long-term weight reduction magnifies the enormity of this problem; individuals who successfully complete behavioral and dietary weight-loss programs eventually regain most of the lost weight.