Effect of Early vs Late Inguinal Hernia Repair on Serious Adverse Event Rates in Preterm Infants: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Inguinal hernia repair in preterm infants is common and is associated with considerable morbidity. Whether the inguinal hernia should be repaired prior to or after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit is controversial.

Objective: To evaluate the safety of early vs late surgical repair for preterm infants with an inguinal hernia.

A comparison of laparoscopic gastrostomy tubes and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in infants: results from a single institution.

Background/purpose: Laparoscopic gastrostomy (LG) and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) are two common methods for gastrostomy feeding tube placement in children. There have been limited studies evaluating these surgical interventions in infants under 12 months of age.

Methods: This study is a retrospective review of 186 patients who underwent either LG or PEG placement over a 5-year period at a single institution.

Pain Management in Pectus Excavatum Surgery: A Comparison of Subcutaneous Catheters Versus Epidurals in a Pediatric Population.

Background: Pectus excavatum is a common chest wall anomaly. Achieving optimal pain control is a priority for adolescents undergoing surgical correction of this condition. Options for pain control include the use of subcutaneous catheters (On-Q pumps) and epidurals.

Pectus Carinatum: Factors That Contribute to Success and Failure of Nonoperative Treatment.

Background: Pectus carinatum is a congenital chest wall deformity characterized by protrusion ofthe sternum and ribs. External bracing has been the gold standard treatment for this condition for the past 20 years.

Purpose: The primary purpose of the study was to identify factors that contribute to treatment success of bracing for patients with pectus carinatum.

Bilateral lung transplant for hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia in a pediatric patient.

HHT is an autosomal dominant vascular dysplasia, in which abnormalities of endothelial cells cause patients to develop mucocutaneous telangiectasias, and AVMs of the pulmonary, hepatic, and cerebral circulations. Pulmonary AVMs occur in more than 20% of patients with HHT, and presentation varies from simple diffuse telangiectasias to large complex structures. Surgical management is usually indicated for large pulmonary AVMs.

Combined en bloc liver-double kidney transplantation in an infant with IVC thrombosis.

We report a case of a pediatric en bloc liver-double kidney transplant in a patient with IVC thrombosis below the renal veins. The patient is an 11-month-old girl diagnosed with congenital nephrotic syndrome at two months of age. Multifocal liver masses were identified on routine ultrasound at eight months of age.

A murine model of graft-vs-host disease after in utero hematopoietic cell transplantation.

Purpose: Graft-vs-host disease (GvHD) is a known complication of in utero bone marrow transplantation. However, GvHD has been difficult to study owing to frequent fetal demise. We describe the first consistent murine model of GvHD with postnatal survival after in utero hematopoietic cell transplantation.

Safety of minimal immunosuppression in liver transplantation for hepatoblastoma.

Background: Despite aggressive chemotherapy, recurrence of disease remains the leading cause of death after liver transplantation (LTx) for hepatoblastoma (HB). Unfortunately, little is known about the effects of immunosuppression on recurrence and posttransplant outcomes. We hypothesized that minimal immunosuppression can be safely used in these recipients.

Pepducin-based intervention of thrombin-receptor signaling and systemic platelet activation.

Transmembrane signaling through G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) controls a diverse array of cellular processes including metabolism, growth, motility, adhesion, neuronal signaling and blood coagulation. The numerous GPCRs and their key roles in both normal physiology and disease have made them the target for more than 50% of all prescribed drugs. GPCR agonists and antagonists act on the extracellular side of the receptors, whereas the intracellular surface has not yet been exploited for development of new therapeutic agents.