Publications by authors named "Melvin Heyman"

Objectives: No study has explored whether availability of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is adequate and equitable across US children's hospitals. We hypothesized that ERCP availability and utilization differs by geography and patient factors.

Methods: Healthcare encounter data from 2009 to 2019 on children with pancreatic and biliary diseases from the Pediatric Health Information System were analyzed.

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Objectives: Vedolizumab (VDZ) and ustekinumab (UST) are second-line treatments in pediatric patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) refractory to antitumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy. Pediatric studies comparing the effectiveness of these medications are lacking. Using a registry from ImproveCareNow (ICN), a global research network in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease, we compared the effectiveness of UST and VDZ in anti-TNF refractory UC.

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Background: People living with cystic fibrosis (PwCF) face a lifetime of potentially traumatic illness-related experiences that can lead to posttraumatic stress symptoms. Existing criteria for this type of posttraumatic stress, called medical traumatic stress (MTS), may not fully capture the CF experience. In this study we aimed to explore: 1) illness-related experiences perceived as traumatic in the setting of CF, 2) perceived MTS symptoms in PwCF, and 3) perceived health-related functional impairments from MTS.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates nutritional changes in children with Ulcerative colitis undergoing restorative proctocolectomy and ileal pouch anal anastomosis (RP-IPAA), focusing on two-stage vs. three-stage surgical procedures.
  • Out of 46 children analyzed, 43.5% experienced recurrent or chronic pouchitis, with those undergoing three-stage procedures showing notable improvements in key nutritional markers.
  • Findings suggest that early improvements in BMI-for-age Z-scores post-surgery may indicate a lower risk of developing pouchitis, emphasizing the need for further research to confirm these results.
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Introduction: Early relapse in Crohn's disease (CD) is associated with a more severe disease course. The microbiome plays a crucial role, yet strategies targeting the microbiome are underrepresented in current guidelines. We hypothesise that early manipulation of the microbiome will improve clinical response to standard-of-care (SOC) induction therapy in patients with a relapse-associated microbiome profile.

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Objectives: Known as pediatric medical traumatic stress (PMTS), posttraumatic stress symptoms from medical experiences have not been explored in children with chronic gastrointestinal diseases. This cross-sectional study of children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease, chronic pancreatitis and cystic fibrosis, aimed to (1) estimate the prevalence of medical potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and PMTS, (2) explore potential risk factors for PMTS, and (3) explore potential consequences of PMTS.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used validated, self-report measures to evaluate PTEs and PMTS.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates the use and effectiveness of antitumor necrosis factor (TNF) biologics in young children diagnosed with very early onset inflammatory bowel disease (VEOIBD) across 25 North American centers from 2008 to 2013, aiming to track treatment initiation and durability over time.
  • - Out of 294 children with VEOIBD, 120 started anti-TNF therapy, with a 90% treatment durability at 1 year, which declined to 55% by 5 years, and loss of response was the main reason for discontinuation.
  • - The research found that children with Crohn disease had a significantly higher treatment durability than those with ulcerative colitis or IBD unclassified
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Objectives: Abdominal pain, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations impact lives of children with acute recurrent pancreatitis (ARP) and chronic pancreatitis (CP). Data on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in this population, however, remains limited. We aimed to evaluate HRQOL in children with ARP or CP; and test biopsychosocial risk factors associated with low HRQOL.

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An important goal of clinical genomics is to be able to estimate the risk of adverse disease outcomes. Between 5% and 10% of individuals with ulcerative colitis (UC) require colectomy within 5 years of diagnosis, but polygenic risk scores (PRSs) utilizing findings from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) are unable to provide meaningful prediction of this adverse status. By contrast, in Crohn disease, gene expression profiling of GWAS-significant genes does provide some stratification of risk of progression to complicated disease in the form of a transcriptional risk score (TRS).

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Introduction: Ustekinumab (UST), a human monoclonal antibody against interleukin-12 and 23, is approved to treat adult patients with psoriasis or Crohn disease (CD). Outcomes data for off-label use in pediatric patients with CD are limited.

Aim: We conducted a retrospective cohort study to analyze the long-term efficacy of UST, including dose adjustments, in the treatment of pediatric patients with medically refractory CD.

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Objective: Given the importance of scholarly work in academic medicine, better understanding of the manuscript review process (MRP) is useful for authors, reviewers, and editorial boards. We aim to describe the MRP at the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition (JPGN), assess the correlation between editor decisions and reviewer recommendations, and provide transparency to this process.

Methods: All manuscripts submitted in 2018 to JPGN were included in this analysis.

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The COVID-19 pandemic will leave an indelible mark on the careers of current medical trainees. Given the disruptions to medical education, economic impact on institutions, and the uncertainties around future job prospects, trainees are facing unprecedented challenges. This situation is especially concerning for futures of pediatric physician-scientist trainees, where concerns regarding maintaining the pipeline were well documented prior to the emergence of COVID-19.

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Background: Transmural healing (TH) is associated with better long-term outcomes in Crohn disease (CD), whereas pretreatment ileal gene signatures encoding myeloid inflammatory responses and extracellular matrix production are associated with stricturing. We aimed to develop a predictive model for ileal TH and to identify ileal genes and microbes associated with baseline luminal narrowing (LN), a precursor to strictures.

Materials And Methods: Baseline small bowel imaging obtained in the RISK pediatric CD cohort study was graded for LN.

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Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) individuals have a different gender identity than the sex they were assigned at birth. Despite an increase in provider awareness of TGNC health over the past decade, no original research or societal guidelines exist on TGNC patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We review TGNC IBD cases in the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Pediatric IBD Program and in the literature.

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Objective: To assess whether early modifiable dietary factors and obesity measures are associated with leukocyte telomere length at 3-5 years of age after controlling for the heritability of leukocyte telomere length in a prospective cohort of low-income Latina mothers and their children in San Francisco.

Study Design: We analyzed data from the Latinx, Eating and Diabetes cohort, a prospective study of 97 woman-infant dyads. We used linear regression models to evaluate associations between early dietary factors and obesity measures and child leukocyte telomere length at 3-5 years of age.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on understanding gene signatures in the ileum of pediatric patients with Crohn's disease to predict future stricturing behavior.
  • Researchers analyzed gene expression data from 249 patients to identify inflammatory gene signatures related to stricturing complications and developed a model to predict these complications.
  • Results suggest that specific gene programs involving macrophages and fibroblasts are linked to stricturing behavior, and there is potential for using small molecules to reverse these gene signatures for new treatment approaches.
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Background: Long-term safety, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy of open-label golimumab therapy in children with moderate-severe ulcerative colitis were evaluated.

Methods: Week-6 golimumab responders (Mayo score decrease of ≥30% and ≥3 points from baseline, rectal bleeding subscore of 0/1 or ≥1 decrease from baseline) entered the long-term extension at week 14 and received maintenance therapy (subcutaneous, q4w). Patients ≥45 kg could receive at-home treatments at week 18.

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Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess common laboratory tests in identifying severe ulcerative colitis in children at diagnosis.

Methods: A cohort of 427 children 4 to 17 years of age newly diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC) was prospectively enrolled. Boosted classification trees were used to characterize predictive ability of disease attributes based on clinical disease severity using Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis Activity Index (PUCAI), severe (65+) versus not severe (<65) and total Mayo score, severe (10-12) versus not severe (<10); mucosal disease by Mayo endoscopic subscore, severe (3) versus not severe (<3); and extensive disease versus not extensive (left-sided and proctosigmoiditis).

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