The Best Outcomes for the Most Complex Cases

Mother holds hand of young child in hospital bed with IV

Department of Pediatrics Annual Report – 2022

Critical Care and Hospital Medicine

Department of Pediatric Annual Report 2022 Banner
Hülya Bayır, MD

Hülya Bayır, MD (photo courtesy of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center)

The Division of Critical Care and Hospital Medicine provides exemplary, evidence-based, multidisciplinary critical care to the most medically vulnerable children in the greater New York City area and beyond. We do this in a setting that is distinct for its cutting-edge extramurally supported research and its commitment to providing the most comprehensive training available to the next generation of leaders in pediatric critical care and hospital medicine.

In 2020, the division expanded from a sole focus on Critical Care Medicine to include sections of Hospital Medicine and Palliative Care Medicine and the Center for Host-Pathogen Interactions. These integrated groups work seamlessly to both care for the sickest and most vulnerable patients seen at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and to lead cutting-edge basic and translational research.

Critical Care Medicine

The section of Critical Care Medicine includes three clinical services, each with a designated medical director and specialized staff.

  • A 14-bed cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) for postoperative congenital heart surgery patients beyond the newborn period, as well as heart failure patients peri-transplant
  • A general 13-bed pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) for a variety of general PICU patients, with a focus on severe respiratory failure, solid organ transplant recipients, and stem cell transplant recipients
  • A 14-bed pediatric neuro ICU for our level-one pediatric trauma program, postoperative spine and brain surgery patients, and those with complicated epilepsy, stroke, and primary neuromuscular disease

We care for approximately 50 extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) cases per year in the CVICU and the general PICU. The ECMO program was recently renewed for platinum status by the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO). PICU admissions currently total about 2,100 per year.

Hospital Medicine

The section of Hospital Medicine is comprised of two clinical services:

  • The general pediatric inpatient service team, which supervises care provided to patients with a variety of illnesses, including medical consultation for medical subspecialty and surgical services
  • The hospitalist-run Progressive Care Unit (opened in 2019) for patients with a variety of surgical and medically complex issues admitted from the ORs, ICUs, and the emergency department, including those chronically ventilated with tracheostomies

Palliative Care

The Palliative Care Service consults on children with complex chronic conditions and potentially life-limiting diagnoses to facilitate communication, engage in advocacy for the most medically vulnerable, provide an additional layer of support, and to offer expert pain and symptom management using advanced and unique treatment modalities.

Center for Host-Pathogen Interaction

The Center for Host-Pathogen Interaction is a collaboration between the laboratories of Anne Moscona, MD, and Matteo Porotto, PhD. Drs. Moscona and Porotto together conduct basic research on paramyxoviruses, RNA viruses that are responsible for acute respiratory illnesses prevalent in childhood. The collaboration draws upon strategies and methods from molecular biology, cell biology, biophysics, immunology, computational biology, structural biology, and virology.

New Appointments 

Promotions

Honors and Awards

Linda Aponte-Patel, MD

  • Elected to Virginia Apgar Academy of Educators

Mirna Giordano, MD

  • Elected to join Pediatric Hospital Medicine annual conference planning committee
  • Selected as co-chair of the AAP section of Hospital Medicine Subcommittee for Surgical Co-Management
  • Elected president of the Society of the Hospital Medicine NYC-Westchester Chapter

Rebecca Hough, MD, PhD

  • One of 15 Columbia early-career physician-scientists to receive VP&S Promising Clinician Scientists Awards.

Katherine Metitiri-Schlosser, MD 

  • 2021-2022 Leadership Academy

Anne Moscona, MD

  • Elected President of the American Society of Virology

Josh Motelow, MD, PhD

  • Recipient of a Thrasher Research Fund Early Career Award for “Improving Diagnostic Yield in Critically Ill Children with Prior Negative Genetic Testing”

Major Grants

  • The role of ApoE in injury-induced neurogenesis. NIH/NINDS. R01 NS095803. Principal Investigator: Steven Kernie, MD.
  • Host-pathogen interactions that promote carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae pulmonary infection. NIH/NHLBI. K08HL138289. Principal Investigator: Danielle Ahn, MD.
  • Development of localized T cell immunity in pediatric respiratory tract infection. NIH/NIAID. K23AI141686. Principal Investigator: Thomas Connors, MD.
  • Targeted approach to lung repair and regeneration in alveolar type II cell disease. Discovery Award. Department of Defense. PR180834. Principal Investigator: Valerio Dorrello, MD.
  • Pediatric ICU continuity strategies conference and guidelines formulation. Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Edwards, MD.
  • Mitochondrial mechanisms underlying alveolar-capillary barrier regulation.  NHLBI. K08(HL148403). Principal Investigator: Rebecca Hough, MD, PhD.
  • Engineering protease-resistant alpha-beta peptides. NIH/NIAID. R01AI114736. Principal Investigator: Anne Moscona, MD.
  • Engineering protease-resistant antiviral peptide inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2. NIH/NIAID. R01AI160961. Principal Investigator: Anne Moscona, MD.
  • Development of novel endosome-targeted Ebola virus entry inhibitors as antiviral. NIH/NIAID. R01AI121349. Principal Investigator: Matteo Porotto, PhD.
  • Fusion inhibitors that block host-to-host transmission of SARS-CoV-2. NIH/NIAID. R01AI160953. Principal Investigator: Matteo Porotto, PhD.
  • Development of therapeutic fusion inhibitor peptides for measles encephalitis.
  • NIH/NINDS. 1R01 NS105699. Principal Investigator: Matteo Porotto, PhD.
  • The role of immunometabolism in Klebsiella pneumoniae colonization of the airways of pediatric patients. Innovation Nucleation Fund. Department of Pediatrics, CUIMC. Principal Investigator: Danielle Ahn, MD.

Selected Publications

Wong Fok Lung T, Charytonowicz D, Beaumont KG, Shah SS, Sridhar SH, Gorrie CL, Mu A, Hofstaedter CE, Varisco D, McConville TH, Drikic M, Fowler B, Urso A, Shi W, Fucich D, Annavajhala MK, Khan IN, Oussenko I, Francoeur N, Smith ML, Stockwell BR, Lewis IA, Hachani A, Upadhyay Baskota S, Uhlemann AC, Ahn D, Ernst RK, Howden BP, Sebra R, Prince A. Klebsiella pneumoniae induces host metabolic stress that promotes tolerance to pulmonary infection. Cell Metab. 2022:34(5):761–775.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2022.03.009. PMID: 35413274. PMCID: PMC9081115.

Ross C, Burns J, Grossestreuer A, Bhattarai P, McKiernan C, Franks J, Lehmann S, Sorcher J, Sharron M, Wai K, Al-Wahab H, Boukas K, Hall M, Ru G, Sen AI, Rajasekhar H, Kleinman L, McGuire J, Arrington A, Munoz-Rivas F,Osborne C, Shekerdemian L. Trends in disease severity among critically ill children with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2: A retrospective multicenter cohort study in the United States. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 202e;24(1):25–33.

Chapman J, Geneslaw A, Babineau J, Sen AI. Improving ventilation rates during pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Pediatrics. 2022;150(3):e2021053030.

Marcink TC, Kicmal, T, Armbruster, E, Zhang, Z, Zipursky, G, Golub, KL, Idris, M, Khao, J, Drew-Bear, J, McGill, G, Gallagher, T, Porotto, M, des Georges, A, Moscona, A. Intermediates in SARS-CoV-2 spike-mediated cell entry. Sci Adv. 2022;8(33):eabo3153. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abo3153. Epub 2022 Aug 19. PMID: 35984891.

Schmitz KS, Geers D, de Vries RD, Bovier TF, Mykytyn AZ, Geurts van Kessel CH, Haagmans BL, Porotto M, de Swart RL, Moscona A. Potency of fusion-inhibitory lipopeptides against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. mBio. 2022;13(3):e0124922. doi: 10.1128/mbio.01249-22. Epub 2022 Jun 13.

Schmitz KS, Lange MV, Gommers L, Handrejk K, Porter DP, Alabi CA, Moscona A, Porotto M, de Vries RD, de Swart RL. Repurposing an in vitro measles virus dissemination assay for screening of antiviral compounds. Viruses. 2022;14(6):1186. doi: 10.3390/v14061186.

Rijsbergen LC, Schmitz KS, Begeman L, Drew-Bear J, Gommers L, Lamers MM, Greninger AL, Haagmans BL, Porotto M, de Swart RL, Moscona A, de Vries RD. Modeling infection and tropism of human parainfluenza virus type 3 in ferrets. mBio. 2022;13(1):e0383121. doi: 10.1128/mbio.03831-21. Online ahead of print. PMID: 35164568.

Moon RY, Carlin RF, Hand I, Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and the Committee on Fetus and Newborn. Sleep-related infant deaths: Updated 2022 recommendations for reducing infant deaths in the sleep environment. Pediatrics. 2022;150(1):e2022057990. doi: 10.1542/peds.2022-057990. PMID: 35726558.

Moon RY, Carlin RF, Hand I, Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and the Committee on Fetus and Newborn. Evidence base for 2022 updated recommendations for a safe infant sleeping environment to reduce the risk of sleep-related infant deaths. Pediatrics. 2022;150(1):e2022057991. doi: 10.1542/peds.2022-057991. PMID: 35921639.

Cheung EW, Mastropietro CW, Flores S, Amula V, Radman M, Kwiatkowski D, Puente BN, Buckley JR, Allen K, Loomba R, Kakri K, Chiwane S, Cashen K, Piggott K, Kapileshwarkar Y, Gowda KMN, Badheka A, Raman R, Costello JM, Zang H, Iliopoulos I, Collaborative Research from the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society (CoRe-PCICS) Investigators. Procedural outcomes of pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum in neonates: A multicenter study. Ann Thorac Surg. 2022 Sep:S0003-4975(22)01185-7. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2022.07.055. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36070807.

Fremed MA, Healy EW, Choi NH, Cheung EW, Choudhury TA, Jiang P, Liberman L, Zucker J, Lytrivi ID, Starc TJ. Elevated cardiac biomarkers and outcomes in children and adolescents with acute COVID-19. Cardiol Young. 2022 Jan:1–7. doi: 10.1017/S1047951122000397. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35086607; PMCID: PMC8861549.

Stewart LA, Klein-Cloud R, Gerall C, Fan W, Price J, Hernan RR, Krishnan US, Cheung EW, Middlesworth W, Chaves DV, Miller R, Simpson LL, Chung WK, Duron VP. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and its complications in newborns with congenital diaphragmatic hernia. J Pediatr Surg. 2022;57(8):1642–1648. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2021.12.028. Epub 2022 Jan 7. PMID: 35065805.

Edwards JD, Williams EP, McHale BL, Lucas AR, Malone CT. Parent and provider perspectives on primary continuity intensivists and nurses for long-stay PICU patients. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2022 Nov. doi.org/10.1513/AnnalsATS.202205-379OC. Online ahead of print.

Edwards JD, Williams EP, Wagman EK, McHale BL, Malone CT, Kernie SG. A single-centered randomized controlled trial of primary pediatric intensivists and nurses. J Intensive Care Med. 2022;37(12):1580–1586.

Nash KA, Olfson M, Rothenberg C, Anderson BR, Pincus HA, Venkatesh AK. Psychotropic medication use in United States pediatric emergency department visits. Acad Pediatr, 2022 Dec:S1876-2859(22)00575-7. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2022.11.016. Online ahead of print.

Motelow JE, Lippa NC, Hostyk J, Feldman E, Nelligan M, Ren Z, Alkelai A, Milner JD, Gharavi AG, Tang Y, Goldstein DB, Kernie SG. Risk variants in the exomes of children with critical Illness. JAMA Netw Open. 2002;5(10):e2239122. PMID 36306130.

Green T, Motelow JE, Bennet M, Ye Z, Griffin N, Damiano J, Bennett C, Leventer R, Freeman.J, Harvey S, Lockhart P, Sadleir L, Scheffer I, Boys A, Major H, Darbro B, Bahlo M, Goldstein D, Kerrigan J, Heinzen E, Berkovic S, Hildebrand M. Sporadic hypothalamic hamartoma is a ciliopathy with somatic and bi-allelic contributions. Hum Mol Genet. 2022;31(14):2307–2316. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddab366. PMID: 35137044.

Koko M, Motelow JE, Stanley KE, Bobbili DR, Dhindsa RS, May P, Canadian Epilepsy Network, Epi4K Consortium, Epilepsy Phenome/Genome Project, EpiPGX Consortium, EuroEPINOMICS-CoGIE Consortium. Association of ultra-rare coding variants with genetic generalized epilepsy: A case-control whole exome sequencing study. Epilepsia. 2022;63(3):723–735. doi: 10.1111/epi.17166. PMID: 35032048.

Vele, T, Gati S, Batista CA, Nino de Rivera J, Banker SL. Facilitating Engagement on family-centered rounds for families with limited comfort with English. Hosp Pediatr. 2022;12(5):439–447.

Highlights

Hülya Bayır Named Chief of Critical Care and Hospital Medicine in Pediatrics

Dr. Hülya Bayir, who joined the Department of Pediatrics as chief of critical care and hospital medicine on March 1, 2023, is internationally known for her transformative work in neuronal injury, oxidative lipidomics, and lipid-based biomarkers, research that is leading the way to novel therapies that will protect the brains of critically ill patients. Read more about Dr. Bayir and her appointment below.

CUIMC Newsroom

Could a Nose Spray a Day Keep COVID Away?

For the past decade, molecular virologist and researcher Anne Moscona, MD, hunted for "compounds that could stop viruses in their tracks, before the pathogens infect even a single cell in a person’s body," reports Nature. "Now Dr. Moscona and her colleagues have homed in on a compound that might foil SARS-CoV-2. Even better, it’s simply sprayed up the nose—no needle required." Read the full piece in Nature below.

Nature.com