Research
PICU Up! Program aims to increase mobility in ICUs
For decades, clinicians believed the most appropriate care for critically ill pediatric patients was sedation and rest. But in recent years, the tides have changed. Studies in adults have shown that sedation and immobility lead to increased mortality and morbidity, longer stays in the intensive care unit (ICU), increased risk of ICU delirium, and a ... Read More about PICU Up! Program aims to increase mobility in ICUs
Patient Stories
My journey from patient to employee
When I was 13 years old, I remember eating my breakfast and next thing I knew, my mom was repeatedly asking me why I wasn’t responding to her. I was having my first seizure. The start of my journey This was the beginning of my journey with epilepsy. For two and a half years, I ... Read More about My journey from patient to employee
Patient Stories
Stem cell transplant leads Ali to remission, and a new home
The journey that led Ali Mercy to Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s began in 2010, when Ali was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). At that time, he was treated in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where his family lived. Chemotherapy initially put Ali’s ALL into remission, but three years later, it returned — this time having metastasized to ... Read More about Stem cell transplant leads Ali to remission, and a new home
Clinical Care
Five lessons learned from our Vaping Service
Vaping is a public health emergency in the United States. In recent months, over 2,000 people have become sick after using e-cigarettes and dozens have died. Yet despite the dangers involved, the number of young people who vape continues to climb, according to the latest Monitoring the Future study. The Division of Pulmonary Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital ... Read More about Five lessons learned from our Vaping Service
Research
Survivors of childhood cancer are living longer
Childhood cancer survivorship has improved dramatically over the past 50 years as new therapies have been discovered. Today, more than 80 percent of children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer can expect to live five years or more. But what about long term? An analysis led by Jennifer Yeh, PhD, of Boston Children’s Hospital and Lisa ... Read More about Survivors of childhood cancer are living longer
Health and Parenting
Be a VIP: Voiding Improvement Program helps kids with incontinence
Urinary incontinence (enuresis) isn’t just embarrassing for kids — it can lead to low self-esteem, stress, and even bullying. Because bedwetting, daytime wetting, and other problems are so personal, many children and parents are reluctant to talk about them. But families don’t have to stay silent. An approach called voiding improvement can help determine what’s ... Read More about Be a VIP: Voiding Improvement Program helps kids with incontinence
Patient Stories
Ava’s mental health journey
Ava remembers filling a small pink notebook with all her worries in just one month when she was 5 years old. Ava’s anxiety would not let her fully experience life, because she was constantly in fear of the world around her. She says, “I was being controlled by my fear rather than my own decisions.” Celebrating ... Read More about Ava’s mental health journey
Our Community
Dietitian Tara McCarthy cooks up a meaningful New Year’s resolution
For many people, the new year offers an opportunity to embrace fresh starts and self-improvement goals. But for Tara McCarthy, a clinical nutrition specialist at the Boston Children’s Hospital Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, her New Year’s resolution is unique. Every January, she commits to four weeks of eating the same restrictive diet followed by the ... Read More about Dietitian Tara McCarthy cooks up a meaningful New Year’s resolution
Clinical Care
PDA transcatheter closure in preemies
The problem of how to close a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in premature babies is not new. Medications don’t always work and surgery can be associated with substantial risk for these vulnerable patients. This has led many neonatologists to recommend that the PDA not be closed until a child is older, or to wait for ... Read More about PDA transcatheter closure in preemies
Health and Parenting
Advice for moyamoya families from a mom who’s been there
About a year ago, our 4-year-old daughter, Kalea, started having headaches. After four months, we called our pediatrician because the headaches were far from normal for Kalea and had progressed enough to become worrisome. The pediatrician advised us to track her headaches, and we learned that they fluctuated in frequency but were increasing in intensity. ... Read More about Advice for moyamoya families from a mom who’s been there