Richard D. Cordova, FACHE, President Emeritus, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

2018 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 290-293
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Mackenzie Postel M S ◽  
◽  
Julia T Chu ◽  
Henry H Tran ◽  
Shamlal Mangray ◽  
...  

Background: Pediatric salivary gland-type neoplasms (SGTNs) pose a significant diagnostic problem due to histo-morphological heterogeneity. Previous reports have shown that Mucin 4 (MUC4) expression is associated with adult mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC). We hypothesize that MUC4 is also a sensitive marker for distinguishing MEC from other SGTNs in the pediatric population. Objective: To evaluate MUC4 expression in pediatric SGTNs. Methods: A retrospective review of 74 SGTNs diagnosed between 1993–2015 at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Rhode Island Hospital was performed. H&E sections of 31 MECs were compared to 3 adenoid cystic carcinomas (AdCCs), 6 acinic cell carcinomas (AcCCs), 30 pleomorphic adenomas (PAs), 3 mammary analogue secretory carcinomas (MASCs), and one sialoblastoma (SB). Samples underwent immunohistochemical staining for MUC4, with expression score criteria: 0% positivity = 0, 1-10% = +, 11-50% = ++, 51-90% = +++, >90% = ++++. Results: All MECs were MUC4-positive, with 25 (80.65%) having an expression score ≥ +++. AdCCs and PAs demonstrated no to minimal MUC4-positivity. Subsets of AcCCs and MASCs were unexpectedly MUC4-positive. As a novel marker for pediatric MEC, MUC4’s sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 79.41%, positive predictive value = 75.86%, and negative predictive value = 100%. Conclusion: MUC4 is a sensitive marker for pediatric MEC


2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 711-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zakia Hammal ◽  
Jeffrey F. Cohn ◽  
Erin R. Wallace ◽  
Carrie L. Heike ◽  
Craig B. Birgfeld ◽  
...  

Objective: To compare facial expressiveness (FE) of infants with and without craniofacial microsomia (cases and controls, respectively) and to compare phenotypic variation among cases in relation to FE. Design: Positive and negative affect was elicited in response to standardized emotion inductions, video recorded, and manually coded from video using the Facial Action Coding System for Infants and Young Children. Setting: Five craniofacial centers: Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Seattle Children’s Hospital, University of Illinois–Chicago, and University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. Participants: Eighty ethnically diverse 12- to 14-month-old infants. Main Outcome Measures: FE was measured on a frame-by-frame basis as the sum of 9 observed facial action units (AUs) representative of positive and negative affect. Results: FE differed between conditions intended to elicit positive and negative affect (95% confidence interval = 0.09-0.66, P = .01). FE failed to differ between cases and controls (ES = –0.16 to –0.02, P = .47 to .92). Among cases, those with and without mandibular hypoplasia showed similar levels of FE (ES = –0.38 to 0.54, P = .10 to .66). Conclusions: FE varied between positive and negative affect, and cases and controls responded similarly. Null findings for case/control differences may be attributable to a lower than anticipated prevalence of nerve palsy among cases, the selection of AUs, or the use of manual coding. In future research, we will reexamine group differences using an automated, computer vision approach that can cover a broader range of facial movements and their dynamics.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 337-342
Author(s):  
Diane Altounji ◽  
Sonya Williams ◽  
Rita Secola

Professional certification validates nurses’ knowledge and expertise in their specialty. In support of professional development, nursing excellence as a Magnet® designated hospital, and commitment to improve patient outcomes, increasing the number of certified pediatric hematology oncology nurses at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is a priority. Expert certified nurses and educators assessed current staff nurse perceptions of and motivations for becoming certified. A nurse survey was completed, and the results identified barriers to certification and the need for an onsite review course to encourage more nurses to take the Certified Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nurse (CPHON®) exam. The Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation (ONCC) CPHON® test blueprint guided the development of the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles review course curriculum. Certified nurse experts volunteered as course instructors to present an overview of pediatric cancer, pediatric hematology, psychosocial review, chemotherapy and related medications, and long-term effects. In addition to course didactics, interactive learning sessions were included to allow participants to question, discuss, and apply new knowledge. Sample test questions were provided to each participant for independent study post–course attendance. Each participant completed course evaluations to measure the usefulness of the content, environment, and teaching methods. Since the implementation of this course, the overall number of certified hematology oncology nurses has increased by 15.3%.


Author(s):  
Lishuang Shen ◽  
Dennis Maglinte ◽  
Dejerianne Ostrow ◽  
Utsav Pandey ◽  
Moiz Bootwalla ◽  
...  

AbstractEffective response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic requires genomic resources and bioinformatics tools for genomic epidemiology and surveillance studies that involve characterizing full-length viral genomes, identifying origins of infections, determining the relatedness of viral infections, performing phylogenetic analyses, and monitoring the continuous evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 viral genomes. The Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles (CHLA) COVID-19 Analysis Research Database (CARD) (https://covid19.cpmbiodev.net/) is a comprehensive genomic resource that provides access to full-length SARS-CoV-2 viral genomes and associated meta-data for over 30,000 (as of May 20, 2020) isolates collected from global sequencing repositories and the sequencing performed at the Center for Personalized Medicine (CPM) at CHLA. Reference phylogenetic trees of global and USA viral isolates were constructed and are periodically updated using selected high quality SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences. These provide the baseline and analytical context for identifying the origin of a viral infection, as well as the relatedness of SARS-CoV-2 genomes of interest. A web-based and interactive Phylogenetic Tree Browser supports flexible tree manipulation and advanced analysis based on keyword search while highlighting time series animation, as well as subtree export for graphical representation or offline exploration. A Virus Genome Tracker accepts complete or partial SARS-CoV-2 genome sequence, compares it against all available sequences in the database (>30,000 at time of writing), detects and annotates the variants, and places the new viral isolate within the global or USA phylogenetic contexts based upon variant profiles and haplotype comparisons, in a few seconds. The generated analysis can potentially aid in genomic surveillance to trace the transmission of any new infection. Using CHLA CARD, we demonstrate the identification of a candidate outbreak point where 13 of 31 CHLA internal isolates may have originated. We also discovered multiple indels of unknown clinical significance in the orf3a gene, and revealed a number of USA-specific variants and haplotypes.


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