I am a pediatric gastroenterologist at GI Care for Kids (previously called CCDHC) in Atlanta, Georgia. The goal of my blog is to share some of my reading in my field more broadly. In addition, I wanted to provide my voice to a wide range of topics that often have inaccurate or incomplete information.
Before starting this blog in 2011, I would tear out articles from journals and/or keep notes in a palm pilot. This blog helps provide an updated source of information that is easy to access and search, along with links to useful multimedia sources.
I was born and raised in Chattanooga. After graduating from the University of Virginia, I attended Baylor College of Medicine. I completed residency and fellowship training at the University of Cincinnati at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center. I received funding from the National Institutes of Health for molecular biology research of the gastrointestinal tract.
During my fellowship, I had the opportunity to work with some of the most amazing pediatric gastroenterologists and mentors. Some of these individuals included Mitchell Cohen, William Balistreri, James Heubi, Jorge Bezerra, Colin Rudolph, John Bucuvalas, and Michael Farrell. I am grateful for their teaching and their friendship. During my training with their help, I received a nationwide award for the best research by a GI fellow.
I have authored numerous publications/presentations including original research, case reports, review articles, and textbook chapters on various pediatric gastrointestinal problems. In addition, I have been recognized by Atlanta Magazine as a "Top Doctor" in my field multiple times.
Currently, I am the vice chair of the section of nutrition for the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. In addition, I am an adjunct Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine. Other society memberships have included the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN), American Academy of Pediatrics, the Food Allergy Network, the American Gastroenterology Association, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.
As part of a national pediatric GI organization called NASPGHAN (and its affiliated website GIKids), I have helped develop educational materials on a wide-range of gastrointestinal and liver diseases which are used across the country. Also, I have been an invited speaker for national campaigns to improve the evaluation and treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease, celiac disease, eosinophilic esophagitis, hepatitis C, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Some information on these topics has been posted at my work website, www.gicareforkids.com, which has links to multiple other useful resources.
I am fortunate to work at GI Care For Kids. Our group has 17 terrific physicians with a wide range of subspecialization, including liver diseases, feeding disorders, eosinophilic diseases, inflammatory bowel disease, cystic fibrosis, DiGeorge/22q, celiac disease, and motility disorders. Many of our physicians are recognized nationally for their achievements. Our group of physicians have worked closely together for many years. None of the physicians in our group have ever left to join other groups. I have also worked with the same nurse (Bernadette) since I moved to Atlanta in 1997.
For many families, more practical matters about our office include the following:
– 14 office/satellite locations
– physicians who speak Spanish
– cutting edge research
– on-site nutritionists
– on-site psychology support for abdominal pain and feeding disorders
– participation in ImproveCareNow to better the outcomes for children with inflammatory bowel disease
– office endoscopy suite (lower costs and easier scheduling)
– office infusion center (lower costs and easier for families)
– easy access to nursing advice (each physician has at least one nurse)
I am married and have two sons (both adults). I like to read, walk/hike, bike, swim, and play tennis with my free time.
I do not have any financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies or other financial relationships to disclose. I have helped enroll patients in industry-sponsored research studies.
Of 12,459 children who had an EGD (2000-2014), 10 children (0.08%) were identified with an esophageal squamous papillom (ESP)a on biopsy. Ages ranged from 2 to 17 years.
All samples tested for HPV via FISH analysis were negative
The authors note that “surveillance is …largely considered unnecessary.”
My take: ESP is a rare benign lesion found incidentally in the pediatric population.
U.S. spent 17.7% of GDP on healthcare expenditures in 2019, comparable OECD country averages were 10.7%
U.S. per capita costs were $10,966; next closest were Switzerland at $7732 and Germany at $6646
Despite are higher costs, U.S. has highest age-adjusted mortality rates (compared to these countries) and higher pregnancy-related deaths.
The U.S. has the highest rates of obesity among these countries; however, other countries smoke more and drink more
The biggest part of healthcare costs is from hospital care at 33%; medication costs account for ~10% but play a role in hospital costs.
The article makes the point that some high-priced medications, including the $2.1 million dollar Zolgensma, are worth it and others are overpriced
Recently both the hospitals and pharma have had good press with heroes like frontline healthcare workers and vaccine scientists. Recent villains include Martin Shkreli for excessive price hiking. However, most people are “just businesspeople responding rationally to the incentives they face.”
Medical costs for pharmaceuticals are complicated by an ‘insanely complex’ drug distribution system with hidden incentives and rebates. In many situations, “patients can’t get access to the better or more affordable drug because there’s some rebate happening behind the scenes”
In the U.S. “a majority of people are almost entirely separated from the market mechanism…Out-of-pocket spending is only 13% of total health care expenditures… most people have little incentive to shop carefully. Economically, the real consumer, the patient, is a bit player in this drama.”
My take: Improving the healthcare system is a great challenge. “It’s a lot harder than placing blame.”
This retrospective study provides insight into the predictive value of persistently abnormal celiac labs in symptomatic children.
Inclusion criteria: not eligible for a non-biopsy diagnosis AND children with at least 2 TGA-IgA measurements, endomysial antibody (EMA) assessment and esophagogastroduodenoscopy with biopsies
Methods: Patients were classified in groups according to median TGA-IgA values: Group A (TGA-IgA>1 ≤ 5 × ULN; defined as “low-positive”), Group B (TGA-IgA > 5 < 10 × ULN; “moderate-positive”), and C (controls).
Key findings:
In group A, CD was diagnosed in 142/162 (87.7%)
In group B, all 62 children (100%) received a CD diagnosis
My take: In individuals with mild elevation of celiac serology, it is reasonable to recheck prior to confirming with endoscopy. However, those with persistently abnormal values are very likely to have celiac disease.
“AGA has now updated its July 2020 recommendations regarding pre-procedure testing. Based on the latest available data, routine COVID-19 testing prior to endoscopy is no longer needed to perform endoscopy safely.
Routine SARS-CoV-2 testing prior to endoscopy is no longer needed to perform endoscopy safely: Our systematic review found that there is little benefit in routine testing, given very low rates of infection (i.e. asymptomatic prevalence and transmission) during endoscopy to both patients and staff (0-0.5% across representative studies), with potential significant burden, including delays in care, impact of cancer burden, cost, health disparities and reduced endoscopy efficiency. Previously identified benefits of testing, including informed rationing of personal protective equipment (PPE) and patient and staff reassurance, have less relevance given adequate supply of PPE and reduced anxiety in later stages of the pandemic.
Vaccination status should not dictate decision-making for implementing pre-procedure SARS-CoV-2 testing: The studies included in our review were conducted prior to vaccination and show minimal benefit of testing as outlined above. While indirect data show that vaccination reduces that risk even further, the available evidence supports eliminating pre-procedure testing regardless of vaccination status of patients.
All patients should receive symptom screening prior to endoscopy: Centers should continue to implement universal screening of patients for COVID-19 symptoms, using a screening checklist, and follow universal precautions, including physical distancing, masks and hand hygiene in the endoscopy unit. For patients who have a positive symptom screen, pre-procedure testing can then be utilized for further triage.
For centers that value the small benefits (patient and staff reassurance or anxiety) over the downsides (delays care, potential exacerbation of health disparities, endoscopy efficiency, downstream consequences of false negatives and false positives), pre-procedure testing with rapid PCR tests can be considered: Rapid RT-PCR tests that can be performed on the day of endoscopy are preferable as they pose less burden to patients. In the pre-procedure setting, there is limited utility of rapid isothermal tests or antigen tests. There is no role for antibody tests in this context.”
These recommendations are only applicable IF:
My take: This is great news for our patients and hopefully will be widely adopted.
From an initial cohort of 20,861 from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) GOLD, the authors identified 13,235 patients with a constipation indication and 40 patients with fecal impaction indication for PEG.
Key finding:
The safety aspect of this study did not identify any signals of concern in the constipation cohort.
The mean duration of exposure, in the first treatment episode, was 88.9 days.
9380 patients (70.9%) were aged between 12 and <24 months, with a further 3855 patients (29.1%) aged <12months. Also, PEG 3350+E was used in 477 patients (3.6%) who were <6 months of age
This type of retrospective study is less capable of detecting adverse events than a prospective study and is limited by how carefully the primary care provider elicits and documents them.
My take: This large study confirms the widespread usage of PEG in young children without apparent adverse reactions.
Treatment regimen: “A 1–2 ml/kg olive oil enema was given either alone or followed several hours later by a glycerin enema.”
Study population: “Forty-nine had functional constipation; 43 had anorectal malformation; 40 had Hirschsprung disease; 12 had spina bifida; and 10 had other maladies.”
Key finding: Olive oil enema was considered effective in treating fecal impaction in 77.6% of patients
My take: I don’t have any personal experience with olive oil but expect it would work similar to mineral oil.
It is well-recognized that obesity/overweight increases the risk of cancer (related blog post: Cancer due to Overweight/Obesity). Wang et al provide data regarding cancer risk due specifically to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) from a large prospective adult cohort (n=54,187). Key findings:
Prevalence of NAFLD, based on ultrasonography, was 32.3%.
NAFLD was associated with increased risk of all cancers (hazard ratio [HR], 1.22; 95% CI, 1.10–1.36; P = .0001), thyroid cancer (HR, 2.79; 95% CI, 1.25–6.21; P = .01), and lung cancer (HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.02–1.49; P = .03).
Increased risk for colorectal cancer (HR, 1.96) and lung cancer (HR, 1.38) was demonstrated only in smokers. An association between NAFLD and kidney cancer (HR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.03–2.40) was only observed in men without diabetes.
Risk of hepatocellular carcinoma was increased only in those with elevated ALT values of 80 U/L or more (HR 8.08)
My take: This study shows that NAFLD increases the risk of cancer; much of this risk may be due to obesity/metabolic syndrome and associated chronic inflammation. Overall, cardiovascular disease in patients with NAFLD represents a higher risk for morbidity and mortality.
The authors collected data from a multicenter randomized trial of the CD exclusion diet (CDED) in children (mean age, 14.2 ± 2.7 y) with Crohn’s disease who were randomly assigned to groups given either exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN, n = 34) or the CDED with 50% (partial) enteral nutrition (PEN) (n = 39).
The CDED has been discussed previously on this blog; it aims to avoid animal and saturated fat, milk fat, gluten, specific emulsifiers, taurine, red (reduced heme) and processed meat, and certain fibers from some fruits and vegetables. In addition to excluding patients who received competing therapies (eg. steroids, immunomodulators, and biologics), the authors excluded patients with isolated large bowel disease (L2).
Key findings:
At week 3 of the diet, 82% of patients in the CDED group and 85% of patients in the EEN group had a dietary response or remission. Median serum levels of C-reactive protein had decreased from 24 mg/L at baseline to 5.0 mg/L at week 3 (P < .001)
Among the 49 patients in remission at week 6, 46 patients (94%) had had a diet response or remission by week 3 and 81% were in clinical remission by week 3
The authors note that the rapid response to dietary therapy suggests a role for a ‘trial by diet’. As such, dietary therapy could be used as monotherapy, for patients failing other therapies, or as a bridge to biological therapy. The authors note that the exact reasons for response to dietary therapy are unsettled and could be “due to both foods excluded and foods enriched in the diet.” In addition, they note that diet appears to be a trigger for inflammation and that reintroduction of foods leads to rebound in inflammation (eg. higher calprotectin) and dysbiosis.
My take: This study shows that dietary therapy works quickly. In this small study, the effectiveness of combined CDED with 50% PEN was similar to EEN.
gutsandgrowth 