CONTENTS
It starts with a
A letter from a fellow questioner at Children ’ s Hospital Colorado
As an infectious disease epidemiologist , I used to really enjoy talking about the 1918 influenza pandemic . So many fascinating questions remain : Why was the second wave so much worse than the first ? What was so lethal about that particular virus ? Could there have been more than one ? It was fun to ponder the mystery .
That ’ s not as much fun anymore .
These days 1918 might as well have been January . It feels like another lifetime . We were already starting to see the effects of COVID-19 in our supply chain , sudden scarcities like the change in pressure before a storm . We knew it might be coming . Then March hit .
Infection prevention and control , of course , is about identifying risk factors for transmission and opportunities for prevention . That ’ s difficult to do when what little information you have is incomplete and often contradictory . You spend your career preparing for it . In some ways , you can ’ t really be prepared .
But you can learn , and I have learned a lot . Not just about SARS-CoV-2 , but about people , too . About the risk factors of human nature , of misinformation and fear .
I ’ m proud of how we ’ ve met so many challenges , but especially those last two . Early on , amid the preparations and process changes of bracing for an influx of COVID-19 patients , we propped up key communications infrastructures that have continued to play important roles in mitigating the spread of disease .
The pediatric specialists and infectious disease experts of our Scientific Advisory Council have reviewed an avalanche of new literature . Their insights and recommendations continue to serve as a source of truth for parents and providers in Colorado and beyond .
And our teams of physicians and researchers continue to study the virus , how it behaves and how it can be treated both in kids and in adults , adding reliable , vetted , much-needed insights to the scope of what we know . Some of them are in this magazine . Many more of them continue on behind the scenes .
Contents
FEATURE
10
CRITICAL CARE
The Tipping Point
COVID-19 NEWS
3
OTOLARYNGOLOGY
Sniffing Out COVID-19
4
CARDIOLOGY
A Protocol for MIS-C
6
4 Studies In : Flu Vaccine Uptake
SHORT ANSWER
3
ENDOCRINOLOGY
High Fives
The Comeback Kidneys
6
CARDIOLOGY
Diagnosing Kawaski Disease
18
BARIATRIC SURGERY
2 Studies In : Bariatric Surgery
BRIEFS
8
ONCOLOGY
A Dog ’ s Chance
9
GASTROENTEROLOGY
A Gut Feeling
14
COLORECTAL AND UROGENITAL SURGERY
Everything Old Is New Again
16
INFECTIOUS DISEASE
A Pound of Cure
ACCOLADES
19
A (:) List
It ’ s not over yet . The SARS-CoV-2 virus still carries more than enough mysteries to keep me occupied , urgent ones we ’ ll be unraveling for many years .
I ’ ll keep pondering . I hope you will too . Best ,
CHRIS NYQUIST , MD , MSPH
Medical Director , Infection Prevention and Control , Occupational Health
For a digital version of this publication visit : childrenscolorado . org / Qmagazine
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