2nd Fl
Palo Alto, CA 94304
Fax: (650) 721-3822
Intestinal transplant and intestinal rehabilitation are my true calling and passion, and spending time with my patients and families is the best part of my day. I start by getting to know you and your child and learning about your priorities, needs, and hopes so that we can partner together to impact and improve your child's health and life. The more I understand your child and your family, the better care I can provide.
I take a straightforward, honest approach to care, helping you understand the big picture of what to expect. As part of a research team, I study both immune responses and the microbiome as they relate to intestinal transplant, which ultimately empowers us to tailor treatments specific to your child.
University of Connecticut School of Medicine Registrar, Farmington, CT, 06/30/2015
Stanford University Pediatric Residency at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Palo Alto, CA, 06/30/2018
Stanford University Pediatric Gastroenterology, Palo Alto, CA, 06/30/2022
Stanford University Pediatric Gastroenterology, Palo Alto, CA, 07/01/2021
Pediatric Gastroenterology, American Board of Pediatrics
Pediatrics, American Board of Pediatrics
Pancreatitis in inflammatory bowel disease has been attributed to peripancreatic intestinal disease and/or drug-induced pancreatic toxicity. We used large cohort analyses to define inflammatory bowel disease and pancreatitis temporal co-occurrence with a detailed descriptive analysis to gain greater insight into the pathophysiological relationship between these two diseases.Truven Health MarketScan private insurance claims from 141,017,841 patients (<65 years-old) and 7,457,709 patients from four academic hospitals were analyzed. We calculated prevalence of Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis with acute or chronic pancreatitis and performed temporal and descriptive analyses.Of 516,724 inflammatory bowel disease patients, 12,109 individuals (2.3%) had pancreatitis. Acute pancreatitis was 2-6x more prevalent than chronic pancreatitis. In adults, acute pancreatitis occurred equally among Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (1.8-2.2% vs. 1.6-2.1%, respectively), whereas in children, acute pancreatitis was more frequent in ulcerative colitis (2.3-3.4% vs. 1.5-1.8%, respectively). The highest proportion of pancreatitis (21.7-44.7%) was at/near the time of inflammatory bowel disease diagnosis. Of these, 22.1-39.3% were on steroids at the time of pancreatitis. Individuals with chronic pancreatitis or recurrent pancreatitis hospitalizations had increased risk of a future inflammatory bowel disease diagnosis (odds ratio=1.52 or 1.72, respectively).Pancreatitis in inflammatory bowel disease may not simply be a drug adverse event but may also involve local and/or systemic processes that negatively impact the pancreas. Our analysis of pancreatitis before, during, and after inflammatory bowel disease diagnosis suggests a bi-directional pathophysiologic relationship between inflammatory bowel disease and pancreatitis, with potentially more complexity than previously appreciated.
View details for DOI 10.14309/ctg.0000000000000628
View details for PubMedID 37556391
View details for DOI 10.1097/01.tp.0000945716.40222.b5
View details for Web of Science ID 001023645700061
View details for DOI 10.1097/01.tp.0000945660.23307.c7
View details for Web of Science ID 001023645700047
Adolescents constitute a unique waitlist cohort that is distinct from younger children. MELD 3.0, which was developed in an adult population of liver transplant candidates, is planned to replace MELD-Na in the current liver allocation system for both adult and adolescents aged 12-17. We evaluated the predictive performance of MELD-Na, MELD 3.0, and PELD, for 90-day waitlist mortality risk among adolescent liver transplant registrants.New waitlist registrations for primary liver transplant among individuals aged 12-17 and aged 18-25 for comparison were identified using OPTN data from Nov 17 2004 to Dec 31 2021. The predictive performance of the current and proposed MELD and PELD scores was assessed using the Harrell's concordance (c) statistic.There were 1,238 eligible listings for adolescents aged 12-17, and 1,740 young adults aged 18-25. In the adolescent group, 90-day survival was 97.8%, compared to 95.9% in those aged 18-25 (log-rank p = 0.005), with no significant differences when stratified by sex or indication. Among adolescents, increasing MELD 3.0 was associated with an increased hazard of mortality (HR 1.27, 95% CI 1.18-1.37), and the c-statistic for 90-day waitlist survival using MELD 3.0 was 0.893, compared with 0.871 using MELD-Na, and 0.852 using PELD.The discriminative ability of MELD 3.0 to rank adolescents according to the risk of death within 90 days was robust. Although MELD 3.0 was initially developed and validated in adults, MELD 3.0 may also improve the prediction of waitlist mortality in adolescents and better represent their urgency for liver transplant.
View details for DOI 10.1097/HEP.0000000000000352
View details for PubMedID 36943091
View details for Web of Science ID 000870796600018
View details for DOI 10.1097/PG9.0000000000000194
View details for PubMedID 37168901
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10158292
View details for Web of Science ID 000783167500071
View details for DOI 10.1097/MPG.0000000000002341
View details for Web of Science ID 000480695000008
View details for PubMedID 30921257
Unnecessary use of antibiotics is an increasing problem. In this study, we sought to determine the diagnostic accuracy of procalcitonin in predicting bacteremia in children with a central line and fever, and we sought to determine optimal cutoff values to maximize sensitivity and specificity. This is the largest study to date in which procalcitonin is examined as a predictive marker of bacteremia in pediatric patients with a central line and fever.We conducted a retrospective cohort study of children aged 0 to 23 years with a central line and fever of 38C who had procalcitonin and blood cultures drawn before initiation of antibiotics and had no other identified bacterial infection. Patients were also prospectively monitored via a custom-built electronic medical record dashboard for eligibility.There were 523 patients and >2500 procalcitonin values reviewed for eligibility. Of these, 169 (47%) patients and 335 blood cultures with procalcitonin were included. There were 94 (28%) positive bacterial blood cultures and 241 (72%) negative bacterial blood cultures. In bacteremic cultures, the mean procalcitonin level was 9.96 15.96 ng/mL, and the median procalcitonin level was 4.85 ng/mL (interquartile range 18.5). In nonbacteremic cultures, the mean procalcitonin level was 1.23 10.37 ng/mL, and the median procalcitonin level was 0.3 ng/mL (interquartile range 0.7). A receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated a procalcitonin level of 0.6 ng/mL as the best cutoff point that produced a sensitivity of 85.6% and a specificity of 65.7% (area under the curve 0.85).Procalcitonin is a sensitive biomarker in predicting bacteremia in children with a central line and fever.
View details for PubMedID 31097470
View details for DOI 10.1053/j.gastro.2018.04.013
View details for Web of Science ID 000440023400042
Epidemiologic analyses of acute and chronic pancreatitis (AP and CP) provide insight into causes and strategies for prevention, and affect allocation of resources to its study and treatment. We sought to determine current and accurate incidences of AP and CP, along with the prevalence of CP, in children and adults in the United States.We collected data from the Truven MarketScan Research Databases of commercial inpatient and outpatient insurance claims in the United States from 2007 through 2014 (patients 0-64 years old). We calculated the incidences of AP and CP, and prevalence of CP, based on International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) diagnosis codes. Children were defined as 18 years or younger and adults as 19 to 64 years old.The incidence of pediatric AP was stable from 2007 through 2014, remaining at 12.3/100,000 persons in 2014. Meanwhile the incidence for adult AP decreased from 123.7/100,000 persons in 2007 to 111.2/100,000 persons in 2014. The incidence of CP decreased over time in children (2.2/100,000 persons in 2007 to 1.9/100,000 persons in 2014) and adults (31.7/100,000 persons in 2007 to 24.7/100,000 persons in 2014). The prevalence of pediatric and adult CP was 5.8/100,000 persons and 91.9/100,000 persons, respectively in 2014. Incidences of AP and CP increased with age; we found little change in incidence during the first decade of life, but linear increases starting in the second decade.We performed a comprehensive epidemiologic analysis of privately insured non-elderly adults and children with AP and CP in the United States. Changes in gallstone formation, smoking, and alcohol consumption, along with advances in pancreatitis management, may be responsible for the stabilization and even decrease in the incidences of AP and CP.
View details for PubMedID 29660323
View details for PubMedID 28697142