Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network

HCRN adds centers in Vancouver and Tennessee

john — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 05:47:53 +0000

With recent moves of HCRN investigators Dr. John Wellons to Vanderbilt University and Dr. John Kestle to University of British Columbia, HCRN has decided to expand its network from seven to nine centers to incorporate their respective hospitals in HCRN research. Each center will begin its trial period immediately which involves adding patients to the HCRN registry as well as participating in the HCRN Quality Improvement Study for post surgical infections. Dr. Kestle will continue in his role as Chairman of HCRN and Dr. Wellons will continue to be the lead PI on the Study of Post Hemorrhagic Hydrocephalus which is nearing the completion of its accrual of patients.

HCRN in Africa

john — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 15:00:32 +0000

At the last HCRN meeting (November 2012), we discussed ETV/CPC (Endoscopic third ventriculostomy with choroid plexus coagulation). This procedure was pioneered by Dr. Ben Warf (Boston Children’s Hospital) during his time in Uganda and he was a guest at the November HCRN meeting. He reviewed the technique and his data and we discussed the possibility of doing an HCRN study on this procedure. We felt that the first important step in that direction was for some HCRN members to gain additional experience with the technique. Dr. Warf kindly offered to train some HCRN investigators in Uganda. He makes periodic trips there to treat children with hydrocephalus at the Cure Children’s Hospital of Uganda. This month, Dr. Riva-Cambrin from the Salt Lake City HCRN center, Dr. Whitehead from the Texas HCRN center and Dr. Rozzelle from the Birmingham, Alabama HCRN center are in Uganda working with Dr. Warf. Other investigators will be doing the same later this spring. We hope this experience will allow us to study this innovative procedure in the near future.

A Major Milestone for HCRN and Hydrocephalus

john — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 20:32:48 +0000

Each year the US News & World Report ranks children’s hospitals. They send out a request for data from the hospitals and send surveys to docs around the country to gauge the reputation of each hospital. Many of the questions are the same from year to year but occasionally new ones are added. For the first time, this year the survey asks if the hospital’s Pediatric Neurosurgery Program participates in the Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network.

We are very happy to see this. It means that the editors of US News & World Report consider HCRN participation to be important enough to include it as a criterion to evaluate children’s hospitals. But it is also validation for the importance of hydrocephalus treatment in the specialties of pediatric hospitals.

HCRN Chair John Kestle to move to Vancouver B.C.

paul — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 23:39:03 +0000

HCRN Chair, John Kestle, will be making a move to Vancouver to assume the role of Head of the Department of Surgery for the University of British Columbia. In Vancouver, he will remain the Chair of HCRN and will do clinical work in pediatric neurosurgery. In addition to his care for children with hydrocephalus, Dr Kestle will also treat some adult patients. Congratulations to Dr. Kestle for his new role!

The data will remain with the Data Coordinating Center (DCC) in Utah under the direction of Rich Holubkov PhD, Lead Statistician and DCC PI. The University of Utah will continue its active role in hydrocephalus research through the HCRN. John assumes his new role March 25, 2013. With the recent move of Dr Wellons to Vanderbilt and Dr Kestle’s planned move to Vancouver, these would be logical sites for future HCRN expansion.

HCRN’s Chevis Shannon Kicks Off AANS/CNS Pediatric Section Talks

john — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 16:30:49 +0000

HCRN was well represented at the recent AANS/CNS Pediatric Section meeting in St Louis, Nov 27 – 30. Chevis Shannon, from the Alabama center had the honor of giving the first talk of the conference. This is always the coveted position right after the opening ceremony, with the highest attendance. She described their experience identifying potential sources of infection in shunt surgery. Dr Whitehead from Texas Children’s gave a talk describing the findings from his HCRN ultrasound study. Interestingly he is the first to show that catheters commonly move from their initial position in the ventricle. This met with considerable interest during and after the meeting. Dr Riva-Cambrin and a Utah resident Dr Sarah Garber presented a paper on 4th ventricle shunts. Dr Wellons along with UAB resident Rob Naftel presented work on sociodemographics and shunt failure from the Birmingham center.

Dr. Curtis Rozzelle Joins HCRN

john — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:00:56 +0000

We are happy to welcome Dr. Curtis Rozzelle to the Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network. Dr. Rozzelle is representing Birmingham Children’s Hospital and overseeing their participation in HCRN. Dr. Rozzelle has published randomized clinical trials in hydrocephalus and we look forward to working with him on future HCRN studies.

HCRN Investigator Wellons Moves to Nashville

john — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 14:00:23 +0000

Dr. Jay Wellons has recently been recruited to Vanderbilt to lead their Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery. He is now Professor of Neurosurgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. This is a significant milestone in his neurosurgical career. Congratulations Jay and best wishes in this new challenge!

Dr. Wellons will continue his Investigator role with HCRN and will continue to lead the studies on hydrocephalus due to intraventricular hemorrhage in premature babies.

Kudos Dr Wellons

paul — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 13:50:21 +0000

Professor Jay Wellons has recently been conferred his MSPH degree by the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Dr Wellons has been the lead investigator at the Birmingham site and the Principal Investigator on the line of studies on hydrocephalus due to intraventricular hemorrhage in premature babies. We have no idea how he fit the graduate studies into his incredibly busy life as a neurosurgeon, researcher and educator. Congratulations Dr Wellons!

Dr. Riva-Cambrin Publication Demonstrates Need for Standardized Decision Making

john — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 20:24:45 +0000

HCRN Investigator, Jay Riva-Cambrin, has just published an exciting Network article on premature children with intraventricular hemorrhage. The goal of the research was to understand the decision making process for treating IVH. Specifically, we wanted to know what factors went into the decision to implant a reservoir or to do a subgaleal shunt in these children. The details of treatment for 110 children were analyzed. The strongest predictor of surgical treatment for these children was center. This means that from one center to another, things are done a little bit differently and that has the biggest impact on the surgical decision process. The ventricle size and the presence of bradycardia also had some effect on the decision to treat these children. These findings support the current HCRN protocol, which has standardized criteria for making these decisions across Network centers. Interestingly, the length of stay varied quite significantly between the centers, as did the use of brain imaging in their care. Overall, the study demonstrates the need for collaborative work and standardized decision making, which is currently being studied in the Network.

The Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics is kind enough to provide our readers with a link to the full article here: http://thejns.org/doi/full/10.3171/2012.1.PEDS11292

HCRN Partners with the Hydrocephalus Association

john — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 20:00:52 +0000

I’m very happy to announce that HCRN has signed an agreement with the Hydrocephalus Association that will assure support of our research for the next three years. Although we are always seeking grant funding, our activity is very dependant on the generosity of others. We have been fortunate to have strong philanthropic support in the past and we hope that will continue, but the agreement with HA provides us with a very welcome “safety net”.

More importantly, I think a relationship between HCRN and HA will benefit both. Our goals are the same. We are both working to improve the lives of people with hydrocephalus. Increasing our collaboration, exchanging ideas and developing new plans together is a natural fit. I am excited about the future of both organizations and our potential as a team.