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| Kalsang Dolma, M.D., and Troy Stevens, Ph.D., attend the American Thoracic Society meeting. |
Kalsang Dolma, M.D., an assistant professor of pediatrics, presented a total of four papers on recent research conducted at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital at two conferences this spring.
Dolma attended the Pediatric Academic Society meeting in Toronto where she shared information during three poster presentations. They were:
- Outcomes of Periviable Infants with Birthweight less than 400 grams: A Single Center Study
- Trends in Survival and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Periviable Infants: A Single Center Study
- Effect of the Development of a Small Baby Unit on Neonatal Mortality and Morbidity in ≤ 28 Weeks' Gestation
Periviable births are typically defined as births occurring from 20 weeks and seven days gestation through 25 weeks and 6 of 7 days gestation.
Medical student Hope Lund was the first author on the poster describing outcomes in the small baby unit at Children’s & Women’s Hospital, while Dolma was the senior author on the paper. Because Lund was unable to attend, Dolma presented the poster.
In 2019, Children’s & Women’s opened a small baby unit within the neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital. Previous research showed babies born before 28 weeks' gestation or weighing less than 1,000 grams have better health outcomes in a program where a specially trained team provides around the clock care.
The new study on the effects of the development of a small baby unit on neonatal mortality and morbidity showed that constant care by a dedicated small baby unit team in a distinct unit decreases hypothermia during admission and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a chronic lung disease that can cause long-term breathing problems.
Later in May, Dolma attended the American Thoracic Society meeting in San Deigo where she presented a poster discussion on the role of microtubule-associated tau protein in lung development in neonates.
