The Future of Pediatrics By Tanvi Kosgi

The future of pediatrics has become extremely important now due to a rise in the child population and the rise of the rate of disease. Many advancements have been researched and are being developed or put into place as of recent news. These developments are life changing and could further improve the field of pediatric medicine by great lengths. I will discuss some of them in this article.

To start off, millions of kids around the world suffer from chronic anemia which is an

autoimmune disease where there are low levels of red blood cells in your body. A lot of pain comes from this disease in the form of needles and blood draws. A patient, form Atlanta, who previously had this disease teamed up with multiple doctors and engineers to create an app which detects the amount of hemoglobin in your finger which can reduce the number of times a child needs to be pricked by a needle or have their blood draw. Although this app isn’t a full-time cure for the patient, it helps monitor the

amount of iron supplement they take and reduce trips to the doctor.

Another huge development in the pediatric field has to do with leukemia. A group of pediatricians at a children’s hospital in Seattle came together and are proactively using chimeric antigen receptors, which are a kind of cell therapy, for patients who suffer from ALL. ALL stands for acute lymphoblastic leukemia which is a kind of cancer that attacks the blood and bone marrow. It spreads extremely fast. CAR therapy basically is a way to alter T cells in a lab so they can find and destroy cancer cells. This is a big advancement in the medical field because kids affected by this specific cancer can fight it young. The

pediatricians who researched this are currently looking to develop a vaccine with the same theory of the therapy to increase the effectiveness of it.

Lastly, a great advancement in the field is related to congenital heart disease. CHD is an

abnormality that develops in your heart before birth which leaves a hole in the heart and leaky valves and vessels. Many of the devices, 60% to be exact, that are developed and implanted into these children who are born with this disease are off brand and are usually not designed for pediatric use. This results in these children going through many surgeries throughout their childhood and early adulthood which could have deadly symptoms. Recently, a medical facility called Renata created an adjustable stent that grows along with the patient. It is meant to be implanted into the children at birth and is approximately 2mm long. This saves patients born with this disease a lifetime of surgeries and worry.

The three advancements which I mentioned are only three of many new advancements in the pediatric field. Nevertheless, these developments are highly significant and will improve pediatric care greatly. Children deserve the best treatment there is and pediatricians and researchers are working and trying their hardest to make these kid’s lives painless and safe. Educating ourselves on these advancements and raising awareness is extremely important. Every day, these are new developments,

discoveries, and advancements that are found and uncovered in the pediatric field which will go to create a better life for many kids around the world.

Thank You!