Immunocompromised Host Pediatric Infectious Diseases Program

Pediatric patients with primary (genetic) or secondary (iatrogenic) immunocompromising conditions are at risk for a variety of infections. The Immunocompromised Host Pediatric Infectious Diseases Program is dedicated to:

High quality, evidence-based, compassionate, and multidisciplinary patient care
Equipping the next generation of pediatric infectious diseases physicians with the foundational knowledge and experience necessary to excel in caring for immunocompromised patients
Research directed at discovery, application, and outcome assessment to fundamentally improve the care of immunocompromised patients

Patient Care

The Peter F. Wright Immunocompromised Host Pediatric Infectious Diseases Service is a dedicated clinical service that works closely with the following Divisions in the Department of Pediatrics:

Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonary Medicine
Cardiology; and the Heart Transplant Team
Critical Care Medicine
Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition and Liver Transplantation
Hematology and Oncology
Pediatric Palliative Care
Nephrology and Hypertension; and the Kidney Transplant Team
Rheumatology

We provide inpatient and outpatient care regarding immunizations, antimicrobial prophylaxis, and diagnosis and treatment of community acquired, hospital acquired, and opportunistic pathogens.

We care for patients with underlying diagnoses including malignancy, autoimmunity, autoinflammation, rheumatologic disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, solid organ transplantation, and hematopoietic cell transplantation.

In addition, we work closely with colleagues in Immunology, Hematology, and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation to diagnose and treat patients with genetic immunodeficiencies through the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Hematology, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases Program (CHIIP).

Education

Pediatric infectious diseases fellows spend significant dedicated time throughout their training seeing patients on the Immunocompromised Host Pediatric ID service.

Fellows receive didactic and case-based teaching addressing critical knowledge areas in the care of immunocompromised pediatric patients. Specific attention is given to understanding the immunologic mechanisms of established and novel treatments that place patients at risk for infectious complications of immunosuppressive therapy.

Elective rotations are available for medical students and pediatrics residents.

Research

We are actively engaged in leading multicenter, collaborative research to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infections in immunocompromised pediatric patients.

Click here for publications from our team.

Areas of current research focus include:

Epidemiology and outcomes of infections in solid organ and hematopoietic cell transplant patients
Novel influenza immunization strategies in solid organ and hematopoietic cell transplant patients
Post-transplant Cytomegalovirus immune monitoring
Immunologic prediction of vaccine responses in pediatric transplant patients
Genetic prediction of adverse effects of antimicrobial prophylaxis

Other areas of Divisional research expertise with relevance to immunocompromised patients include: