The colorful laundry packets have become one of P&G’s biggest blockbusters. There’s only one problem—too many kids are getting poisoned by them. 

For an 8-year-old to be exuberantly goofing off, performing cartwheels and splits while grownups are talking, is nothing out of the ordinary. But as her mother, Katie Mancillas, is explaining, in Bella’s case, it’s almost miraculous.

Six years ago, when Bella was 2, she was rushed to the hospital because she was vomiting so uncontrollably that she inhaled fluid into her lungs, blocking her airways. Not long after she arrived, Bella stopped breathing and briefly flatlined. “Oh, my God, I think Bella’s gonna die,” Katie remembers telling her sister.

The cause of Bella’s near-death experience wasn’t a nasty stomach virus or a toxic pesticide. According to Katie, it was a squishy, multicolored packet that’s an increasingly common presence in American homes: a Tide Pod. Link to Link to Full Article

Dr. Mariana Brussoni  was interviewed last Fall about Tide Pods and the article was just published in Fortune Magazine.

Dr. Brussoni is an Investigator with BC Children’s Hospital an Academic Scientist, BC Injury Research & Prevention Unit, an Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia and Associate Professor, School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia.

In addition to her affiliations with the BCIRPU, University of British Columbia, and the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Dr. Mariana Brussoni is also a board member of the Child & Nature Alliance of Canada. Trained as a developmental psychologist, she investigates child injury prevention. Current research interests include the influence of geographic, cultural and social places on parenting related to risk and safety; developmental importance of children’s risky play; the impact of injury on children’s health-related quality of life; injuries among Aboriginal populations; and injury surveillance.

Mariana’s research has been featured extensively in national and international media. She currently leads CIHR-funded research to develop an index of the playability of the built environment; and Lawson Foundation-funded research to develop an online tool to reframe parents’ risk perceptions with the goal of facilitating children’s access to nature-based risky play. Further details can be seen at http://brussonilab.ca/.

Dr. Kissoon is a recipient of the Society of Critical Care Medicine Presidential Citation Award.

This award honors the extraordinary contributions of time, energy and resources to the Society of Critical Care Medicine during 2018.

Congratulations Dr. Kissoon!

You are invited to celebrate the life of Dr. Colin T. White on the afternoon of Tuesday, November 20th at 2:30pm at the Arbutus Club, 2001 Nanton Avenue in Vancouver.

RSVP required.

Please contact Alice So, Nephrology Division Secretary at aso2@cw.bc.ca, by phone (604) x5222, or in-person at K4-138.

Do you have photos, memories, and/or a message of condolence? Alice will be collecting submissions for a digital guestbook for Dr. White’s partner and parents.

Please send your submissions by email to aso2@cw.bc.ca (e.g. image files, email/Word document, or PowerPoint slide with your message). Hard copy submissions may be sent to Alice at her office K4-138, ACB, at BCCH.

Dr. Bishop is a recipient of a 2018 Clinical Faculty Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching from the Faculty of Medicine.

This award recognizes excellence in teaching by clinical faculty members. [more]

Congratulations Dr. Bishop!

Dr. Jassemi was born and raised in Ottawa, ON where she also completed her Bachelor of Science at the University of Ottawa. She obtained her MD at the University of British Columbia in 2013, and completed her pediatrics residency at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and the University of Calgary in 2016. She completed her subspecialty training in Adolescent Medicine in 2018 at the Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto, with a clinical interest in refugee youth mental health and development. Her research areas of interest include migrant youth health, medical education, and physician wellness.

When she is not in the hospital, you can find her cycling, hiking, cooking, or travelling. She is delighted to join the Division of Adolescent Health and Medicine this Fall.

Welcome Dr. Jassemi!

A food allergy occurs when the body’s immune system reacts unusually to a specific food. Though reactions are often mild, they can also be serious. It can be difficult to determine whether a symptom is an allergic reaction or caused by another factor – and this is why we created Allergy Check.

This tool is intended to help patients and parents understand whether specific symptoms may be caused by a food allergy, and whether further advice from an Allergy Specialist is recommended.

This quick assessment tool will guide you through identifying the likelihood of a food allergy with just a few clicks. You can also visit the app’s Resources section to learn more about food allergies, and what you might be able to do to reduce uncomfortable symptoms. While Allergy Check is a helpful tool, it does not replace the expert medical advice of a licensed physician or other medical professional.

Symptoms of a food allergy can affect several different areas of the body. Some common symptoms include an itchy sensation in the mouth, throat or ears, a rash or hives, swelling, problems breathing, or even abdominal pain and vomiting. The Allergy Check algorithm takes into account your specific symptoms and provides you with a personalized food allergy result.

For more information see: allergycheck.ca

In the spring of 2018, Dr. Wingfield Rehmus was appointed as the new Head for the Division of Dermatology.

Dr. Rehmus is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and an associate member of the Department of Dermatology and Skin Science at UBC. She completed her medical school at Duke University; earned an MPH in International Health from Yale University; and, completed her dermatology training at Stanford University.  Upon the completion of her residency, she joined faculty at Stanford with a focus on clinical trials and became the co-director of the clinical trials unit.

In 2006, Dr. Rehmus moved with her family to the Republic of Palau where she practiced dermatology and led strategic planning for the Palau Bureau of Public Health.  In 2009, she began working at BC Children’s Hospital.  Her main research interest is in increasing access to care in remote and under-resourced places through education, expansion of telehealth, and outreach.

Dr. Dzung Vo was appointed as the new Head for the Division of Adolescent Health and Medicine in July 2018. He is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, and has been with the division since 2010. He earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and he completed his residency in Pediatrics and his fellowship in Adolescent Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. Vo’s main clinical and research areas of interest are: stress and health; resilience; care and advocacy with vulnerable and marginalized adolescents; and, mindfulness-based interventions with youth.

In partnership with Dr. Jake Locke, Dr. Vo co-developed MARS-A (Mindful Awareness and Resilience Skills for Adolescents), an eight-week mindfulness training program for adolescents with depressive symptoms, with or without other co-occurring chronic illness or chronic pain.

Dr. Vo is committed to continuing the division’s values of fostering positive youth development and health equity by harnessing the division’s expertise in adolescent health and development to respond to the emerging adolescent health priority areas of substance use disorders and transgender health care.

Several faculty members from the Department of Pediatrics were awarded funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant Spring 2018 competition, Foundation and Team Grant competitions. [MORE]

Congratulations Project Grant Recipients!

From left to right: Dr. Angela Devlin, Dr. Anne R. Synnes, Dr. Bruce Bjornson, Dr. George Sandor, Dr. Kevin Harris, Dr. Manish Sadarangani, Dr. Rajavel Elango, Dr. Ruth E. Grunau, and Dr. Steven P. Miller

Congratulations Foundation & Team Grant Recipients! 

From left to right: Dr. Anne Junker, Dr. Bruce Carleton, Dr. Colin Ross, Dr. Kirk Schultz, Dr. Manish Sadarangani, Dr. Srinivas Murthy, Dr. Stuart Turvey