Inside Pediatrics Winter 2015

acute dialysis for adults,” Askenazi said. “Now we have a better alternative.” Already, Askenazi is gaining international acclaim for his work through the PICAN. In July of this year, he was awarded the Best Oral Abstract prize by the 8th International Conference on Pediatric Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy in London for “Smaller Circuits for Smaller Patients: Improving Renal Support with the Aquadex™ Machine.” PICAN is a joint collaboration between Children’s and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Pediatrics, the UAB School of Medicine and the UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science. “Our vision is far- reaching,” Askenazi said. “By improving our understanding of how to best treat these children and by disseminating knowledge, we will improve the outcomes of neonates and children with kidney disease throughout the world.” He and his colleagues anticipate that new technologies will continue to enable clinical teams to provide even safer therapies. “We are working with the Federal Drug Administration and industries around the world to develop and test machines that can support the smallest infants,” he said. “These are really sick babies. Some have heart problems, sepsis or lung problems, so we are never going to get to 100 percent survival just by supporting their failing kidney function. However, we need to ensure that those who can benefit from these machines are identified in a timely

manner and properly supported.” More information is available at www.childrensal.org/pican.

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