PECARN Meeting Highlights Advances, Future Work

Improving emergency care for children – whether in hospital or prehospital settings – starts with evidence generation.

More than 130 researchers and staff gathered Sept. 14 to 16 in Seattle for a meeting of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN), the research arm of the EMSC Program and the first federally funded pediatric emergency research network. The network includes seven research nodes – representing 18 pediatric emergency departments and nine EMS agencies – and has enrolled more than 150,000 children in its studies to date.

It was the network’s first in-person meeting in three years.

“The meeting was energizing and invigorating,” says Eileen Klein, MD, MPH, PECARN chair. “Getting together with colleagues in person was fantastic and the energy and enthusiasm was palpable. Seeing the breadth, depth, and sheer volume of new evidence for improving care of ill and injured children that has been disseminated, studies that are currently enrolling to answer key questions, and new science that is planned for the future is a testament to the hard work and commitment of so many researchers.”

The meetings’ discussion focused on PECARN’s 15 active studies. A total of 13 studies are in the manuscript writing phase, while eight studies are in grant development and 11 grants are under review.

Top photo: courtesy Nathan Kuppermann, MD, MPH; Bottom photo, courtesy of Pam Okada, MD