Elizabeth Morey Blecharczyk
Clinical Associate Professor, Pediatrics - Neonatal and Developmental Medicine
Clinical Focus
- Neonatal Hospitalist Medicine
- Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
Academic Appointments
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Clinical Associate Professor, Pediatrics - Neonatal and Developmental Medicine
Professional Education
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Residency: Stanford Health Care at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (2012) CA
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Internship: Stanford Health Care at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (2010) CA
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Medical Education: Tufts University School of Medicine (2009) MA
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Board Certification: American Board of Pediatrics, Pediatrics (2012)
All Publications
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Standardized Evaluation of Cord Gases in Neonates at Risk for Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy.
Hospital pediatrics
2021
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Umbilical-cord acidemia may indicate perinatal asphyxia and places a neonate at increased risk for hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Our specific aim was to develop a standardized clinical care pathway, ensuring timely identification and evaluation of neonates with umbilical-cord acidemia at risk for HIE.METHODS: A standardized clinical care pathway to screen inborn neonates ≥36 weeks with abnormal cord blood gases (a pH of ≤7.0 or base deficit of ≥10) for HIE was implemented in January 2016. Abnormal cord blood gases resulted in a direct notification from the laboratory to an on-call physician. Evaluation included a modified Sarnat examination, postnatal blood gas, and standardized documentation. The percentage of neonates in which physician notification, documented Sarnat examination, and postnatal blood gas occurred was examined for 6 months before and 35 months after implementation.RESULTS: Of 203 neonates with abnormal cord gases in the post-quality improvement (QI) period, physician notification occurred in 92%. In the post-QI period, 94% had a documented Sarnat examination, and 94% had postnatal blood gas, compared with 16% and 11%, respectively, of 87 neonates in the pre-QI period. In the post-QI period, of those evaluated, >96% were documented within 4 hours of birth. In the post-QI period, 15 (7.4%) neonates were cooled; 13 were in the NICU at time of identification, but 2 were identified in the newborn nursery and redirected to the NICU for cooling.CONCLUSIONS: A standardized screening pathway in neonates with umbilical-cord acidemia led to timely identification and evaluation of neonates at risk for HIE.
View details for DOI 10.1542/hpeds.2021-006135
View details for PubMedID 34854918
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Case 1: Rapidly Rising Bilirubin Level in a 3-day-old Term Infant.
NeoReviews
2020; 21 (10): e687–e690
View details for DOI 10.1542/neo.21-10-e687
View details for PubMedID 33004562