R01HD105939

Pediatric COVID-19 Severity Dashboard During Delta Variant Circulation - Project Summary/Abstract

Pediatric COVID-19 is a major national and global public health problem. Pediatric COVID-19 cases have been increasing since mid-July 2021, coincident with the predominance of the Delta variant. During most of the pandemic, children have typically experienced milder COVID-19 illness severity than adults. However, SARS-CoV-2 causes two types of severe pediatric disease: acute COVID-19 and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). Both acute COVID-19 and MIS-C can cause organ dysfunction and death.

Recently, individual pediatric health systems have reported increasing numbers of hospitalized patients who are positive for SARS-CoV-2 (July-August 2021). Because children under 12 are not yet eligible for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and most are returning to in-person school this fall, they will be potentially more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection than in the past. However, it is not known if the Delta variant causes higher severity disease in children, as it does in adults. If it does, then increased transmission as children return to in-person school could cause demand for inpatient and intensive care unit (ICU) services at pediatric health systems to outstrip supply.

Second, granular national data are not readily available. The overall objective of this supplement is to make information about the trajectories of pediatric COVID-19 hospitalization rates and disease severity readily available for national-level decision-making. We will implement pipelines to analyze the trajectories of pediatric COVID-19 hospitalization rates and build an interactive pediatric COVID-19 severity dashboard for near-real-time tracking of the pediatric impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

To do this, we will leverage the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C), a resource developed with funding from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). N3C aggregates electronic health record (EHR) data from more than 60 U.S. centers. In our prior work, we have demonstrated our ability to analyze the granular multicenter EHR data in N3C, leverage state-of-the-art computational resources on the N3C platform, and implement analytic techniques similar to those in this proposal.

We will use these rich EHR data in N3C to accomplish the following specific aim:
1A) Visualize and test the trends of pediatric COVID-19 hospitalization rates and disease severity over time, and
1B) Design and build an interactive pediatric COVID-19 severity dashboard.

We have assembled an investigative team with a successful track record in the field and will work in partnership with NIH and N3C leadership to address this national and global health priority. We expect the results of this supplement proposal to have a powerful and immediate impact on the outcomes of children with COVID-19 and pediatric COVID-19 policy-making by decreasing the likelihood of overwhelmed U.S. pediatric health systems.

The Regents Of The Univ. Of Colorado

TO CONDUCT AND SUPPORT LABORATORY RESEARCH, CLINICAL TRIALS, AND STUDIES WITH PEOPLE THAT EXPLORE HEALTH PROCESSES. NICHD RESEARCHERS EXAMINE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT, BIOLOGIC AND REPRODUCTIVE FUNCTIONS, BEHAVIOR PATTERNS, AND POPULATION DYNAMICS TO PROTECT AND MAINTAIN THE HEALTH OF ALL PEOPLE. TO EXAMINE THE IMPACT OF DISABILITIES, DISEASES, AND DEFECTS ON THE LIVES OF INDIVIDUALS. WITH THIS INFORMATION, THE NICHD HOPES TO RESTORE, INCREASE, AND MAXIMIZE THE CAPABILITIES OF PEOPLE AFFECTED BY DISEASE AND INJURY. TO SPONSOR TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR SCIENTISTS, DOCTORS, AND RESEARCHERS TO ENSURE THAT NICHD RESEARCH CAN CONTINUE. BY TRAINING THESE PROFESSIONALS IN THE LATEST RESEARCH METHODS AND TECHNOLOGIES, THE NICHD WILL BE ABLE TO CONDUCT ITS RESEARCH AND MAKE HEALTH RESEARCH PROGRESS UNTIL ALL CHILDREN, ADULTS, FAMILIES, AND POPULATIONS ENJOY GOOD HEALTH. THE MISSION OF THE NICHD IS TO ENSURE THAT EVERY PERSON IS BORN HEALTHY AND WANTED, THAT WOMEN SUFFER NO HARMFUL EFFECTS FROM REPRODUCTIVE PROCESSES, AND THAT ALL CHILDREN HAVE THE CHANCE TO ACHIEVE THEIR FULL POTENTIAL FOR HEALTHY AND PRODUCTIVE LIVES, FREE FROM DISEASE OR DISABILITY, AND TO ENSURE THE HEALTH, PRODUCTIVITY, INDEPENDENCE, AND WELL-BEING OF ALL PEOPLE THROUGH OPTIMAL REHABILITATION.

93.865 - Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) [HHS - NIH]

Colorado United States

State-Wide

NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PA-20-185)

Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been extended from 08/31/25 to 05/31/30 and the total obligations have increased 417% from $754,556 to $3,901,596.