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KEEPING WELL is published as a
community service for the friends
and patrons of METHODIST
HEALTHCARE, 8109 Fredericksburg
Road, San Antonio, TX 78229,
telephone
210-575-0355
,
website
www.SAHealth.com.
Jaime Wesolowski
President and CEO
Palmira Arellano
Vice President of Marketing
and Public Relations
Carla Sierra
Director of
Public Relations
Information in KEEPING WELL
comes from a wide range of
medical experts. If you have any
concerns or questions about
specific content that may affect
your health, please contact your
health care provider.
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METHODIST
HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
8109 Fredericksburg Road
San Antonio, TX 78229
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U.S. Postage
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FALL
2015
M e t h o d i s t H e a l t h c a r e
K E E P I N G
W E L L
8
F A L L 2 0 1 5
METHODIST CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL,
a campus of
Methodist Hospital, is the only Texas hospital and the
only nonacademic center participating in a National
Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical trial to protect pre-
mature babies from brain injury and developmental
problems. The hospital is one of only 19 sites in the
country participating in the study.
Babies born at extremely low gestational age (be-
tween 24 and 27 completed weeks’ gestation or between
three and four months early) often have developmental
problems including cerebral palsy, deafness, blindness
and intellectual disability. New treatments are needed
to help protect the brain from injury so that children
born this early can lead fuller, healthier lives. Accord-
ing to the Texas Department of State Health Services,
380,000 babies were born in Texas in 2012, and 1.5 per-
cent of these births were extremely premature infants.
The Preterm Erythropoietin Neuroprotection Trial
(PENUT) will test whether high-dose erythropoietin will
lower the risk of long-term developmental problems for
extremely premature babies. “Long-term developmental
disability is the major problem for preterm infants and
we have no good medicines to improve developmental
outcomes,” says Alexander Kenton, MD, Medical Direc-
tor of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Meth-
odist Children’s Hospital and MEDNAX neonatologist.
“Recent research suggests that erythropoietin could be
beneficial. The PENUT trial will clarify the effects that
erythropoietin has on the developing preterm baby.”
Erythropoietin is a medicine that is commonly used
in preterm infants, children and adults to help them
make red blood cells. These are the cells that carry
oxygen in the blood. The dose needed for brain protec-
tion is thought to be higher than the amount used for
making red blood cells.
In addition to Kenton, participating in the study are
Kaashif Ahmad, MD, MSc, Site Principal Investigator; Vi-
vek Vijayamadhavan, MD, Site Co-Principal Investigator,
both MEDNAX neonatologists at Methodist Children’s
Hospital; and Mario A. Fierro, MD, Site Developmental
Pediatrician and MEDNAX pediatrician at Methodist
Children’s Hospital.
“Our designation as a site for this study recognizes our
continued commitment to providing excellent care,” says
Kenton. “We provide the latest technological and medical
care to the most medically complex and sickest premature
infants in South Texas. In addition, the hospital provides
all the services of an academic Level IVNeonatal Intensive
Care Unit, including teaching and research, in a private
hospital setting with private neonatologists.” Approxi-
mately 1,000 to 1,200 infants are admitted to Methodist
Children’s Hospital’s NICU each year.
Methodist Children’s Hospital is the only site in Texas
where a newborn premature baby can access this therapy
through the NIH clinical trial. Enrollment is underway,
and participation in the study is voluntary. Infants
eligible must be between 24 and 27 weeks completed
gestation. Half of the babies in the study receive eryth-
ropoietin and half receive a placebo. The first dose of
the medication must be administered within 24 hours
of birth. Each baby’s development will be followed until
the child is 2 years old.
For more information on PENUT, contact Pediatrix
Medical Group of Texas at
210-541-8281
.
METHODIST CHILDREN’S
HOSPITAL PROTECTS
PREMATURE BABIES
Methodist Children’s Hospital one of only 19 sites in the country
participating in NIH clinical trial—and the only site in Texas
Methodist Hospital, Methodist Children’s Hospital, Methodist Heart Hospital, Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital, Metropolitan Methodist Hospital, Northeast Methodist Hospital, and Methodist Texsan Hospital are all Methodist Hospital facilities.