171 Ashley Ave.
Charleston, SC 29425
843-792-1414
800-424-MUSC
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October 2005
Feature Story
By: Mary Sue Lawrence, Trio Solutions Inc.
Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases: Fighting HIV and More
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George Johnson, MD
Director of Pediatric Infectious Diseases |
Primary pediatricians and other medical professionals all over eastern South Carolina turn to
MUSC's Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases for answers and solutions. "We serve as an
important resource, seeing referred patients and providing advice on the care of individual
patients," says George Johnson, MD, who has led the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases
since mid 2001.
MUSC's pediatric infectious disease specialists provide inpatient and outpatient services for
children with acute and chronic infections and immune deficiency syndromes. Collaboration with
general pediatricians and subspecialty pediatricians is a hallmark of this division. "A lot of
children develop infections as complications of or related to the treatment of their primary
disease," says Dr. Johnson. "For example, a patient might develop an infection from an indwelling
catheter or from chemotherapy treatments. Or perhaps a child is admitted with a fever and it's not
clear what's wrong with her. We help sort out the causes and determine the appropriate treatments
so these children receive the best care possible."
Working with Dr. Johnson are Dr. Sandra Fowler a pediatric infectious diseases specialist, Dr. Dan Wray a med-peds
infectious diseases specialist, a pediatric nurse practitioner and the
division secretary. Since joining MUSC Children's Hospital in 1991,
Dr. Johnson has been instrumental in getting the division involved in
several HIV-related research studies and programs.
As medical director of both the MUSC Pediatric HIV Team
(an outpatient service partially funded through
the Ryan White Care Act as part of the statewide South Carolina Family,
Adolescent and Child HIV Services), he has led the
division in a number of important trials and studies.
"South Carolina is one of few states to have a statewide system to
identify, diagnose and treat HIV-infected and exposed kids-and also to
assist the families with other problems," says Dr. Johnson.
Incredibly, treatments for HIV have resulted in a substantial
drop in newborns infected with the virus.
This has enabled the HIV team to zero in on patients who are now "aging-up."
"The transition to adult care for HIV-infected kids is an
increasing part of what we do," notes Dr.
Johnson. "We're focusing on ongoing problems with adolescents
and young adults." Because the virus
often doesn't show up in these patients until they're
sick, the team is determined to find ways to
identify HIV-infected adolescents and young adults as early as possible.
"Our goal is early identification of kids who are behaviorally at risk.
One thing we've done is set up
a system where kids who come in and are identified with
sexually transmitted diseases or who are sexually
abused get referred to our clinic," explains Dr. Johnson.
The division also helps educate the South Carolina community
about other infectious disease-related concerns.
"We're trying to encourage primary care physicians to decrease
the use of antibiotics, to use the
narrowest spectrum in place of a broad spectrum, which is likely to promote resistance," says Dr.
Johnson. "We're encouraging them to avoid antibiotics when
they're not likely to do any good." Part
of a statewide effort, this thrust has resulted in an overall
drop in the rate of antibiotic use.
Ensuring the proper and appropriate use of new vaccines is
also part of the division's role.
"There is a new vaccine for bacterial meningitis that is useful
for college-aged kids living
in dorms, and MUSC Children's Hospital has been involved in helping make sure that is effective."
Additionally, the division is very active in clinical research,
including treatment trials for
HIV medication for kids, vaccine studies and other anti-viral
treatments for the Herpes virus, the
CMV virus, and anti-bacterial treatment studies. The division
is part of an ongoing herpes simplex
virus vaccine trial for adolescent and young women, as well as the
neonatal herpes virus infection
studies coordinated out of the University of Alabama. Also of
note is the division's involvement
in a study of the proteomic analysis of normal cerebral
spinal fluid in children, initiated by the
division's own Sandra Fowler, MD.
"We are an active resource for the medical community, both local
and statewide," says Dr. Johnson.
"All of it ensures that the children who come to MUSC Children's Hospital
receive the safest, most effective and up-to-date
medical care that we are able to give."
Learn more: Infectious Diseases
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