The CHNC Nephrology and Urology focus group strives to improve the care we provide to our patients through expanding research, quality improvement and education.

Formed in 2020, our growing group has members from the fields of neonatology and nephrology from participating CHNC hospitals. We all share a research interest in the field, and we work to improve our knowledge of it.

The scope of topics explored in this focus group will be neonatal nephrology and urology. There are many knowledge gaps in these fields that the group will try to address through the CHNC database and collaborations. As the field of neonatal nephrology is growing fast, there is a need to bring clear definitions in terms of acute kidney injury (AKI) and kidney function among others. As most clinical pediatric practices are adapted from the adult nephrology field, we see the need to identify andaddress nephrology issues that are particular to our patient population and how best to identify impaired renal function in neonates and premature babies. Further, as the survival of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) increases, there is also a need to better identify and create long-term follow-up practices for this ever growing and unique population that is at risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Areas of interest include acute kidney injury in neonates and infants of all gestational ages, renal replacement therapy, use of NIRS in neonatal kidney practice, and to better understand how congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract system (CAKUT) affect the function.

The group is open to multiple collaborations and promotes the development of team members and their interests including the important relationship between the field of Neonatology and Pediatric Nephrology. Further, we aim to support and foster the academic and research development of fellows in neonatology and pediatric nephrology programs throughout the country to continue to expand this rapidly growing field.

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