Infectious Diseases | Clinical Activities

The Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases provides a full-time consultation service for patients admitted to St. Louis Children's Hospital. The Hospital has a large oncology service and active transplantation programs in bone marrow, heart, heart-lung, lung, kidney, liver, and small intestine. Additional services include a 28 bed pediatric intensive care unit, a 52 bed neonatal intensive care unit, a dialysis and infusion center, two cardiac catheterization laboratories, and an active Emergency Department (approximately 60,000 patient visits per year). The Division performs roughly 400 inpatient consultations per year.

The Division provides care for children with possible or documented HIV infection in the Pediatric and Adolescent HIV clinic. This clinic meets Monday afternoons at St. Louis Children's Hospital (location and driving directions), 2nd floor, suite C. It is partially supported by a Ryan White Title IV grant, which funds regional pediatric HIV services. The clinic receives around 330 patient visits per year. Approximately 120 children are being followed, including nearly 50 with documented HIV infection and approximately 70 who were HIV-exposed.

Patients referred for evaluation or management of a variety of other infectious diseases are seen in the General Infectious Disease Clinic, which convenes Thursday mornings in Suite D on the second floor of St. Louis Children's Hospital. Patient visits in this clinic total approximately 500 each year. Arrangements can also be made for urgent outpatient consultations. In addition, consultations are performed upon request on inpatients at Missouri Baptist Medical Center and Shriner's Hospital for Crippled Children.

Specialized Clinical Services

Project A.R.K. (AIDS/HIV Resources and Knowledge)

Project A.R.K. draws together several organizations interested in pediatric HIV to establish a unified comprehensive system of care that provides for the medical, psychosocial and educational needs of HIV-infected children and their families living in the bi-state region (eastern Missouri and southern Illinois). Outreach education and prevention and linkages with clinical research trials are additional goals of this project, which is funded by Ryan White Title IV and allows a multidisciplinary approach to care. Many groups are involved in Project A.R.K., including St. Louis Children's Hospital at Washington University, Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital at St. Louis University, a number of primary care providers, the adolescent program at the Family Health Center, the Helena Hatch Special HIV Care Center for Women at Washington University, and community HIV service providers. Dr. Storch is the Project A.R.K. Medical Director, and Dr. McGann is the Medical Co-Director. Kim Donica is the Program Director and oversees the administration of the project.

Clinical Microbiology Laboratories

The division participates in the direction of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratories (Bacteriology, Virology, Molecular Diagnostics, Serology) at St. Louis Children's Hospital. Dr. Storch is Director of the laboratories, and is assisted in these responsibilities by Drs. Arens and Buller.