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Evaluation ViewAttendees 40

Neonatology
Session Type: Club in Conv Center

Neonatal Feeding Club: The Pathophysiological basis of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in Infants: Is it Reflux or Reflex or Both?

Sunday, April 27, 2025
12:25pm – 1:50pm HST
Location: Convention Center: 319
CE: 1.5

Disclosure(s):
Emily Zimmerman, PhD., CCC-SLP: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
Steven M. Barlow, PhD: Cardinal Health (Ongoing) (Products/Services: Ownership Interest including individual stocks, stock options, excluding diversified mutual funds)

Our three speakers will address the tracking of sucking and feeding outcomes across preterm and full-term infants, with a focus on how Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) and GER disease (GERD) can impact feeding development. Dr. Steven Barlow, Co-Chair of the Neonatal Feeding Club, will introduce the session and highlight biomechanical and oral feeding data collected for an NIH trial. Dr. Emily Zimmerman, Club Co-Chair, will present data on the associations between infant sucking and parent report of GER/GERD. Dr. Sudarshan Jadcherla, Invited Speaker, will discuss the developmental biology, physiology, and pathophysiology of GER/GERD. The risk factors for GER/GERD will be presented. Dr. Jadcherla will examine the economic burden and controversies surrounding GERD in neonatal intensive care unit. Lastly, recent advancements in individual assessment of GER/GERD in the NICU infant and clinical trials using objective definitions will be examined with an emphasis on evidence-based guidelines for implementation at the bedside. There will be a question-and-answer session following the presentations.

Learning Objectives:

  • To explain Practice Scenarios, Epidemiology and Burden for infants with Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) and GER disease (GERD).
  • To Review approaches to Diagnosis of Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) and GER disease (GERD).
  • To Investigate Causal and Ameliorative Reflex Mechanisms.

Presentations:

  • 12:25pm – 12:35pm HST
    Exploring the Relationship Between Infant Sucking Patterns and Parental Reports of Gastroesophageal Reflux

    Speaker: Emily Zimmerman, PhD., CCC-SLP (she/her/hers) – Northeastern University

  • 12:35pm – 12:45pm HST
    Neonatal Feeding Club Introduction and Machine Learning of NNS to Predict Feeding Readiness in Preterm

    Speaker: Steven M. Barlow, PhD – University of Nebraska

  • 12:45pm – 1:50pm HST
    The Pathophysiological Basis of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in Infants: Is It Reflux or Reflex or Both?

    Speaker: Sudarshan R. Jadcherla, MD, FRCPI, DCH, AGAF (he/him/his) – The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital