Research

Overview

The members of the Duke Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine are actively involved in research on multiple levels.

The Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine conducts high-quality, innovative research that improves the care provided to patients with emergency medical conditions. Emergency medicine is the only medical specialty defined not by an organ system, but by the dimension of time. Accordingly, Duke Pediatric Emergency Medicine faculty conduct clinical research in a number of different disciplines, organ systems, and disease areas and use their findings to improve patient care.

We oversee observational, diagnostic, and quality improvement studies to explore the best ways to care for patients with time-sensitive illnesses. We also study the systems of care for emergency conditions and seek ways to improve health services delivery.

We actively collaborate with faculty in the Division of Emergency Medicine in research endeavors and have access to their robust research infrastructure.

Research Faculty

Rachel O'Brian, MD
Areas of interest: Pediatric emergency medicine

Emily Sterrett, MD
Areas of interest: Quality improvement, patient safety

Neel Subramanian, MD
Areas of interest: Pediatric emergency medicine, quality improvement

Linton L. Yee, MD
Areas of interest: Resident and medical student education, sports injuries, head trauma, cardiac emergencies

William Clayton Bordley, MD, MPH
Areas of interest: Pediatric emergency medicine, quality improvement, procedural sedation, bronchiolitis

James W. Fox, MD
Areas of interest: Education of medical students, pediatric internal medicine-pediatric residents, emergency medicine residents, and pediatric fellows

Robert Ian McCaslin, MD
Areas of interest: Pediatric emergency medicine, quality improvement

Areas of Research

Current areas of interest include:

  • Outcomes and process research on common inpatient diagnoses such as bronchiolitis
  • Patient safety initiatives
  • Use of internet-based teaching interventions for residents and medical students
  • Participation in a national pediatric procedural sedation collaborative to better understand and improve care
  • Collaborative projects with other Divisions (e.g., novel treatments of RSV infections, improving care of neonates with fever 

See a recent article about our research for pediatric emergency medicine.