Her research experience has been in pediatric neuro-critical care, delirium in seriously ill children, and in the development of a genetic vaccine against Respiratory Syncytial Virus. Dr. Traube's clinical interest and area of expertise is in the diagnosis and management of critically ill children.

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

Detecting Pediatric Delirium: Validation of a Rapid, Observational Assessment Tool (CAP-D): Delirium in critically ill children represents acute brain dysfunction, with short- and long-term health implications. There is an emerging literature suggesting that this is a common, serious, and under-diagnosed problem in seriously ill children. Evidence-based assessments of outcomes and interventions for pediatric delirium are lacking, largely due to the absence of a simple and reliable screening tool.

My research partners and I have developed a novel screening tool for the detection of delirium in this population, and have completed a pilot study confirming its feasibility, and suggesting a prevalence of >25% in our subjects. We are in midst of a validation study of the Cornell Assessment for Pediatric Delirium (CAP-D) in critically ill pediatric patients, which will allow for rapid and accurate identification of delirious children, and facilitate appropriate interventions.

Prevalence of Acute Critical Neurologic Disease in Children: A Global Epidemiological Assessment (PANGEA): This is a national study to describe the epidemiology and gross outcomes of acute critical neurologic disease in children.

Critical Pertussis in US Children: Severe Morbidity, Sequelae, and Mortality: A Prospective Cohort Study: This is an NIH-sponsored, multi-institutional study to describe the long-term outcome after pertussis infection.

Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Consortium: Hypothermia: This is a multi-institutional, international, NIH-sponsored, international Phase III randomized controlled clinical trial to evaluate the effect of moderate hypothermia as compared to normothermia following severe traumatic brain injury in children. Status: Closed to enrollment; follow-up ongoing