Here’s how we’re paving the way for better patient outcomes

At Riley Children’s Health, our team of specialists are always dedicated to achieving the best possible outcomes for pediatric patients. Through a commitment to cutting-edge research, world-class care and novel innovations, here’s how we’re leading the way.

Best possible outcomes for cystic fibrosis

Home to one of the largest cystic fibrosis programs in the nation, the pediatric pulmonology program at Riley Children’s is a leader in providing the best possible outcomes for children and young adults with cystic fibrosis (CF). As one of the few pediatric centers in the U.S. to offer theratyping, Riley Children’s has been integral in providing CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulators that will greatly benefit the CF population.

"CFTR modulators are transformative for patients and have made a huge difference in quality of life and outcomes,” Don. B. Sanders, MD, MS said, pediatric pulmonologist and director of the Cystic Fibrosis Care Center at Riley Children’s. “These medications are only approved for certain CFTR mutations. However, we have used theratyping to demonstrate that patients with rare CFTR mutations respond to these medications, which has allowed more patients to gain access to these highly effective medications.”

Additionally, under the leadership of Dr. Sanders, the Cystic Fibrosis Care Center is anchored by a leading pulmonary function laboratory. Directly impacting patient care, this specialized lab has helped train other labs across the nation to perform multiple breath washout (MBW) and ensure MBW data is acceptable for research.

Learn more about CF care at Riley Children's.

One of the nation’s best for heart transplant survival

With one of the few Pediatric Heart Failure/Transplant Programs in the Midwest–and the only program in Indiana–Riley Children’s is among the nation’s leaders in pediatric heart transplant outcomes. Consistently surpassing survival benchmarks, the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) proves we’ve achieved notable success rates:

• 100% 90-day pediatric patient survival (benchmark: 96.1%)

• 100% one-year pediatric patient survival (benchmark: 93.1%)

• 100% three-year pediatric patient survival (benchmark: 85.1%)

Additionally, the pediatric heart surgery program has the eighth-lowest hazard ratio for pediatric heart transplant (0.68) in the country, a key indicator of the heart center’s exceptional performance. These stellar outcomes are attributed to a variety of distinguishing factors, according to pediatric cardiologist John J. Parent, MD, MSCR, medical director of pediatric heart transplant at Riley Children’s.

“Our experienced cardiothoracic surgeons are highly skilled technically, particularly when transplanting to patients with congenital heart disease,” Dr. Parent said. “This is especially true for patients with Fontan completions. In effectively managing bleeding, our surgeons are able to reduce ischemic time—a factor that’s critical to success.”

Learn more about our heart transplant outcomes.

More about our outcomes

Year over year, Riley Children’s paves the way in better patient outcomes across many other pediatric specialties, including:

• Our hematology and oncology program provides the best possible outcome ratings for five-year cancer survival. As leaders in stem cell transplant, our expert care team has achieved a 100%, 100-day survival rate for allogeneic transplants.
• As the 12^th pediatric center in the nation to launch aquapheresis, our nephrology team uses continuous renal replacement therapy to treat small patients, including neonates. Also, in the field of neonatal acute kidney injury (AKI), pediatric nephrologists drive novel research to explore a high-functioning dialysis catheter that works to support critically ill infants with AKI in low- and middle-income countries.
• Through the gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition program, our specialists are involved in robust research to improve outcomes, including a groundbreaking study led by pediatric gastroenterologist, Jean Molleston, MD. Her work focuses on a new non-invasive test that can be used to predict better outcomes for children with biliary atresia.