Home > Our Services > Nephrology

Nephrology

When your child needs a hospital, everything matters.

Specialized primary and consultative care for children with kidney and urinary tract problems through age 21. Nephrology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, in cooperation with OSU, offers living-related and cadaveric transplantation for infants, children and adolescents. All forms of dialysis are available for children with renal failure or toxins/poisoning.

Nephrology Ranked #19 by U.S. News and World Report We are proud to announce that the department of Nephrology at Nationwide Children's Hospital ranks #19 in U.S. News & World Report's 2011 Edition of America's Best Children's Hospitals. Read the news release.

Nephrology Clinics

Nephrology Clinic
Outpatient Care Center, 5th Floor
555 S. 18th Street
Columbus, OH 43205
(614) 722-4360
FAX (614) 722-6482

Dialysis Services
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
700 Children’s Drive
Columbus, OH 43205
(614) 722-4850
FAX (614) 722-4858
Mon. – Fri. 7 am – 3:30 pm
For emergencies, please contact the Hospital Operator at (614) 722-2000 and ask for the Dialysis Services on call.

Metabolic Bone Clinic
Outpatient Care Center
5th Floor, Suite B
555 S. 18th Street
Columbus, OH 43205
(614) 722-4360
(614) 722-6842
8 am – 4 pm
Information needed: Patient’s age, date of birth, and chronic medical condition(s); bone density or DEXA scan report (if done)

Nephrology Outreach and Support Services

Outreach and support services include:

• Renal Basic Science Research Laboratory
• Renal development
• Clinical research
• Hypertension
• Pediatric renal transplantation
• Kidney stones
• Urinary tract infection
• Pediatric renal dietician, clinical nutrition support
• Dedicated renal social worker and psychologist
• Homecare

Nephrology Department Highlights
 

Metabolic Bone Clinic         

The Metabolic Bone Clinic at Nationwide Children’s Hospital offers children and adolescents with low bone density access to comprehensive evaluation, diagnosis, and management of various skeletal disorders. Once considered a disease primarily affecting post-menopausal women, osteopenia/osteoporosis has become an increasing health concern in pediatric medicine. Mineralization of bone is a dynamic process that occurs continually throughout childhood until peak bone mass is attained during late adolescence and early adulthood.

Because this process is affected by multiple factors, including nutrition, physical activity, chronic illness, and medications, many children experience disturbances in normal bone growth and mineralization, which can have both immediate and long-term consequences on their overall health.

At Children’s Bone Clinic, we strive to provide comprehensive, compassionate, and quality care as we work towards our goal of improving children’s bone health.

Conditions for which patients are commonly referred to our Bone Clinic:

Primary Osteopenia/Osteoporosis, Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI)

Osteopenia/Osteoporosis secondary to chronic medical disorders including, but not limited to,
the following:

• Malabsorption
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Cystic fibrosis
• Chronic renal disease
• Sustained glucocorticoid therapy
• Chemotherapy and radiation
• Cerebral palsy/Immobilization
• Rheumatologic disorders
• Rickets

Comprehensive Services

• Laboratory evaluation to identify any nutritional, hormonal, or metabolic abnormalities
• Assessment of bone mineral density (BMD) using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans
• Treatment with IV or oral bisphosphonates
• Comprehensive genetic counseling and evaluation available for congenital and familial causes of metabolic bone disease
• Potential for enrollment in research studies investigating the efficacy and safety of medications to treat low bone density in children and adolescents
• Dentistry consultations available for patients receiving bisphosphonate treatment
• Nutrition assessments performed as needed

How to make a referral
To schedule an appointment, please call Children’s Hospital Scheduling Center at (614) 722-6200 from 8 a.m to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Location and Clinic Hours
The Bone Clinic operates on the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month from 8 a.m to 12 p.m. The clinic is located at Children’s Hospital Outpatient Care Center, 555 S. 18th Street, 5th floor, Suite B, Columbus, OH 43205

Metabolic Bone Clinic Team

John D. Mahan, MD – Nephrology

Sasigarn A. Bowden, MD – Endocrinology

Maria J. Henwood, DO – Endocrinology

Mark E. Nunes, MD – Genetics

Amy Wright, PNP – Nephrology

Marcio DaFonseca, DDS, MS – Dentistry

Larry A. Binkovitz, MD – Radiology                           

2 Lead Investigators Receive a 3 Year $1.5 Million NIH RC4 Grant

Congratulations to project's lead investigators, David Hains and Andrew Schwaderer for receiving a 3 year $1.5 Million NIH RC4 grant. This grant will focus on researching genetic variations in patients with vesicoureteral reflux specifically trying to find a genetic cause of urinary tract infection risk and kidney scarring.

The Midwest Pediatric Nephrology Consortium 

The Midwest Pediatric Nephrology Consorium (MWPNC) was formed in 2004 to develop and execute multi-center clinical and translational studies related to pediatric kidney diseases. The MWPNC is comprised of 30 pediatric nephrology programs primarily from the Midwest and Ontario that meets every six months to accomplish its work. The MWPNC has published 11 peer-reviewed manuscripts and conducted 11 funded research projects. Through these efforts, the MWPNC is re-making the way that pediatric nephrologists improve patient care through clinical research. John D. Mahan, MD, and William E. Smoyer, MD, are two of the founders and serve on the MWPNC Steering Committee.

Nephrology Fellowship Combats Nationwide Shortage  

The Section of Nephrology is helping combat the nationwide shortage of pediatric nephrologists with five fellows currently in the training program and a successful matched fellow to start in 2010. All fellows are actively involved in clinical and basic science research and several already have presented at national research meetings.

Pediatrics Resident Wins SPR Award             

Second-year Pediatrics Resident Brian Becknell will be awarded the Society for Pediatric Research House Officer Research Award during the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in May 2010. The PAS annual meeting is the largest international meeting focusing on research in child health.

Becknell’s winning abstract described a gene mutation that is associated with a novel inherited form of glomerulonephritis with unique pathologic and clinical features. A manuscript summarizing this study is currently under review This work, performed under the direction of Dr. Andrew Schwaderer in the Section of Nephrology. Also contributing to this work were Dr. Kim McBride (Genetics) and Dr. David Hains (Nephrology), and Dr. Peter Baker (Pathology).

In the past 6 years, three residents from Nationwide Children’s Hospital have won this prestigious award, of which two were from the Section of Nephrology. House Officer Research Awards are presented by the Society for Pediatric Research and are designed to encourage pediatricians in training to pursue careers in academic pediatrics.
                       

Kidney Function Videos          

Our videos explain how functioning kidneys work and outcomes for non-functioning kidneys.
View Videos