Pediatric Ear, Nose, and Throat

The Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery has a wide range of active research interests. The overarching goals of our clinical research program are to understand:

  1. how pediatric head and neck disease happens,
  2. how well we are doing with current standards of care,
  3. where more research is needed, and
  4. what we can do to improve outcomes

Members of our faculty are regular speakers at local, national, and international conferences and have multiple peer-reviewed publications in high-impact scientific journals. Our active involvement in the community of clinician-scientists in pediatric otolaryngology ensures that you and your child will receive the most up-to-date care and counseling.

Current research interests include the following:

Airway and Swallowing

  • Non-invasive analysis of the natural history of airway growth
  • Predictors of tracheotomy in extremely premature infants
  • New diagnostic modalities for laryngeal cleft and aspiration
  • Endoscopic suture lateralization for neonatal bilateral vocal cord paralysis

Sleep Apnea

  • Influence of obesity and hypotonia on obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
  • Outcomes and physiology of airway collapse using Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy (DISE)
  • Efficacy of intracapsular tonsillotomy in chronic tonsillitis

Vascular Malformations

  • Airway and swallowing quality of life in children with vascular malformations of the head and neck
  • Hearing loss and imaging findings in PHACE syndrome and other vascular malformations of the head and neck
  • Sleep-disordered breathing in children with vascular malformations of the head and neck
  • Airway response to sirolimus therapy in the treatment of complex pediatric lymphatic malformations

Hearing and Deafness/Otology

  • Ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic disparities in hearing health
  • Quality of life in families with deaf and hard-of-hearing children
  • Outcomes and improvement of low-income preschool hearing screening programs
  • Screening and treatment for congenital CMV-associated hearing loss
  • Basic genetics and cochlear physiology in Connexin 26-associated hearing loss
  • Outcomes of conversion of transcutaneous to subcutaneous osseointegrated bone-anchored hearing aids
  • Diagnostic accuracy of acute otitis media and otitis media with effusion

Other areas (sinus, salivary disease, and tongue tie)

  • Outcomes after FESS and balloon sinuplasty in pediatric rhinosinusitis
  • Outcomes in sialoendoscopy in pediatric salivary gland disease
  • Outcomes after lingual and maxillary frenotomy for tongue and lip tie

Translational, systems, and education research

  • Innovations in drug delivery through drug-eluting airway stents and modulation of the chemical properties of ototopical medications
  • Algorithm development for common pediatric otolaryngology disorders
  • Global health in pediatric otolaryngology - hearing loss associated with common viral infections in developing countries
  • Medical education and technology for otoscopic examination
  • Relationship-centered communication in medical education and subspecialty care

Selected Publications

Alemi SA, Rosbe KW, Chan DK, Meyer AK (2015). Airway Response to Sirolimus Therapy for the Treatment of Complex Pediatric Lymphatic Malformations. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolarynogol 79(12):2466-9. PMID: 26549380

Virbalas J, McMullen C, Cheng J (2015). Injection laryngoplasty in children with CF and abnormal swallow. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 79(11):1856-9. PMID: 26365895

Rosbe KW, Melev D, Chang J (2015). Pediatric salivary gland disorders. Laryngoscope 125(12):2805-9. PMID: 26010768

Alemi AS, Chan DK (2015). Progressive Hearing Loss and Head Trauma in Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 153(4):512-7. PMID: 26204902.

Chan DK, Parikh SR (2014). Perioperative ketorolac increases post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage in adults but not children. Laryngoscope 124(8):1789-93. PMID: 24338331

Chan DK, Liming BJ, Horn DL, Parikh SR (2014). A new scoring system for upper airway pediatric sleep endoscopy. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 140(7):595-602. PMID: 24810174.

Chan DK, Chang KW (2014). GJB2-associated hearing loss: systematic review of worldwide prevalence, genotype, and auditory phenotype. Laryngoscope 124(2):E34-53. PMID: 23900770.

Czechowicz JA, Chang KW (2014). Analysis of growth curves in children following adenotonsillectomy. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 140(6):491-496. PMID: 26096747.

Conrad DE, Levi JR, Theroux ZA, Inverso Y, Shah UK (2014). Predictors of Post Tympanostomy Tube Occlusion. JAMA - Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 140(8):727-30. PMID: 25009981.

Nadaraja GS, Gurgel RK, Kim J, Chang KW (2013). Hearing outcomes of atresia surgery versus osseointegrated bone conduction device in patients with congenital aural atresia: a systematic review. Otol Neurotol 34(8):1394-9. PMID: 24005171.

Virbalas JM, Bent JP, Cohen HW, Parikh SR (2013). Laryngotracheal Reconstruction Outcomes in Hypotonic Children. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 139(12):1296-300. PMID: 24202994.

Nadaraja GS, Gurgel RK, Fischbein NJ, Anglemyer A, Monfared A, Jackler RK, Blevins NH (2012). Radiographic evaluation of the tegmen in patients with superior semicircular canal dehiscence. Otol Neurotol 33(7):1245-50. PMID: 22872173.

Durr ML, Meyer AK, Huoh KC, Frieden IJ, Rosbe KW (2012). Airway hemangiomas in PHACE syndrome. Laryngoscope 122(10):2323-9. PMID: 22865344

Durr ML, Meyer AK, Kezirian EJ, Rosbe KW (2012). Drug-induced sleep endoscopy in persistent pediatric sleep-disordered breathing after adenotonsillectomy. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 138(7):638-43. PMID: 22801887.

Huoh KC, Durr ML, Meyer AK, Rosbe KW (2012). Comparison of imaging modalities in pediatric thyroglossal duct cysts. Laryngoscope 122(6):1405-8. PMID: 22460362.

Chan DK, Truong MT, Koltai PJ (2012). Supraglottoplasty for occult laryngomalacia to improve obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 138(1):50-4. PMID: 22249629

Chan DK, Jan TA, Koltai PJ (2012). Effect of obesity and medical comorbidities on outcomes after adjunct surgery for obstructive sleep apnea in cases of adenotonsillectomy failure. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 138(10):891-6. PMID: 23069817.

Chan DK, Schrijver I, Chang KW (2011). Diagnostic yield in the workup of congenital sensorineural hearing loss is dependent on patient ethnicity. Otol Neurotol 32(1):81-7. PMID: 21042228.

Chan DK, Schrijver I, Chang KW (2010). Connexin-26-associated deafness: phenotypic variability and progression of hearing loss. Genet Med 12(3):174-81. PMID: 20154630.

Rosbe KW, Suh KY, Meyer AK, Maguiness SM, Frieden IJ (2010). Propranolol in the management of airway hemangiomas. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 136(7):658-65. PMID: 20644059.

Czechowicz JA, Messner AH, Alarcon J, Alarcon-Matutti E, Quinones-Calderon G and Zunt J (2010). Hearing impairment and poverty: the epidemiology of ear disease in Peruvian schoolchildren. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 142(2):272-277. PMID: 22128111.

Chan DK, Lieberman DM, Musatov S, Goldfein JA, Selesnick SH, Kaplitt MG (2007). Protection against cisplatin-induced ototoxicity by adeno-associated virus-mediated delivery of the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein is not dependent on caspase inhibition. Otol Neurotol 28(3):417-25. PMID: 17211286.

Chan DK, Hudspeth AJ (2005) Ca2+ current-driven nonlinear amplification by the mammalian cochlea in vitro. Nat Neurosci 8(2):149-55.