AAP National Conference & Exhibition returns as in-person meeting

After 2 years as an all-virtual event, the AAP National Conference & Exhibition returns as an in-person meeting this year, with a limited virtual experience available as well.

The conference is being held from Oct. 7-11 in Anaheim, California.

Cassandra Pruitt, MD, professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and chairperson of the conference’s planning group, told Healio that the committee “realized that members were ready to get back together for an in-person conference but wanted to try to do it as safely as possible.”

“We created a program that allows for outstanding educational sessions while respecting the fact that we will all be wearing masks indoors,” Pruitt said. “The evening events are also being held outside this year — both to take advantage of the beautiful California weather but also to allow for safer gathering when attendees are eating and drinking, making it unlikely that attendees could easily wear masks.”

She said the conference was designed to be hybrid for the AAP members who “might not be ready to attend the conference in person or just really enjoyed the convenience of the virtual conference.”

Among the conference’s highlights will be the screening of the documentary Virulent: The Vaccine War on Saturday night, which discusses vaccine hesitancy and denial and features interviews from experts such as Paul A. Offit, MD, Arthur Caplan, PhD, and Peter L. Salk, MD.

The opening plenary address will be delivered Saturday morning by AAP President Moira Szilagyi, MD, Phd, FAAP, which Pruitt said “is really going to be special.”

“I can't share too many details, but it is going to be an event to remember for many reasons, not the least of which is the feeling in the room when we are once again all together,” Pruitt said.

In anticipation of this year’s meeting, we compiled a sampling of stories and videos from the 2021 conference:

Saliva could be used to predict COVID-19 severity in kids, early analysis finds
Usha Sethuraman, MD, professor of pediatric emergency medicine at Central Michigan University and DMC Children’s Hospital of Michigan, reported that researchers may have found a way to predict the severity of COVID-19 infection in children by examining their saliva. Read more.

Child abuse reports spiked during COVID-19 lockdowns, study finds
Katherine T. Flynn-O'Brien, MD, MPH, a pediatric surgeon at Children’s Wisconsin Hospital in Milwaukee, reported that the rate of children who presented to nine pediatric trauma centers for nonaccidental trauma more than doubled while COVID-19 stay-at-home orders were in place in 2020. Read more.

College students report issues with distance learning
Researchers at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York, found that college-age students reported issues with distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, including trouble concentrating, limited access to technology, food insecurity and mental health issues in the first few months of the pandemic. Read more.

Breast milk from THC-positive mothers does not impact preterm infants in short term
Natalie L. Davis, MD, MMSc, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, reported that preterm infants who consume breast milk from mothers who have tested positive for THC do not experience any short-term health effects, although the long-term health effects remain uncertain. Read more.