Infectious Diseases
Section Chair
Ines O. Esquilín, MD
Professor
Overview
The Section of Infectious Disease is committed to providing quality care at the University Pediatric Hospital in the area of infectious diseases.
Infectious Diseases Program
In the Infectious Diseases program, board-certified infectious disease specialists provide subspecialty consultation services for infants, children and adolescents at the University Pediatric Hospital. The Hospital is a pediatric tertiary care center for Puerto Rico and the Eastern Caribbean which provides unique services such as pediatric dialysis and post trauma and burn care. The program’s physicians also provide consultations for the Newborn Nursery at the University District Hospital and the Pediatric Surgical Intensive Care Unit in the Cardiovascular Center Hospital. Some of the conditions we treat are:
- Pneumonia and respiratory tract infections
- Complicated urinary and genitourinary tract infections
- Sepsis
- Intra abdominal infections
- Chronic and recurrent infections
Skin, soft tissue, joint and bone infections
- Infections of the central nervous system
- Post-surgical infections
- Fever of unknown origin
- Congenital infections
- Infections in immunosuppressed patients including oncology, bone marrow and solid organ transplant recipients and HIV/AIDS
- Primary immune deficiencies
- Tropical infections
- Neonatal infections
The Section serves as a primary center for training and education, in Pediatric Infectious Diseases, of medical students and residents from the University Of Puerto Rico School Of Medicine and is open to trainees of other medical school and residency programs. It also provides clinical training in Pediatric ID for fellows in the Infectious Diseases Programs of the Internal Medicine Department of the University of Puerto Rico and the San Juan Veterans Hospital.
Pediatric residents of the University of Puerto Rico program can complete a four week rotation in Infectious Diseases at the first, second or third year level. During the rotation the residents participate in the evaluation of consulted patients at the University Pediatric Hospital, under the supervision of the ID faculty, therefore getting exposure to different diseases and their diagnostic and management approaches. The residents also have the opportunity to prepare a case presentation at the end of the rotation. Participation in the rotation is open to second and third year Pediatric residents from other institutions through the Pediatric Residency office and with approval by the ID faculty.
The faculty has an active role in the development of guidelines for the administration and use of antimicrobials in the University Pediatric Hospital and has representation in the Pharmacy and Therapeutics and Drug Utilization Committees. A faculty member serves as President of the Infection Control Program of the Pediatric University Hospital collaborating with the administration to implement preventive guidelines and policies.
Research
Our members have been involved in clinical research projects involving vaccine development, epidemiology of arboviral diseases, HIV related conditions and antiretroviral use toxicity. The faculty has been involved in mentoring research projects by residents of the Department of Pediatrics and students from the University of Puerto Rico School of Pharmacy doctoral degree program.
Recent areas of investigation:
- Pediatric HIV infection: long term complications of disease and treatments.
- Prospective Cohort Study of HIV and Zika in pregnant women and their infants.
- Vaccine Clinical Trials: tetravalent dengue vaccine, pentavalent rotavirus vaccine, modified hepatitis b vaccine and pneumococcal vaccine for infants.
- Collaboration with Microbiology Department in research related to multi-drug resistant gram negative organisms, clinical characteristics of affected subjects and mechanisms of resistance.
- Collaboration with the School of Pharmacy in research related to antiretroviral medications and antibiotic use.
Faculty
Ines O. Esquilín, MD
Section Chair
Professor
email: ines.esquilin@upr.edu
phone: 787-756-4010
Zoe M. Rodríguez, M.D.
Associate Professor
email: zoe.rodriguez@upr.edu
phone:787-756-4010
Patricia Prodríguez, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Email: patricia.rodriguez@upr.edu
Phone:787-756-4010
Postal Address
Department of Pediatrics
University of Puerto Rico
School of Medicine
Medical Sciences Campus
PO Box 5067, San Juan ,PR 00936-5067