CRAJ Winter 2022

Winter 2022 (Volume 32, Number 4)

Pediatrics Committee News

By Roberta Berard, MD, MSc, FRCPC

The CRA Pediatrics Committee is a diverse and active group of 95 (and growing) pediatric rheumatologists, trainees and researchers. Heading this committee is the Pediatrics Executive Committee, which oversees the work of several subcommittees including Human Resources, Education, and a number of working groups. Dr. Bobbi Berard became Chair of the Pediatrics Executive Committee in February 2022, with
Dr. Nadia Luca stepping into the role of Vice-Chair, and Dr. Julie Barsalou as Secretary. We would like to thank Dr. Ron Laxer for his dedication to our committee and to the CRA community, having served two terms as Chair, and Dr. Deb Levy, who has completed her term as Past-Chair. Our newest Executive members include Dr. Lily Lim (member-at-large) and Dr. Lillian Lim (CRA board liaison).

The Pediatrics subcommittees have been very busy over the last twelve months, offering a variety of educational opportunities in addition to producing manuscripts and guidance materials.

Here is a summary of some of the important work they have done over the past year:

The Canadian Autoinflammatory Case Rounds (CANaC) Steering Committee offered three presentations for pediatric members and invited guests on Cryopyrin Associated Periodic Syndrome (CAPS), presented by Susa Benseler in March, on interferonopathies, presented by Yanick Crow in June, and on Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Associated Periodic Syndrome (TRAPS), presented by Lori Tucker in September.
The Education Subcommittee offered two accredited National Grand Rounds webinars: Lupus Nephritis, hosted by Deb Levy and Sean Jackson in May, and Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) disease in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), hosted by Marinka Twilt in October.
The HR subcommittee surveyed division heads at academic centres to determine potential job opportunities in the next year and the next
5 years, and results will be forthcoming. Members of the subcommittee are also spearheading a qualitative study evaluating clinical care resources, structures and processes that are in place within Canadian pediatric rheumatology clinics and institutions.
Pediatric members of the CRA Transition Working Group contributed to the position paper which was published on the CRA website in August, titled "Bridging the Gaps: Optimizing the Transition from Pediatric to Adult Rheumatology Care."
In collaboration with the Guidelines Committee and the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group, the CRA’s Recommendations for the Screening, Monitoring and Treatment of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis–Associated Uveitis were recently published in the Journal of Rheumatology and on MAGICapp, led by Bobbi Berard and Deb Levy.
The Choosing Wisely recommendations for pediatric rheumatology and pediatric sport and exercise medicine are now available on the Choosing Wisely Canada website. A draft manuscript will be submitted shortly for publication.
The Pediatrics Committee was pleased to collaborate with the Therapeutics and Stakeholder Engagement Committees to advocate for an extension of the Trispan™ expiry date from August 2022 to August 2023. We will continue to be active until a more permanent solution is found.
The Pediatrics Committee and the Therapeutics Committee also collaborated to update the Biosimilars position statement and the Citrate-Free Adalimumab position statement, both of which were published last fall.

Finally, we would like to celebrate our extraordinary colleagues, mentors, and friends who have retired this year, Drs. Ciaran Duffy, Karen Duffy, and Rayfel Schneider. We wish them the very best in their well-deserved retirements.

Roberta Berard, MD, MSc, FRCPC
Chair, CRA Pediatrics Committee
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Western University
Division Director, Pediatric Rheumatology,
London Health Sciences Centre
London, Ontario