Immunology and Infectious Diseases

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Our Immunology and Infectious Diseases Service investigates and manages children with possible recurrent or unusual infections.

We provide a holistic multidisciplinary care for diagnosis and management of children with rare primary immunodeficiency (PID), and complex infection serving South Yorkshire and Humber.

We aim to provide a high quality, accessible and sustainable service that meets the needs of the local population. We offer telephone advice and accept acute and outpatient referrals from general paediatrics and all specialities within Sheffield Children’s Hospital, the Regional Neonatal Unit (Jessop), District Hospitals, Primary Care, PICU or Embrace and adult specialists for conditions affecting families.

We work closely with other paediatric specialties including (but not limited to) respiratory, dermatology, rheumatology, haematology, orthopaedics, neurosurgery, ENT, adult Immunology, adult infectious disease, GU medicine and also general medicine or surgery.

Immunology

We care for a broad spectrum of patients including children with suspected or confirmed primary or secondary immune deficiency. Examples include XLA, SCID, CGD, ALPS, congenital neutropenia, C1 esterase deficiency, ataxia telangiectasia, and DiGeorge syndrome. We also contribute to the UKPIN and ESID registries.

We have been selected as a specialist centre to be a pilot for the new-born SCID screening programme.

Prompt identification of children with SCID requiring quaternary care at the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Unit in Newcastle and supporting their post-BMT care.

Our service has strong links with the BMT Unit in Newcastle and the Trent regional Immunology and Allergy consortium (TRIAC).

We provide an accountable immunoglobulin delivery service, submitting data to the UK immunoglobulin database and have an active IVIG Panel that monitors use in accordance with Department of Health guidelines.

Our nursing staff supervise and support training for parents, young people and community staff giving immunoglobulin in community paediatric nursing services across the region. We are continuing to develop nurse-led services within the immunology speciality.

Following our patient satisfaction survey carried out in 2019:

• 98% of patients and their family would recommend the service.
• 96% of patients felt welcomed by the doctor and nurse in the specialist immunology team
• The service was rated as Excellent 77%, Very Good 2%, Good in 19%.

Infectious Diseases

We see and give advice on a wide range of complex infectious and inflammatory conditions as inpatients in collaboration with microbiology and rheumatology (but not limited to) including PUO, atypical Kawasaki and other infection not responding to standard treatment as well as imported infection.

Our team provides the service for specialised paediatric HIV across South Yorkshire and Humber and gives advice around management of infants exposed to HIV and other congenital infections in utero across the region.

We provide a service for children with active and latent tuberculosis (TB) from Sheffield and support District General Hospital colleagues to manage children with TB close to home. Children with latent or active drug resistant TB in South Yorkshire and Humber are referred for assessment at Sheffield Children’s in link with the regional MDR-TB centre at Sheffield Teaching Hospital’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital.

We give advice about possible immunisation reactions a child may be having and where indicated will arrange vaccines in hospital. We are happy to meet with families who are concerned about vaccinating their children.

We give advice to colleagues in other specialties around infection, prophylaxis and immunisation in children on immunosuppressive treatment.

We provide support to the local OPAT and antimicrobial stewardship service.

While prioritising high quality family-centred care we also provide training for all grades of nursing, medical staff and medical students around management of infection and immunodeficiency.

We are active in research, audit and clinical governance with the aim of being part of discovering new ways to improve care in our discipline.

For trainees with special interest, we provide training to meet the RCPCH SPIN training in Immunology and Infectious Diseases.

Joint team and clinics

The team offers specialised services in paediatric Allergy, Immunology and Infectious Diseases.  Antimicrobial stewardship is embedded within the service with an expanding OPAT service (Outpatient Paediatric Antibiotic Therapy). Our aim in all services is to provide high quality patient experience and outcomes and lead improvements in our specialities.

The services overlap and pursue a united vision of offering excellent, holistic, evidenced, safe and up to date children’s care.