A photo of Kristin Melton.

Director, Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Program, Division of Neonatology

Associate Director, Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Division of Neonatology

Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

513-803-7844

513-636-7868

Board Certified

My Biography & Research

Biography

I am a practicing neonatologist and see patients within the Cincinnati Children’s Regional Center for Newborn Intensive Care. Here, I care for newborns with complex congenital anomalies and genetic defects.

In addition to caring for patients, I conduct research on patient safety and unplanned extubations.

I am particularly interested in studying ways to improve medication safety in intensive care unit environments. This is one way we can significantly influence the course of care for patients.

I take a bioinformatics approach to integrate multiple medical devices to identify medication errors quickly and intervene. Our team has developed computerized algorithms that can be used in real-time to recognize medication errors and prompt providers to respond.

I also lead a quality improvement team that focuses on reducing unplanned extubations in the ICU environment. Through efforts to standardize care, we have shown a significant reduction in unplanned extubations and patient harm.

Neonatology is an area where you get to see cutting-edge medicine at work — where research reaches the patients you serve. I love that I have the opportunity to help a critically ill baby and see them return to health to be discharged to their family.

Clinical Interests

Patient safety; congenital malformations; micrognathia and upper airway obstruction

Research Interests

Patient safety; medication errors; unplanned extubation; neural crest and craniofacial malformations; surfactant biology

Academic Affiliation

Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

Clinical Divisions

Newborn Intensive Care NICU, Neonatology, Perinatal, Fetal Care

Research Divisions

Neonatology, Pulmonary Biology

My Education

BA: Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 1991.

MD: University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE, 1995.

Residency: Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO, 1998.

Fellowship: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 2001.

My Publications

Assessment of an Unplanned Extubation Bundle to Reduce Unplanned Extubations in Critically Ill Neonates, Infants, and Children. Klugman, D; Melton, K; Maynord, PO; Dawson, A; Madhavan, G; Montgomery, VL; Nock, M; Lee, A; Lyren, A. JAMA Pediatrics. 2020; 174:e200268-e200268.

Smart pumps improve medication safety but increase alert burden in neonatal care. Melton, KR; Timmons, K; Walsh, KE; Meinzen-Derr, JK; Kirkendall, E. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making. 2019; 19.

Data Challenges With Real-Time Safety Event Detection And Clinical Decision Support. Kirkendall, ES; Ni, Y; Lingren, T; Leonard, M; Hall, ES; Melton, K. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2019; 21:e13047-e13047.

Seizures, apnea, lethargy, and persistent hiccups in a full-term newborn. Arya, S; Melton, K. NeoReviews.org. 2019; 20:e295-e297.

Foxc2 is required for proper cardiac neural crest cell migration, outflow tract septation, and ventricle expansion. Inman, KE; Caiaffa, CD; Melton, KR; Sandell, LL; Achilleos, A; Kume, T; Trainor, PA. Developmental Dynamics. 2018; 247:1286-1296.

Foxc2 is Required for Proper Cardiac Neural Crest Cell Migration, Outflow Tract Septation, and Ventricle Expansion. Inman, KE; Caiaffa, CD; Melton, KR; Sandell, LL; Achilleos, A; Kume, T; Trainor, PA. Developmental Dynamics. 2018; 247:1286-1296.

Designing and evaluating an automated system for real-time medication administration error detection in a neonatal intensive care unit. Ni, Y; Lingren, T; Hall, ES; Leonard, M; Melton, K; Kirkendall, ES. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. 2018; 25:555-563.

Using Health Information Technology to Improve Safety in Neonatal Care A Systematic Review of the Literature. Melton, KR; Ni, Y; Tubbs-Cooley, HL; Walsh, KE. Clinics in Perinatology. 2017; 44:583-616.

Endothelial cells are not required for specification of respiratory progenitors. Havrilak, JA; Melton, KR; Shannon, JM. Developmental Biology. 2017; 427:93-105.

Identification and management of neonatal skull fractures. Merhar, SL; Kline-Fath, BM; Nathan, AT; Melton, KR; Bierbrauer, KS. Journal of Perinatology. 2016; 36:640-642.