Cara L. Slagle, MD

Children are the future of our world, and helping neonates and their families through an incredibly challenging time is a privilege and honor. My clinical specialties include neonatology, neonatal acute kidney injury (AKI) and neonatal chronic kidney disease (CKD).

My research areas are focused on the kidneys. AKI is a common occurrence in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) secondary to the delicateness of underdeveloped kidneys in preterm infants, the use of medications and the environment required to mimic life outside the uterus to facilitate growth and treat preterm infants. Current research is demonstrating that AKI can have long-term effects and contribute to the development of CKD. Additionally, I am interested in neonatal dialysis and infant survival with fetal end-stage kidney disease.

During my residency, I developed a project to improve the diagnosis of AKI in the NICU and the reporting and referral when indicated to pediatric nephrology. I realized this was an important area that was understudied and underrecognized on a larger scale. Since that study, I joined the Neonatal Kidney Collaborative, which aims to improve the health of newborns with, or at risk for, kidney disease. Here at Cincinnati Children's, our research aims to reduce mortality and morbidity in neonates by improving detection, diagnosis and understanding of risk factors for AKI. In addition to AKI, I conduct research focusing on fetal end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) to improve survival and neonatal and childhood outcomes through an ongoing, multi-disciplinary collaborative quality approach. I am board certified in Pediatrics (2017) by the American Board of Pediatrics.