Fran Balamuth, MD, PhD, MSCE is the Nicholas A. Crognale Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania, and also serves as division chief of emergency medicine here at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She did her undergraduate work at Brown University, and completed her MD and PhD in immunobiology at Yale University. She came to CHOP as a pediatric resident at 2005, and has never left! She went on to complete her pediatric emergency medicine fellowship here, and stayed on as faculty. Dr. Balamuth’s research interests focus on pediatric sepsis recognition using both epidemiologic and translational approaches, for which she has received funding from both the NIH and CDC. She is the co-PI with Dr. Weiss of the PROMPT BOLUS trial, a multinational pragmatic trial which compares saline vs balanced fluids in pediatric sepsis, the results of which you will hear about today. In addition, she co-leads the CHOP Pediatric Sepsis Program, which supports and promotes local clinical, research, educational, and quality improvement initiatives around sepsis. She is an internationally recognized sepsis leader, and has served on the national steering committee for the Improving Pediatric Sepsis Outcomes quality collaborative through the US Children’s Hospital Association, and 3 international task forces focused on defining pediatric sepsis through the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Surviving Sepsis Campaign, and the Society of Critical Care Medicine.
Scott L. Weiss, MD, MSCE, FCCM is Division Chief of Critical Care and Vice-Chair of Research at Nemours Children’s Hospital (DuPont)-Delaware and Professor of Pediatrics and Pathology & Genomic Medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Weiss has published widely on pediatric sepsis recognition, management, and pathology and serves as the co-Vice Chair for the Pediatric Surviving Sepsis Campaign. Dr. Weiss’ research focuses on epidemiology and mitochondrial dysfunction in pediatric sepsis, including risk factors, biomarkers, and mechanisms of sepsis-induced immune dysregulation and organ dysfunction. In his prior role as a faculty member in the CHOP Division of Critical Care Medicine and in his current roles at Nemours, Dr. Weiss has collaborated closely with Dr. Fran Balamuth, Dr. Julie Fitzgerlad, and Dr. Nadir Yehya to identify optimal strategies for sepsis management. He is also the co-PI, along with Dr. Balamuth, of the multinational Pragmatic Pediatric Trial of Balanced versus Normal Saline fluid in Sepsis (PROMPT BOLUS).
Learning Objectives:
-
Understand rationale and evidence base for different crystalloid fluid types in pediatric sepsis resuscitation
-
Describe the design and implementation of a large pragmatic trial in pediatric sepsis
-
Interpret evidence on both safety and efficacy for saline vs. balanced fluids in pediatric sepsis fluid resuscitation from the PROMPT BOLUS trial
Speakers:
- Fran Balamuth, MD, PhD, MSCE
- Scott L. Weiss, MD, MSCE, FCCM
This seminar focuses on general pediatrics and was delivered as a Pediatric Grand Rounds Lecture at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, on April 29, 2026.
Content Disclaimer
The Terms of Use and Privacy Policy set forth on the website of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia apply to any and all uses of and access to this site and the content found here.
The work presented in the presentations, videos, and other content on this site (“Presentations”) includes publicly available medical evidence, a consensus of medical practitioners, and/or opinions of individual practitioners that may differ from consensus opinions. These Presentations are intended only to provide general information and need to be adapted for each specific patient based on the practitioner’s professional judgment, consideration of any unique circumstances, the needs of each patient and their family, the availability of various resources at the health care institution where the patient is located, and other factors. The Presentations are not intended to constitute medical advice or treatment, nor should they be relied upon as such. The Presentations are not intended to create a doctor-patient relationship between/among The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, its physicians and the individual patients in question. The information contained in these Presentations are general in nature, and do not and are not intended to refer to specific patients.
CHOP, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation and its or their affiliates, the authors, presenters, practitioners, editors, and others associated with the creation of the Presentations (“CHOP”) are not responsible for errors or omissions in the Presentations; for any outcomes a patient might experience where a clinician reviewed one or more such Presentations in connection with providing care for that patient; and/or for any and all third party content on the site or in the Presentations. CHOP makes no warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the currency, completeness, applicability or accuracy of the Presentations. Application of the information in or to a particular situation remains the professional responsibility of the practitioner who is directly treating the patient.
To the extent that the Presentations include information regarding drug dosing, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regulations and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the viewer should not rely on the Presentation content, but rather is urged to check the package insert for each drug for indications, dosage, warnings and precautions.
Some drugs and medical devices presented in the Presentations have United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for limited use in restricted research settings. It is the responsibility of the practitioner to ascertain the FDA status of each drug or device planned for use in their clinical practice.
You shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless CHOP, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation, and its/their current and former employees, officers, and agents, trustees, and their respective successors, heirs and assigns (“Indemnitees”) against any claims, liability, damage, loss or expenses (including attorneys’ fees and expenses of litigation) in connection with any claims, suits, actions, demands or judgments arising directly or indirectly out of your reference to or use of the Presentations.
The Presentations are protected by copyright laws and in some cases patent laws, and all rights are reserved under such laws. No part of the Presentations may be reproduced in any form by any means, or utilized in any other way, absent prior written permission from the copyright owner.
By starting this module, you agree to our Content Disclaimer and Terms of Service.
Course Includes
- 1 Lesson
- Course Certificate