Medical Research

Legacy Pediatrics Research

Mission Statement

Legacy Pediatrics does office-based research to contribute to the evidence base of Pediatric medicine which helps our patients and, hopefully, all children, adolescents and young adults.

These days the buzzword in the medical field is “Evidence-Based Medicine”. What that means in plain language is to make diagnoses and recommend treatment based on research that shows evidence to prove it is the right thing to do.

At Legacy Pediatrics, we have always done office-based research to provide the evidence for “evidence-based medicine” in Pediatrics. Legacy’s patients and families have contributed greatly so that better decisions can be made about the diagnosis and treatment of common outpatient pediatric illnesses.

The research we have participated in has helped to:

  • Improve the diagnosis and treatment of strep throat
  • Develop combination vaccinations that limit the number of shots for children
  • Create vaccines to protect against several forms of pneumonia and meningitis for infants, children, and adolescents
  • Improve the diagnosis and treatment of ear infections and obtain approval for new and more effective antibiotics
  • Develop diagnostic devices that can be easily used in an outpatient office
A young child with blonde hair standing with arms raised, wearing a purple T-shirt that says PEAR Immunity Study Participant. They are smiling in a room with blue chairs and a basket of books in the background.

We pursue office-based research because it benefits our patients.

Since Legacy Pediatrics was founded, we conducted research on the diagnosis, cause, and treatment of ear infections in young children. The results of our studies were incorporated into the national guidelines and changed the way practitioners diagnose and treat ear infections in young children. Our patients were the first to benefit from those changes!!!

Rochester: Making Pediatric Research History

Many Rochesterians are unaware that our city has played a leading role in pediatric medical research particularly around the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious disease for 70 years. We at Legacy Pediatrics are proud to practice in such an innovative city. We are delighted to be able to carry on the work of great researchers before us and hope to help return Rochester to the forefront of research in the field of general pediatrics.

Infographic titled A Legacy of Pediatric Research with a timeline from 1946 to 2018. It highlights key pediatric research milestones, including disease diagnosis, vaccine development, and clinical research advancements at Rochester institutions.

Many articles have been written based on the research done at Legacy Pediatrics. Thanks to our patients and families, Legacy Pediatrics has contributed greatly to the evidence base in Pediatric medicine. You can search Dr. Casey’s name at pubmed.gov for a complete listing of published articles. 

–JAMA pediatrics – Effect of Antimicrobial Treatment of Acute Otitis Media on the Daily Disappearance of Middle Ear Effusion

–Mucosal immunology – Higher levels of mucosal antibody to pneumococcal vaccine candidate proteins are associated with reduced acute otitis media caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae in young children

–BMC Infectious Diseases – Correlation of nasopharyngeal cultures prior to and at onset of acute otitis media with middle ear fluid cultures

–The Laryngoscope – Cytokine, chemokine, and toll-like receptor expression in middle ear fluids of children with acute otitis media

–International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology – Identification of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae in culture-negative middle ear fluids from children with acute otitis media by combination of multiplex PCR and multi-locus sequencing typing

–Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal – Reducing the Frequency of Acute Otitis Media by Individualized Care

– Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal  – Serum Antibody Response to Five Streptococcus pneumoniae Proteins during Acute Otitis Media in Otitis Prone and Non-Otitis Prone Children

– Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal   – Acute Otitis Media Otopathogens during 2008-2010 in Rochester NY

A doctor examines a young girls ear with an otoscope. The girl has brown hair and is wearing a pink shirt. The otoscope is held by an adults hand and is directed into her ear for a medical examination.

Recurrent Ear Infections and Amoxicillin

By March the winter season of repeated colds and the flu have caused some children to get several ear infections.  At Legacy, most of our patients are on the NIH study and we find out which bacteria cause the ear infection and then give antibiotics that perfectly match the child’s system to kill the germ. 

March 3, 2014
A doctor is gently examining a young girls ear with an otoscope. The girl looks happy and relaxed, with a light background in the room.

Results From Ear Immunity Study

Our ear immunity study has completed six years now and time for an update to share with you what we have found. Over 600 children have participated in the study and about 400 children have completely finished. We have done over 8,000 nasal washes, nasal cultures, throat cultures and blood samples. 400 children have developed

October 12, 2013
A healthcare professional examines a young childs ear using an otoscope. The child has a slight smile and short blonde hair. The adult wears glasses and focuses intently on the examination.

Ear Infections Linked to Drug-Resistant ‘Superbug’

An emerging “superbug” that causes ear infections in children and is resistant to multiple antibiotics can only be treated with an adult medication, researchers report. Read the full story here. Two Rochester, N.Y., pediatricians report finding a multiple antibiotic-resistant strain of Streptococcus pneumoniae that caused ear infections in nine children in their practice over three years. The only

March 23, 2013