Before Buford Nichols Jr., M.D. ’60, brought pediatric gastroenterology to Texas Medical Center, and before he founded the Children’s Nutrition Research Center in Houston, he was a Yale medical student, and an intern here in pediatrics. Now 84, Dr. Nichols is an emeritus professor at Baylor College of Medicine. He recently came across this photo, which he sent to us with the following explanation:
“My interest in studying the problems of infants with malnutrition and chronic diarrhea began at Grace–New Haven Hospital in 1960 with a patient named Stevie, who had what was then called “intestinal decomposition” in Germany and “intractable diarrhea of infancy” in America. It was a condition with an extraordinarily high mortality and no obvious cause. My clinical mentor at that time, Dr. Nelson Ordway, suggested we use a modular casein formula in this malnourished infant, whose chronic diarrhea seemed to occur only when he was fed. We tested a series of modular formulas with different carbohydrate sources, including one made with ripe bananas purchased by my wife, Veda. Stevie recovered on a formula whose carbohydrate source was starch oligomer.
“This photo was made on the Fitkin 3 infant ward during my internship at Yale in 1960. Stevie had required careful attention as we administered a white oil emulsion in a vein each day by infusion. This kept him alive until we found an oral formula that he could tolerate. The charge nurse in this photo and I are sharing the triumph of our successful IV starting for the day. The starch oligomer formula led to Stevie’s nutritional recovery and discharge.”
This patient launched my clinical experience in pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition and ultimately led to the organization of the Children’s Nutrition Research Center.
Buford Nichols Jr., M.D. ’60
“This patient launched my clinical experience in pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition and ultimately led to the organization of the Children’s Nutrition Research Center.”