Jacqueline Szmuszkovicz, MD

Attending Physician
Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of USC

Jacqueline Szmuszkovicz, MD (“Dr. Jackie”) is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California (USC).  She is the Medical Director of the Kawasaki Disease and Pulmonary Hypertension Programs within the Heart Institute at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA).

She graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Chemistry from Kalamazoo College and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1987.  She attended medical school at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and completed her Pediatrics residency at Children’s Memorial Hospital/Northwestern University.  She completed her fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology at the University of Michigan (C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital).

Dr. Szmuszkovicz began her career at CHLA in 1997, and was the Medical Director of the Heart Transplant Program for 16 years. Her current leadership roles within the CHLA Heart Institute are as the Medical Director of both the Kawasaki Disease Program and the Pulmonary Hypertension Program. The expert CHLA multidisciplinary Kawasaki Disease and Pulmonary Hypertension teams are distinguished for their clinical excellence as well as their teaching and research endeavors.

Clinical Interests

Kawasaki  Disease
MIS-C (Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children)
Pulmonary Hypertension

Education

Medical School

University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Residency

Childrens Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University: Pediatric Residency

Fellowship

University of Michigan: Pediatric Cardiology

Accomplishments

Certifications

Pediatric Cardiology: American Board of Pediatrics

Professional Memberships

American Heart Association
Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute
Pulmonary Hypertension Clinicians and Researchers
International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation
Western Society of Pediatric Cardiology

Publications

Low-Molecular-Weight Heparin vs Warfarin for Thromboprophylaxis in Children With Coronary Artery Aneurysms After Kawasaki Disease: A Pragmatic Registry Trial.
Manlhiot C, Newburger JW, Low T, Dahdah N, Mackie AS, Raghuveer G, Giglia TM, Dallaire F, Mathew M, Runeckles K, Pahl E, Harahsheh AS, Norozi K, de Ferranti SD, Friedman K, Yetman AT, Kutty S, Mondal T, McCrindle BW; International Kawasaki Disease Registry.Can J Cardiol. 2020 Oct;36(10):1598-1607. doi: 10.1016/j.cjca.2020.01.016. Epub 2020 Jul 1.PMID: 32621885

Medium-Term Complications Associated With Coronary Artery Aneurysms After Kawasaki Disease: A Study From the International Kawasaki Disease Registry.
McCrindle BW, Manlhiot C, Newburger JW, Harahsheh AS, Giglia TM, Dallaire F, Friedman K, Low T, Runeckles K, Mathew M, Mackie AS, Choueiter NF, Jone PN, Kutty S, Yetman AT, Raghuveer G, Pahl E, Norozi K, McHugh KE, Li JS, De Ferranti SD, Dahdah N; International Kawasaki Disease Registry *.J Am Heart Assoc. 2020 Aug 4;9(15):e016440. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.119.016440. Epub 2020 Jul 28.PMID: 32750313

The Kawasaki Disease Comparative Effectiveness (KIDCARE) trial: A phase III, randomized trial of second intravenous immunoglobulin versus infliximab for resistant Kawasaki disease.
Roberts SC, Jain S, Tremoulet AH, Kim KK, Burns JC; KIDCARE Multicenter Study Group, Anand V, Anderson M, Ang J, Ansusinha E, Arditi M, Ashouri N, Bartlett A, Chatterjee A, DeBiasi R, Dekker C, DeZure C, Didion L, Dominguez S, El Feghaly R, Erdem G, Halasa N, Harahsheh A, Jackson MA, Jaggi P, Jain S, Jone PN, Kaushik N, Kurio G, Lillian A, Lloyd D, Manaloor J, McNelis A, Michalik DE, Newburger J, Newcomer C, Perkins T, Portman M, Romero J, Ronis T, Rowley A, Schneider K, Schuster J, Tejtel SKS, Sharma K, Simonsen K, Szmuszkovicz J, Truong D, Wood J, Yeh S.Contemp Clin Trials. 2019 Apr;79:98-103. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2019.02.008. Epub 2019 Mar 3.PMID: 30840903 Clinical Trial.

A Retrospective Review of Infants Receiving Sildenafil.
De A, Shah P, Szmuszkovicz J, Bhombal S, Azen S, Kato RM.J Pediatr Pharmacol Ther. 2018 Mar-Apr;23(2):100-105. doi: 10.5863/1551-6776-23.2.100.PMID: 29720910

Pediatric Perioperative Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: A Case-Based Primer.
Shah S, Szmuszkovicz JR.Children (Basel). 2017 Oct 24;4(10):92. doi: 10.3390/children4100092.PMID: 29064445 Free PMC article. Review.

Research

Kawasaki Disease
MIS-C (Multi Inflammatory Syndrome in Children)
Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension

Media

Becker's Hospital Review - Many children treated for MIS-C have post-COVID complications: study

US News & World Report - Did the Omicron Coronavirus Surge Lead to an Increase in MIS-C Cases?

CNN - As Omicron cases fall, doctors anxiously await possible surge of dangerous child complication MIS-C

Crescenta Valley Weekly - CHLA Sees Rise in Positivity Rate in Children

National Geographic - The real risk of heart inflammation to kids is from COVID-19—not the vaccine

New York Times - Covid-Linked Syndrome in Children Is Growing and Cases Are More Severe

KNBC - ‘Everyone's Joy': 9-Year-Old Girl Survives Serious Illness Related to COVID-19

LA Parent - What L.A. Parents Need to Know About MIS-C

Los Angeles Times - A COVID-related illness is sickening a growing number of children in California

Pulmonary Hypertension Association- Considerations When Transitioning from Pediatric to Adult Health Care

Pulmonary Hypertension Association- Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension

LA Times- Mystery syndrome similar to Kawasaki disease linked to coronavirus at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

CBS Newspath - Doctors warn parents about inflammatory syndrome warning signs

LA Times en Espanol - At 8 years old, she contracted coronavirus, but her parents didn't know until she almost died

LA Times en Espanol - How to protect children from coronavirus? Experts recommend these 7 steps

CBS - CHLA Reports Additional Cases Of New Inflammatory Condition Possibly Linked To Coronavirus

KNBC - Children’s Hospital LA Diagnoses Fourth Pediatric Patient with Disease Linked to COVID-19

KABC - Children's Hospital LA reporting 3 cases of mysterious syndrome in kids linked to COVID-19

KCBS - Valentine’s Day is Most Meaningful to 11-year-old With Life-Saving Heart Transplant

CHLA Blog

All Patients Who Had MIS-C Should Have Their Hearts Checked, New Study Shows

Emmanuel Crosses the MIS-C Finish Line

MIS-C Patients At Risk for Coronary Artery Aneurysms

As Mitchell Turns 11, His Heart Turns 10

It Takes a Community: Kids Overcome Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

'But you don't LOOK sick!'

Small Lungs Aren't Holding Back Ben

CHLA Press Releases

Investigators at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Find Heart Complications in Many Children Treated for MIS-C

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Identifies Additional MIS-C Cases