Children's Hospital AIDS Program
About us
The Children's Hospital AIDS Program (CHAP) at Boston Children's Hospital is New England's largest clinic of its type, treating approximately 130 children, teens and their families each year.
History of CHAP
CHAP began in 1985 when little was known about HIV/AIDS and many HIV-infected children usually died within a few years.
During the past two decades, our multidisciplinary team has helped CHAP become an international leader in HIV and AIDS care and clinical research. Research pioneered by our team and others, as well as the success of anti-viral drugs, has transformed the disease from a death sentence to a manageable condition.
Today, few children in the United States die of AIDS, and the transmission rate from mother to child is 1 percent.
Our patients
Our patients range in age from infants to young adults and the average age is 13 years old. Most of our young patients are on a strict treatment regimen and usually take three to 15 pills at precise times every day. If the virus becomes resistant to therapy or the child becomes more ill, we use more complex treatments until we find one that works.
Recently, pills combining two to three drugs have become available allowing some patients to take as little as one or two pills per day. Some medicines are available in liquid form for young children who cannot swallow pills.
Our team
Our multidisciplinary team is directed by Sandra Burchett, MD, MSc, and includes physicians, nurses, social workers, counselors/educators and nutritionists in the Division of Infectious Diseases.
Subspecialists in Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Hematology, Neurology, Psychiatry, Pulmonary and other areas are available to the team for further consultation.
Our services
We use the specialized skills of our team members to provide a wide range of AIDS-related services, including counseling, testing, diagnosis, treatment, education, mental health services, case management and referrals.
A major goal of our program is to strengthen community care by consulting with primary care providers who work with pediatric HIV infection in community settings.
We provide services to both inpatients and outpatients.
