Pediatric Clinical Research Unit (PCRU)

Provides nursing and bionutritional support for clinical research projects conducted with children at Washington University.

The Pediatric Clinical Research Unit (PCRU) provides space, nursing, study coordination and bionutritional support for clinical research projects conducted with children at Washington University in St. Louis. The unit is located on the 11th floor of St. Louis Children’s Hospital (11W19) The unit has exam and interview room space, a procedure area,  a phlebotomy and sample processing area.

Treatment Rooms
  • 8 private exam rooms
    • Equipped with chairs, exam tables or stretchers
    • Cardiac monitoring, otoscopes, ophthalmoscopes
  • 1 private cognitive testing room Conference Room, on a limited basis
  • Infusion area
    • 4 infusion chairs
    • Gaming and entertainment system
    • Crash Cart
    • Point of care HbA1c and urinalysis testing
    • Medication Refrigerator
Laboratory Area
  • CLIA certified
  • -80, -20 freezers for short term storage
  • Refrigerators for short term sample storage
  • Refrigerated and ambient centrifuges
  • Pregnancy testing
  • Temperature controlled equipment monitored daily
  • Dry Ice
  • All equipment is calibrated annually and available upon request.
  • Incubator
Services & Resources
  • Research nursing services
    • Patient monitoring
    • Study coordination
    • Phlebotomy, ‘off site’ available upon special request
    • Sample processing and shipping (dry ice available)
    • IV insertion; ultrasound available for IV and phlebotomy as needed
    • Infusion studies
    • Mixed meal tolerance testing and oral glucose tolerance testing
    • Pharmacokinetic studies
    • Point of Care studies
    • ECGs performed (readings unconfirmed)
  • Dietary/Bionutrition services
    • Nutritional counseling and assessment
    • Research diet design and implementation
    • Calorie counts and full diet analysis
    • Dietary analysis of food records and dietary histories
    • Growth assessment and body composition
    • Development of education materials
Request a Service

Send an email to CARSadvisorycommittee@wustl.edu to request information about services that are currently offered or download and submit the Application Form (doc) or submit a “Request for Revision or Amendment to Approved Protocol” (doc), if applicable.

Service available to:
All entities, including for-profit organizations, with priority is given to ICTS members.

Service Hours:
Monday – Friday 7:00am to 4:30pm
Closed weekends and university observed holidays.
Secure badge entry for off hour access; Must be requested in advance, for security purposes.

If you need PCRU assistance for off hours, please contact Nurse Administrator, Michelle Ann Ritter at 314-454-6192 or michelle.ritter@wustl.edu.

Contact

Location
St. Louis Children’s Hospital
Suite 11, West 19
CARSadvisorycommittee@wustl.edu
314-454-2750

PCRU Team
Ana María Arbeláez, MD, MSCI, Director
Michelle Ritter, RN, BSN, Nurse Manager