About us

The Department of Pediatrics № 2, founded in 1984, is a follower of the traditions of the Kharkiv Pediatric School, founded in the late nineteenth century, when the Department of Pediatrics was organized for the first time in Ukraine in 1892 led by prof. M.D. Ponomarev at the Imperial Kharkiv University. In 1901, after the retirement of Honored Professor MD Ponomarev, prof. I.V. Troitsky – a famous pediatrician of the late XIX – early XX centuries was holding а chair of the Department of Pediatrics of Kharkiv University during 17 years (1902–1919). He helped to improve the teaching of pediatrics and the provision of medical care to children.
I.V. Troitsky conducted extensive scientific work. He was a talented propagandist of prevention in pediatrics, gave full attention to child’s nutrition. From 1920 to 1930 the Department of Pediatrics was headed by Prof. Ya.S. Arkavin, who is rightly considered to be the founder of Ukrainian micropediatrics. He gave full attention to the organization of the children’s hospitals and the institutions for infants. He was the organizer of the children’s consultation at the clinic of the first All-Ukrainian Institute OKHMATDIT in Kharkiv. Professor M.M. Frishman, who was holding а chair of the Department of Pediatrics in 1930, made a great contribution to the development of pediatrics in our city. According to contemporaries, M.M. Frishman was a brilliant clinician, teacher, lecturer, methodologist. His lectures were accompanied by a demonstration of patients, the department conducted scientific work on important for that time issues of rheumatism, tuberculosis, dysentery.

The Department of Pediatrics № 2 trains students in educational and professional training programs:

– the second (master’s) level of higher education training 22 “Health care” in the specialty 222 “Medicine”, 228 “Pediatrics” and educational components (disciplines) are studied: “Pediatrics (4th year)”, “Diseases of the blood system in children (5th year), “Externship (Pediatrics), 4th year)”, and elective courses “Improvement of knowledge, practical skills in clinical medicine in preparation for the certification of USQE (Unified State Qualification Exam)”, “Current issues of hematology and transfusiology”, “Current issues of pediatric nephrology”, “Current issues of pediatric pulmonology”, “Current issues of clinical immunology and pediatric allergology”, “Methodology of evidence-based medicine”;

– first (bachelor’s) and second (master’s) levels, field of knowledge – 22 Healthcare, specialty 224 “Technologies of medical diagnostics and treatment” – discipline – “Pediatrics with evaluation of research results”, elective course – “Transfusiology”;

– first (bachelor’s) and second (master’s) levels, field of knowledge – 22 Healthcare, specialty 223 “Nursing” – disciplines “Nursing in Pediatrics”, “Clinical Nursing in Pediatrics”, “Externship Undergraduate Practice” (pediatrics);

– the third (educational-scientific) level of higher education in the specialty 228 “Pediatrics”, 222 “Medicine”, 221 “Dentistry”, 224 “Technologies of medical diagnostics and treatment” – the discipline “Good Clinical Practice” and the basics of evidence-based medicine”, elective courses “Modern scientific research on kidney disease in children”, “Modern scientific research on chronic somatic diseases in children and newborns: peculiarities of the course and prevention”, “Modern scientific research on hematological diseases in children”

In the training of students at the department, modern teaching methods along with traditional ones are widely used, distance learning courses are created.

Practical training of students takes place on the basis of the departments of the Kharkiv City Clinical Children’s Hospital № 16 of the Kharkiv City Council (pediatric, hematology, nephrology department, intensive care unit), as well as pediatric departments of children’s clinical city and regional Kharkiv hospitals (Externship).

In recent years, 3 textbooks, 57 tutorials and guidelines have been published. The textbook “Clinical Pharmacology”, prepared by the authors and co-authors of the department – the first in Ukraine textbook on faculty pediatrics for foreign students in English, which was revised, supplemented and republished in 2009 by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. The National Textbook of Nephrology with the participation of prof. Yu. V. Odinets was published in 2014. The monograph “Pyelonephritis in children: the role of bacterial communication” was published in 2020 (co-authors ‒ head of the Department, Prof. N.I. Makeeva, Assoc. Prof. V.O. Golovacheva)

At the Department of Pediatrics № 2 Postgraduate training of specialists in internship in the specialty “Pediatrics”, in related cycles “Pediatric Hematology”, “Pediatric Nephrology” and in cycles of thematic advanced training of physicians of different specialties: “Topical issues of pediatric hematology”, “Topical issues of pediatric hematology”, “Syndromes in pediatric nephrology”, “Hematological syndromes in pediatrics”, “Nutrition of healthy and sick children”, “Vaccination in childhood”.

The scientific field of the department includes the development and implementation of modern aspects of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the blood system in children, allergic diseases, including bronchial asthma, chronic kidney disease. During the years of existence of the department on the basis of the city children’s clinical hospital № 16 its employees in their scientific activity were guided by the traditions established by prof. V.O. Belousov, which always provided an answer to the most pressing and important questions of medical practice. The pathogenesis of bronchoobstructive syndrome in children and bronchial asthma, the role of immune mechanisms in the formation of cardiovascular disease and the problem of cardiomyopathies in childhood, the impact of changes in hormonal and immune status of frequently affected children on the rehabilitation of these patients were studied. In the field of nephrology, the department conducted researches aimed at in-depth studies of the pathogenesis of nephritis, namely circulatory disorders, metabolism of secondary messenger cell membranes – phosphoinositides, and endothelium-dependent factors, which contributed to improving the treatment of this pathology in children.
Studies of metabolism of thromboxane-prostacyclin, endothelium-dependent factors, cortisol, thyroid hormones and kallikrein-kinin-protease system facilitated the expansion of our knowledge about the pathogenesis of hemorrhagic vasculitis in children. We studied and analyzed the harmful effects of the environment on children’s health and diseases course, comparing changes in the child morbidity in our region with global trends.
This made it possible to identify most relevant areas of research timely. Thus, for the last thirty years the department together with the staff of the clinic holds one of the leading positions in Ukraine in the implementation of the international program of treatment of oncohematological diseases in children – BFM (Berlin – Frankfurt – Munster). Thanks to this program, the mortality rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the Kharkiv region decreased from 8 to 1 %, and survival increased from 15 to 85 %.
During the existence of the Department of Pediatrics № 2 since 1984, 2 theses for a doctor’s degree, 31 PhD theses and 3 PhDs in “Pediatrics” were defended. Today, graduate students perform 4 scientific papers for the title of PhD in “Pediatrics” on the current pathogenesis of bronchial asthma, pyelonephritis in children and acute leukemia. Employees of the department carry out research on “Predicting the control of bronchial asthma in children, taking into account markers of inflammation and the state of the air barrier”.
In recent years, 3 textbooks, 57 manuals and guidelines have been published. The textbook “Clinical Pharmacology”, the first in Ukraine textbook on faculty pediatrics for foreign students in English, which was revised, supplemented and republished in 2009 by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, was published by the authors and co-authors of the department. The National Textbook of Nephrology was published in 2009 with the participation of prof. Yu. V. Odinets. Co-authored monograph “Pyelonephritis in children: the role of bacterial communication” was published in 2020 (Head of the Department, Prof. N.I. Makeeva, Assoc. Prof. V.O. Golovacheva).
Employees of the department received 3 patents of Ukraine for inventions, 18 patents for utility models, published 4 scientific works on the problems of pediatric hematology and recurrent bronchoobstructive syndrome in children. Every week the staff of the department with the doctors of the clinic holds clinical conferences to discuss the most severe and diagnostically complicated clinical cases. The staff of the department takes an active part in research projects and clinical multicenter, randomized international studies on the use of modern medicines in health care practice, as well as in international scientific forums.
In the last 20 years, the department has been annually holding the Ukrainian scientific and practical conference of pediatricians with international participation “Problematic issues of diagnostics and treatment of children with somatic pathology”, which highlights the results of research work of the department staff with the active participation of the leading pediatric departments of Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Poland, Tajikistan. As part of the conference, a master class on palliative care for children is held with the participation of leading specialists from our country and the UK, the Netherlands.

The medical work of the department is carried out on the basis of communal non-profit enterprise (CNPE) “City Children’s Clinical Hospital № 16” of Kharkiv City Council and CNPE “City Children’s Polyclinic № 16” of Kharkiv City Council.
In 1984, the hospital had only 3 departments: for infants, older children and hematology. In the process of mastering the clinical base in the city children’s hospital № 16 employees of the department paid special attention to expanding the medical base, equipping it and introducing new technologies for diagnostics and treatment of childhood diseases.
The city pediatric nephrology, pulmonology and regional pediatric hematology departments, as well as the city resuscitation department with centers of gravitational blood surgery and hemodialysis began to function on the basis of the clinic. The Regional Children’s Hematology Center has been using modern protocols for the treatment of children with oncohematological diseases since 1992, and actively cooperates with leading clinics in Austria and Germany. This became the basis for advanced training of many pediatricians in the city, who later began to work as department residents and heads of other clinical institutions.
Presently, the clinic with the direct participation of the department has established and operated immunological and emergency laboratories that provide quality and timely diagnosis of diseases in children and are an integral part of the research work of the department. Functional diagnostics department using modern research methods: computer spirography, Holter ECG monitoring, ultrasound of internal organs, ECHO-CG, which allows studying hemodynamics of the kidneys, central and hepatic hemodynamics in children with various pathologies exists at the clinics.
Creation of a modern clinical base in the children’s hospital has played an important role in the training of young medical and scientific-teaching staff. Throughout its existence, the department has been training interns, there are student’s scientific groups, where students learn to think clinically and acquire skills, conduct research.

Employees of the department participate in international scientific forums on modern nephrology, allergology, pulmonology.
The Department of Pediatrics № 2 has an international cooperation agreement with the Republic Scientific Clinical Center of Pediatrics and Infant Surgery, Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
Every year the staff of the department undergoes internship courses at The Open Medical Institute and its partner institutions, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Medical University of Vienna; Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, USA.
Employees of the department prof. N.I. Makeeva, Assoc. V.O. Golovachova, Assoc. Yu. S. Priyma are members of the international association ERA-EDTA European Nephrological Association, Dialysis and Transplant Association.

The Department of Pediatrics № 2 is the basis of postgraduate training and primary specialization. The department trains pediatricians in internships. In addition to the curriculum, interns are involved in scientific activities: make reports at scientific conferences of various levels, publish abstracts and articles with staff. Since 2009, the department has been conducting cycles of thematic advanced training “Current issues of pediatric hematology” and “Current issues of pediatric nephrology”. Also, since 2009 the department began to study bachelor’s degree in pediatrics in the specialty “Nursing”. The department takes an active part in the system of continuous training of doctors: since 2013 the department conducts pre-approval cycles in pediatric nephrology and hematology, and since 2015 there are courses for thematic advanced training of doctors “Problems of child nutrition” and “Vaccination in pediatrics”. Family doctors and pediatricians from all over Ukraine are actively interested in these issues and provide instruction in this training. Since 2020, in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, the staff of the department has developed online courses for thematic advanced training of physicians in pediatric nephrology, hematology, vaccination and nutrition of children.