Jason W. Custer, MD

• Johns Hopkins Medical Center-Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship, 2006-2010
• Johns Hopkins Medical Center-Pediatric Residency, 2003-2006
• University of Maryland School of Medicine-Doctorate of Medicine-Cum Laude, 1999-2003
• Duke University-Bachelor of Science in Engineering Biomedical and Electrical-Magna Cum Laude, 1995-1999

Dr. Jason W. Custer grew up in Catonsville, Maryland and works clinically in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. He is the Division head of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine and the Medical Director of the Pediatric ICU.  After graduating from Duke University he returned home to Baltimore for medical school at the University of Maryland.  He then completed residency and fellowship at Johns Hopkins and returned to the University of Maryland as a faculty member in 2010. His research interests include expert and team cognition as well as PICU outcomes.  He has taken on a leadership role in patient safety and quality improvement in the department of pediatrics and the hospital. He has been the Director of Patient Safety at the University of Maryland Medical Center Downtown Campus since 2018. He currently lives in Ellicott City with his wife and 3 daughters. 

Expert and team cognition in complex patients Medical communication and data utilization Medical education related to Practice-Based Learning, Quality improvement, and Systems-based practice. Patient Safety. Diagnostic Error and diagnostic process.

Peer-Reviewed Journals

1. Easley RB, Lancaster CT, Fuld MK, Custer JW, Hager DN, Kaczka DW, Simon BA. Total and regional lung volume changes during high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) of the normal lung.

Respir Physiol Neurobiol. 2008 Oct 18. 18996228

2. Easley RB, Mulreany DG, Lancaster CT, Custer JW, Fernandez-Bustamante A, Simon BA. The effect of pulmonary blood flow distribution on thermodilution extravascular lung water measurements in a model of acute lung injury.  Anesthesiology 2009 Nov; 111 (5); 1065-74. 19809280

3. Custer JW, Andaleeb A, Kaczka DW, Mulreany DG, Simon BA, Easley RB. In Vitro performance characteristics of the Sensormedics 3100A and B high frequency oscillatory ventilators. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2011 Jul;12(4):e176-80. PMID: 21037502

4. Custer JW, Watson CM, Dwyer J, Kacska DW, Simon BA, Easley RB. Critical evaluation of emergency stockpile ventilators in an in vitro model of pediatric lung injury. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2011 Nov;12(6):e357-61. PMID: 21317679

5.  Custer JW, White E, Fackler JC, Xiao Y, Tien A, Lehmann H, Nichols DG. A qualitative study of expert and team cognition on complex patients in the pediatric intensive care unit. Pediatr Crit Care Med. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2012 May;13(3):278-84. PMID: 21926662

6. Levin SR, Harley E, Fackler JC, Lehmann CU, Custer JW, France D, Zeger SL. Real time forecasting of pediatric intensive care unit length of stay using computerized provider orders. Crit Care Med. 2012 Nov;40(11):3058-3064. PMID: 22824935

7. McCrory MC, Aboumatar H, Custer JW, Yang C, Hunt E. ""ABC-SBAR" Training Improves Simulated Critical Patient Hand-off by Pediatric Interns. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2012 Jun;28(6):538-438. PMID: 22653454

8. Winters BD, Custer J, Galvagno SM, Colantuoni E, Kapoor SG, Lee H, Goodes V, Robinson K, Nakhasi A, Pronovost P, Newman-Toker DE. Diagnostic Errors in the Intensive Care Unit:  A Systematic Review of Autopsy Studies. BMJ Qual Saf. 2012 Jul 24. PMID: 22824935.

9. Spaeder MC; Custer JW; Bembea MM; Aganga DO; Song X; Scafidi S. A multi-center outcomes analysis of children with severe viral respiratory infection due to human metapneumovirus. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2013 Mar;14(3):268-72. PMID: 23392374

10. Millstein L, Charnaya O, Hart J, Habicht R, Giudice E, Custer J, Lewin L. Implementation of a  Educational Curriculum and Impact of Pediatrics Resident In-training examination scores.  Journal of GME, June 2014. PMID: 24949165

11. Custer JW, Winters BD, Goode V, Robinson KA, Yang T, Pronovost PJ, Newman-Toker DE. Diagnostic error in the pediatric and neonatal intensive care unit: a systematic review. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2015 Jan;16(1):29-36.  PMID: 25329138.

12.  Spaeder MC, Custer JW, Miles A, Ngo L, Morin N, Scafidi S, Bembea MM, Song X. A multi-center outcomes analysis of children with severe rhino/enteroviral respiratory infection.  Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2015 Feb;16(2):119-23. PMID: 25647121.

13. Tylka C, McCrory MC, Gertz SJ, Ajizian SJ, Custer JW, Spaeder MC. A Multicenter Outcomes Analysis of Immunocompromised Children with Severe Adenoviral Respiratory Infection. Critical Care Research and Practice, vol. 2016. PMID: 27242924

14. Bagdure DN, Custer JW, Rao S, Messacar K, Dominguez S, Beam BW, Bhutta A. Hospitalized Children with Encephalitis in United States: A PHIS Database Study. Pediatric Neurology.  Available online 6 May 2016. doi:10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2016.04.014.

15. Leone D, Zaner C, Cohee L, Custer JW. Case report of a 3 month old female with prolonged fever, pulmonary nodules, and a rare diagnosis of Infantile Takayasu Arteritis: A multidisciplinary collaboration. Matthews Journal of Pediatrics. M J Pedia 1(1): 001. Accepted June 2016.

Book Editing

Custer JW; Rau R; Lee C. The Harriet Lane Handbook, 19th Edition. August 2008, Mosby.

Book Chapters

Custer JW. Chapter 3: Procedures. Custer JW; Rau R; Lee C. The Harriet Lane Handbook, 19th Edition. August 2008, Mosby.

Custer JW. Chapter 27: Blood Chemistries and Body Fluids. Custer JW; Rau R; Lee C. The Harriet Lane Handbook, 19th Edition. August 2008, Mosby.

Lee C; Custer JW; Rau R. Chapter 29: Drug Doses. Custer JW; Rau R; Lee C. The Harriet Lane Handbook, 19th Edition. August 2008, Mosby.

Custer JW. Chapter 30: Formulary Adjunct. Custer JW; Rau R; Lee C. The Harriet Lane Handbook, 19th Edition. August 2008, Mosby.

Custer JW, Rapan K, Easley RB. Chapter 13: Pediatric Therapeutics. Viessman SS, Lorins M, eds. Pediatric Board Review, Appleton and Lange, 2008

Abstracts

Custer JW, Easley RB, Mulreany DG, Hager DN, Kazcka DW, Simon BA. In vitro performance comparison of the Sensormedics 3100A and B high-frequency oscillatory ventilators (HFOV). Proc Am Thorac Soc 2008; A957

Easley RB, Lancaster CL, Custer JW, Fernandez-Bustamante A, Mulreany DG, Simon BA. Inactivation of Hypoxic Pulmonary Vasoconstriction Results in Acute Increase in Extravascular Lung Water Measurement by PiCCO in Canine Acute Lung Injury. Proc Am Thorac Soc 2008; A213.

Custer JW, Dwyer J, Watson CM, Kaczka DW, Simon BA, Easley RB. Emergency Ventilator Performance Characteristics under Conditions of Adult and Pediatric Respiratory Failure. Proc Am Thorac Soc 2009; A3071

Ahmed A, Custer JW, Mulreany DG, Kaczka DW, Simon BA, Easley RB. The Effect of Piston Position on Tidal Volume Delivery During High-Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation. Proc Am Thorac Soc 2009; A5814

Custer JW, McMillan K, Berkowitz I, Easley RB. Administration of volatile anesthesia via a conventional ventilator in critically ill children – clinical experience and in vitro assessment of impact on ventilator performance. Proc Am Thorac Soc 2010; B106. 

Custer JW, Winters B, Goode V, Robinson K, BS, Pronovost PJ, Newman-Toker DE. Diagnostic error in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU): A systematic review of autopsy studies. Diagnostic Error in Medicine, International Conference, 2010. 

Winters B, Custer JW, Goode V, Robinson K, BS, Pronovost PJ, Newman-Toker DE. Diagnostic error in the Intensive care unit (ICU): A systematic review of autopsy studies. Diagnostic Error in Medicine, International Conference, 2010.