David A. Munson, MD serves as the medical director for the Newborn/Infant Intensive Care Unit at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). He also directs the Perinatal Palliative Care Initiative in the Richard D. Wood Jr. Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment (CFDT) at CHOP. Dr. Munson is involved in the Chronic Lung Disease Program, the Perinatal Nephrology Initiative, the Neosurgical team, and ECMO resource team. He has a longstanding interest in vascular access for neonatal intensive care and is a part of the CHOP NICU bedside ultrasound program.
Dr. Munson has published on the topics of palliative care in the NICU and perinatal palliative care, and speaks locally and nationally on these topics. For research, he was a co-investigator on an RO1 investigating decision making by parents with children with serious illness.
Dr. Munson is actively engaged in teaching medical students through the Doctoring course at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and is directly involved in the clinical education of residents and fellows at CHOP.
Dr. Munson also has an interest in quality improvement and patient safety and is actively involved in a number of unit and hospital-based improvement initiatives.
MD - University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Hospice and Palliative Medicine – American Board of PediatricsNeonatal-Perinatal Medicine – American Board of Pediatrics
Attending Neonatologist
Medical Director, Newborn/Infant Intensive Care Unit
Clinical Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Callahan KP, Flibotte J, Skraban C, Wild KT, Joffe S, Munson D, Feudtner C. How neonatologists use genetic testing: findings from a national survey. J Perinatol. 2022 Feb;42(2):260-261. doi: 10.1038/s41372-021-01283-4. Epub 2021 Nov 30. PMID: 34848850; PMCID: PMC8825701.
Kozyak BW, Fraga MV, Juliano CE, Bhombal S, Munson DA, Brandsma E, Stoller JZ, Jain A, Kesman R, Meshkati M, Noh CY, Dewitt AG, Costarino AT, Hehir DA, Groves AM. Real-Time Ultrasound Guidance for Umbilical Venous Cannulation in Neonates With Congenital Heart Disease. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2022 May 1;23(5):e257-e266. doi: 10.1097/PCC.0000000000002919. Epub 2022 Mar 7. PMID: 35250003.
Kozyak BW, Fraga MV, Juliano CE, Bhombal S, Munson DA, Brandsma E, Stoller JZ, Jain A, Kesman R, Meshkati M, Noh CY, Dewitt AG, Costarino AT, Hehir DA, Groves AM: Real-time Ultrasound Guidance for Umbilical Venous Cannulation in Neonates with Congenital Heart Disease. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine 2022 Notes: Accepted.
Jensen EA, Zhang H, Feng R, Dysart K, Nilan K, Munson DA, Kirpalani H. Individualising care in severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia: a series of N-of-1 trials comparing transpyloric and gastric feeding. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2019 Nov 4. pii: fetalneonatal-2019-317148. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2019-317148. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 31685527 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
O'Byrne ML, Millenson ME, Grady CB, Huang J, Bamat NA, Munson DA, Song L, Dori Y, Gillespie MJ, Rome JJ, Glatz AC. Trends in transcatheter and operative closure of patent ductus arteriosus in neonatal intensive care units: Analysis of data from the Pediatric Health Information Systems Database. Am Heart J. 2019 Aug 17;217:121-130. doi: 10.1016/j.ahj.2019.08.009. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 31654942
Drago MJ, Guillén U, Schiaratura M, Batza J, Zygmunt A, Mowes A, Munson D, Lorenz JM, Farkouh-Karoleski C, Kirpalani H. Constructing a Culturally Informed Spanish Decision-Aid to Counsel Latino Parents Facing Imminent Extreme Premature Delivery. Matern Child Health J. 2018 Mar 8. doi: 10.1007/s10995-018-2471-8. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 29520727
James J, Munson D, DeMauro SB, Langer JC, Dworetz AR, Natarajan G, Bidegain M, Fortney CA, Seabrook R, Vohr BR, Tyson JE, Bell EF, Poindexter BB, Shankaran S, Higgins RD, Das A, Stoll BJ, Kirpalani H; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Outcomes of Preterm Infants following Discussions about Withdrawal or Withholding of Life Support. J Pediatr. 2017 Nov;190:118-123.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.05.056. [Epub ahead of print]
Cole JCM, Moldenhauer JS, Jones TR, Shaughnessy EA, Zarrin HE, Coursey AL, Munson DA. A proposed model for Perinatal Palliative Care. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2017 Jun 8. Pii: S0884-2175(17)30086-2. Doi: 10.1016/j/jogn.2017.01.014. [Epub ahead of print].
Cole, J, Moldenhauer, J, Jones, T, Shaughnessy, E, Coursey, A, Zarrin, H, Munson, D: A Multidisciplinary Perinatal Palliative Care Model. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2017 Nov - Dec;46(6):904-911. doi: 10.1016/j.jogn.2017.01.014. Epub 2017 Jun 8.
Jensen EA, Munson DA, Zhang H, Blinman TA, Kirpalani H. Anti-gastroesophageal reflux surgery in infants with severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2015;50(6):584-587.
Jensen EA, Munson DA, Zhang H, Blinman TA, Kirpalani H. Anti-gastroesophageal reflux surgery in infants with severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2014 Apr 21. [Epub ahead of print]
Guillén Ű, Suh S, Munson D, Posencheg M, Truitt E, Zupancic JA, Gafni A, Kirpalani H.: Development and pretesting of a decision-aid to use when counseling parents facing imminent extreme premature delivery. J Pediatr. 1603): 382-7, 2012.
Feudtner C, Munson D, Morrison W. Framing permission for halting or continuing life-extending therapies. Virtual Mentor. 2008;10(8):506-510.
Williams C, Munson D, Zupancic J, Kirpalani H. Supporting bereaved parents: practical steps in providing compassionate perinatal and neonatal end-of-life care - A North American perspective. Semin Fetal Neonatal Med. 2008 Oct;13(5):335-40. Epub 2008 May 12.
Thiele, P and Munson D: A million little pieces: Parental and physician perspectives on Trisomy 18. Journal of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine 5: 1-7, 2012.
Munson D and Evans JR: Nosocomial Infection in the NICU. Avery’s Diseases of the Newborn 9th Edition. Gleason CA (eds). Elsevier Saunders, Philadelphia, 2011.
Munson D, Epelman M, Millar D, and Kirpalani H: Chapter 3: The Chest. Imaging of the Newborn. H. Kirpalani, M. Epelman and Jr. Mernagh (eds). Cambridge University Press, 2011.
Munson D, section editor: Section XVII Neonatal Medicine. Netter's Pediatrics. Florin and Ludwig (eds.). Elsevier 2011.
Keene S, Munson D. Chapter 10-Delivery Room. Now what? In: Shah S, Frank G, editors. Patient Encounters in Pediatrics, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. 2009.
Munson D, Feudtner C. The ethics of perinatal palliative care. In: Ravitsky V, Fiester A, Caplan AL, editors. The Penn Center Guide to Bioethics. Springer: New York, 2009.
2022, Philadelphia Magazine's Top Doctors in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
2013, Dean's Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
2012, Master Clinician Award, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
2004-present, American Academy of Pediatrics, Perinatal Pediatrics section
2008-present, American Association of Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine