Zarela Lourdes Molle-Rios, MD

Gastroenterology

Primary Office

Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware 1600 Rockland Road Wilmington, DE 19803 Appointment: (800) 416-4441

Get to Know Me

Growing up in Peru, where my parents still live, I knew in high school that I was going to become a physician and to help people stay healthy. My sister is a pediatrician, too, and lives in Germany. I moved to the U.S. in 1991. In addition to fluency in English and Spanish, I understand some German.

Why I Treat Children

I like children and have two of my own. My own pediatrician inspired me when I was a child, and I decided that I wanted to pursue a career treating kids, too.

What I'm Passionate About

When I worked as a primary care doctor in southern Delaware, I was called on to stabilize critically ill, premature newborns as well as children who came in with serious injuries. This taught me the importance of making quality medical care available for all children.

Education & Training

Fellowship

  • Pediatric Gastroenterology - Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, 2003
  • Pediatric Gastroenterology - SUNY Downstate Medical Center, 1998

Internship Residency

  • Pediatrics - Children's Medical Center Brooklyn, 1995

Medical/Dental School

  • MD - Cayetano Heredia University, 1986

Board Certifications

  • American Board of Pediatrics/General Pediatrics
  • American Board of Pediatrics/Pediatric Gastroenterology

Insurance Accepted

  • Aetna Better Health PA Kids HMO
  • Aetna HMO
  • Aetna PPO/POS/EPO
  • Amerihealth Caritas Delaware
  • Amerihealth Caritas Delaware Next
  • Carefirst MD Community Health Plan Mcaid
  • Cigna Lifesource Transplant
  • Cigna/Great West HMO EPO POS
  • Cigna/Great West PPO
  • Delaware First Health
  • Delaware Medicaid/Diamond State
  • Delaware Medicare
  • Devon Health Services
  • Fidelis Care NJ Medicaid HMO
  • First Health/Affordable PPO
  • Geisinger Health Plan Commercial
  • Global Medical Managment DE/PA
  • Health Partners Medicaid/Kidz Partner HMO
  • Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware
  • Highmark Medicaid Health Options
  • Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
  • Independance Blue Cross/Amerihealth/Keystone Health Plan
  • Insurance Administrators of America
  • INTEGRA Administrative Group (ClaimsBridge)
  • Keystone First Medicaid HMO
  • Lifetrac Transplant
  • Maryland Medicaid
  • Multiplan PPO
  • National Transplant (Humana)
  • New Jersey Medicaid
  • Pennsylvania Medicaid
  • Plan Vista/NPPN PPO
  • Preferred Healthcare PPO
  • Private Health Care Systems (PHCS)
  • Qualcare HMO/POS/PPO
  • Star Healthcare Network
  • Three Rivers Provider Network
  • Tricare/Humana Military Health Services/CHAMPVA
  • United Healthcare of the Mid-Atlantic
  • UPMC MCAID/CHIP PA DE
  • Wellpoint Maryland Medcaid

  • Celiac Disease
  • Eosinophilic Esophagitis
  • Feeding Disorders
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Research Activities

I’ve participated in research studies on inflammatory bowel disease as well as ways to improve quality care for children.

Medical Interests

  • Allergic gastrointestinal disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Eosinophilic esophagitis
  • Inflammatory bowel disease
  • Therapeutic endoscopy
  • Upper and lower endoscopy
  • Video capsule endoscopy

  • Major basic protein is a useful marker to distinguish eosinophilic esophagitis from IBD-associated eosinophilia in children.; Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition; (2024).

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  • High Body Mass Index and Response to Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor Therapy in Pediatric Crohn's Disease.; The American journal of gastroenterology; (2024).

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  • Tofacitinib in Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis: A Retrospective Multicenter Experience.; Inflammatory bowel diseases; (2024).

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  • Comparative Effectiveness of Anti-TNF in Combination With Low-Dose Methotrexate vs Anti-TNF Monotherapy in Pediatric Crohn's Disease: A Pragmatic Randomized Trial.; Gastroenterology; (2023).

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  • Personalized Research on Diet in Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease (PRODUCE): A Series of N-of-1 Diet Trials. ; The American journal of gastroenterology; (2022).

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  • The PNPLA3 rs738409 Variant but not MBOAT7 rs641738 is a Risk Factor for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Obese U.S. Children of Hispanic Ethnicity; Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition; (2021).

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  • Whole-genome sequencing of African Americans implicates differential genetic architecture in inflammatory bowel disease.; American journal of human genetics; (2021).

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  • Oncostatin-M Does Not Predict Treatment Response in Inflammatory Bowel Disease in a Pediatric Cohort.; Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition; (2021).

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  • Branched chain amino acid-inflammation relationship in youth with obesity: A randomized controlled intervention study.; The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism; (2021).

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  • Salivary pepsin A detection related to gastro‐oesophageal reflux episodes in children undergoing impedance probe monitoring; Acta Paediatrica; (2020).

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  • Report on the Short Endoscopic Exocrine Pancreatic Function Test in Children and Young Adults.; Pancreas; (2020).

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  • Underutilization of Bowel Ultrasound in North America in Children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease; Digestive Diseases; (2019).

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  • Mo1797 – Impact of Premedication and Other Variables on the Formation of Antibodies to Infliximab in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease; Gastroenterology; (2019).

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  • P014 Case Series of Small Bowel Crohn's Disease Diagnosed in 10 Pediatric Patients by Video Capsule Endoscopy; American Journal of Gastroenterology; (2019).

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  • Use of Electronic Health Record Tools to Facilitate and Audit Infliximab Prescribing; The Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics; (2018).

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  • Creating the Subspecialty Pediatrics Investigator Network.; The Journal of pediatrics; (2018).

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  • Safety of Secretin Administration in Children; Pancreas; (2016).

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  • Spontaneous Gastric Perforation in Two Adolescents; American Journal of Case Reports; (2016).

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  • P-168 YI Inflammatory Colitis in an Infant; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases; (2013).

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  • T1164 Mucocutaneous Granulomatous Disease in a Patient On Infliximab Therapy; Gastroenterology; (2009).

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  • Clinical quiz.; Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition; (2006).

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  • Hepatitis C infection in children and adolescents with end-stage renal disease; Pediatric Nephrology; (2002).

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  • Endoscopic features of smooth muscle tumors in children with AIDS; Gastrointestinal Endoscopy; (2000).

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  • []; Digestive Diseases and Sciences; (1999).

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  • Neonatal hypoperistalsis associated with perinatal zidovudine administration.; Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association; (1998).

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  • English