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Research

Impact of a revised postoperative care plan on pain and recovery trajectory following pediatric tonsillectomy

A previous cohort of adenotonsillectomy patients at our institution demonstrated moderate-severe post-tonsillectomy pain scores lasting a median (range) duration of 6 (0-23) days and postdischarge nausea and vomiting affecting 8% of children on day 1 following surgery. In this subsequent cohort, we evaluate the impact of changes to our discharge medication and parental education on post-tonsillectomy pain and recovery profile.

Research

Redressing ‘unwinnable battles’: Towards institutional justice capital in Australian child protection

Australia’s history of negative child protection outcomes for children in state care highlights the sustained, systemic nature of serious harm. Situated in emerging conversations on structural challenges and state violence for parents involved in child protection systems, we trace the resources and barriers to responsive and ‘just’ child protection practice, highlighting how institutions can serve to compound disadvantage and injustice. We argue that addressing challenges such as access to advocacy at the level of the individual is to miss the underlying politics of oppression that serves to keep families marginalised.

Research

Role of Tris-CaEDTA as an adjuvant with nebulised tobramycin in cystic fibrosis patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infections: A randomised controlled trial

We tested if disrupting iron utilisation by P. aeruginosa by adding the Tris-buffered chelating agent CaEDTA to nebulised tobramycin would enhance bacterial clearance and improve lung function in CF patients.

Research

COVID-19 Response and Lessons Learned on Dengue Control in Bhutan

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute respiratory illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 initially was identified from a cluster of patients admitted with ‘pneumonia of unknown etiology’ in late December 2019 to hospitals in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.

Research

Clinician-rated quality of video otoscopy recordings and still images for the asynchronous assessment of middle-ear disease

Video otoscopy plays an important role in improving access to ear health services. This study investigated the clinician-rated quality of video otoscopy recordings and still images, and compared their suitability for asynchronous diagnosis of middle-ear disease. Two hundred and eighty video otoscopy image-recording pairs were collected from 150 children (aged six months to 15 years) by an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist, audiologists, and trained research assistants, and independently rated by an audiologist and ENT surgeon.

Research

The impact of surgical cancellations on children, families, and the health system in an Australian paediatric tertiary referral hospital

Reasons for elective surgery cancelations and their impact vary from one institution to another. Cancelations have emotional and financial implications for patients and their families. Our service has a particularly broad and geographically diverse patient population; hence, we sought to examine these impacts in our service.

Research

A comparison of videolaryngoscopy using standard blades or non-standard blades in children in the Paediatric Difficult Intubation Registry

The design of a videolaryngoscope blade may affect its efficacy. We classified videolaryngoscope blades as standard and non-standard shapes to compare their efficacy performing tracheal intubation in children enrolled in the Paediatric Difficult Intubation Registry.

Research

Changes in airway inflammation with pseudomonas eradication in early cystic fibrosis

Neutrophil elastase is a significant risk factor for structural lung disease in cystic fibrosis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa airway infection is linked with neutrophilic inflammation and substantial respiratory morbidity. We aimed to evaluate how neutrophil elastase (NE) activity changes after P. aeruginosa eradication and influences early disease outcomes. We assessed participants in the AREST CF cohort between 2000 and 2018 who had P. aeruginosa cultured from their routine annual bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and who underwent eradication treatment and a post eradication BAL. Factors associated with persistent P. aeruginosa infection, persistent neutrophilic inflammation following eradication and worse structural lung disease one year post-eradication were evaluated.

Research

Effect of Exercise Intensity on Exogenous Glucose Requirements to Maintain Stable Glycemia At High Insulin Levels in Type 1 Diabetes

Under basal insulin levels, there is an inverted U relationship between exercise intensity and exogenous glucose requirements to maintain stable blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetes (T1D), with no glucose required for intense exercise (80% V̇O2 peak), implying that high-intensity exercise is not conducive to hypoglycemia.

Research

The Role of Subinhibitory Concentrations of Daptomycin and Tigecycline in Modulating Virulence in Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infections are notoriously complicated by the ability of the organism to grow in biofilms and are difficult to eradicate with antimicrobial therapy.