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The Impact of a Multifaceted Tertiary Pediatric Hospital's Antimicrobial Stewardship ServiceAntimicrobials are the most commonly prescribed drug class in children. Overuse through inappropriate prescribing is a key driver of antimicrobial resistance and is recognized as one of the top 10 threats to global health by the World Health Organization.
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Topical versus systemic antibiotics for chronic suppurative otitis mediaChronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM), sometimes referred to as chronic otitis media (COM), is a chronic inflammation and often polymicrobial infection (involving more than one micro-organism) of the middle ear and mastoid cavity, characterised by ear discharge (otorrhoea) through a perforated tympanic membrane. The predominant symptoms of CSOM are ear discharge and hearing loss. Antibiotics are the most common treatment for CSOM, which act to kill or inhibit the growth of micro-organisms that may be responsible for the infection.
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Otitis media guidelines for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children: summary of recommendationsThe 2001 Recommendations for clinical care guidelines on the management of otitis media in Aboriginal and Torres Islander populations were revised in 2010. This 2020 update by the Centre of Research Excellence in Ear and Hearing Health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children used for the first time the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.
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Epidemiology of COVID-19 infection in young children under five years: A systematic review and meta-analysisEmerging evidence suggests young children are at greater risk of COVID-19 infection than initially predicted. However, a comprehensive understanding of epidemiology of COVID-19 infection in young children under five years, the most at-risk age-group for respiratory infections, remain unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 infection in children under five years.
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ASCOT ADAPT study of COVID-19 therapeutics in hospitalised patients: an international multicentre adaptive platform trialSARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with a significant risk of hospitalisation, death, and prolonged impact on quality of life. Evaluation of new treatment options and optimising therapeutic management of people hospitalised with SARS-CoV-2 infection remains essential, but rapid changes in pandemic conditions and potential therapies have limited the utility of traditional approaches to randomised controlled trials.
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Western Australian health care workers’ views on mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for the workplaceHealth care workers (HCWs) are at an increased risk of catching and spreading Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) compared with the general community, putting health systems at risk. Several jurisdictions globally have mandated or are looking to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for this cohort, but little is known about the acceptability of this measure, especially in different contexts, and there is little qualitative data to explore nuance, depth, and the reasons behind HCWs’ opinions.
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Lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic: Why Australian schools should be prioritised to stay openIn 2020, school and early childhood educational centre (ECEC) closures affected over 1.5 billion school-aged children globally as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response. Attendance at school and access to ECEC is critical to a child's learning, well-being and health. School closures increase inequities by disproportionately affecting vulnerable children. Here, we summarise the role of children and adolescents in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission and that of schools and ECECs in community transmission and describe the Australian experience.
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A controlled human infection model of Streptococcus pyogenes pharyngitis (CHIVAS-M75): an observational, dose-finding studyStreptococcus pyogenes is a leading cause of infection-related morbidity and mortality. A reinvigorated vaccine development effort calls for new clinically relevant human S pyogenes experimental infection models to support proof of concept evaluation of candidate vaccines. We describe the initial Controlled Human Infection for Vaccination Against S pyogenes (CHIVAS-M75) study, in which we aimed to identify a dose of emm75 S pyogenes that causes acute pharyngitis in at least 60% of volunteers when applied to the pharynx by swab.
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Clindamycin adjunctive therapy for severe Staphylococcus aureus treatment evaluation (CASSETTE)-an open-labelled pilot randomized controlled trialCombination antibiotic therapy with an antitoxin agent, such as clindamycin, is included in some guidelines for severe, toxin-mediated Staphylococcus aureus infections. The evidence to support this practice is currently limited to in vitro, animal and observational human case-series data, with no previous randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
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Preventing severe influenza in Australian infants: Maternal influenza vaccine effectiveness in the PAEDS-FluCAN networks using the test-negative designChristopher Blyth MBBS (Hons) DCH FRACP FRCPA PhD Centre Head, Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases; Co-Head, Infectious Diseases