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Paediatric anaesthetist named a WA Young Tall Poppy

A leading paediatric anaesthetist and researcher focused on making anaesthesia safer and more comfortable for children has been named a 2022 Western Australian Young Tall Poppy.

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.

Fit testing of N95 or P2 masks to protect health care workers

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and has many similarities to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). While reported morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 are lower than from SARS and MERS, many health care workers have been infected (up to 15% of health care workers in Victoria).

The plural of anecdote is not data, please mind the gap

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced challenges to everyone in society but particularly so to every aspect of medical practice. It is bewildering how quickly the profession has had to respond to rapidly changing clinical landscape. Our well-established methods involve collecting and analyzing data to generate an evidence base which is then disseminated and implemented into routine clinical practice.

Pediatric Airway Management in Times of COVID-19-a Review of the Evidence and Controversies

This review summarizes and provides a comprehensive narrative synthesis of the current evidence on pediatric airway management during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than half of front-line healthcare workers unknowingly used an N95/P2 mask without adequate airborne protection: An audit in a tertiary institution

Front-line staff routinely exposed to aerosol-generating procedures are at a particularly high risk of transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. We aimed to assess the adequacy of respiratory protection provided by available N95/P2 masks to staff routinely exposed to aerosol-generating procedures.

A survey of the global impact of COVID-19 on the practice of pediatric anesthesia: A study from the pediatric anesthesia COVID-19 Collaborative Group

Pediatric anesthesiology has been greatly impacted by COVID-19 in the delivery of care to patients and to the individual providers. With this study, we sought to survey pediatric centers and highlight the variations in care related to perioperative medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the availability of protective equipment, the practice of pediatric anesthesia, and economic impact.

An assessment of opioids on respiratory depression in children with and without obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea is a risk factor for respiratory depression following opioid administration as well as opioid-induced hyperalgesia. Little is known on how obstructive sleep apnea status is associated with central ventilatory depression in pediatric surgical patients given a single dose of fentanyl.

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.

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.