M. Ramanan, Y. Apte, S. Watts, T. Holland, A. Hatt, A. Craswell, F. Lin, A. Tabah, R. S. Ware, J. Byrnes, C. Anstey and G. Keijzers
Brazil, V.A., Speirs, C., Scott, C., Schweitzer, J. and Purdy, E.
Jones, R., Ranse, J., Rice, K., Usher, K., Jackson, D., Sutton, C., Kabir, H., Gayed, A., Wong, H., Clegg, L. and Arena, A.
Ferris, L.J., Kang, J., Rathbone, J.A., Cruwys, T., Stevens, M., Donaldson, J.L., Ranse, J. and Barlow, F.K.
Van de Glind, G., Galenkamp, N., Schut, B., Schoonhoven, L., Scheepers, F.E., Muir, R., Baden, D., Werner, L., van Veen, M., Crilly, J. and Ham, W.H.
Prof Stuart Delziel, A/Prof Shane George, A/Prof Elliot Long, Dr Sarah McNab, Prof Mohammad Asghari-Jafarabadi
Prof Franz Babl, Dr Ben Lawton, Dr Michelle Davison, Dr Shane George, Dr Katie Rasmussen, Dr Christa Bell, Prof Geoffrey Askin, Dr Emma Tavender and Dr Stephen Hearps
Currently in Australia, children with suspected neck injuries undergo neck scans such as x-rays, computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However these scans may carry risks from radiation exposure, and are often associated with discomfort and distress for young patients and the need for sedation.
Considerable emergency department time and costs are also associated with these scans and it is unclear when it can be safely avoided. Rules and tools can help doctors decide when scans are necessary. The SONIC study aims to look at whether existing rules for adults are also appropriate for use in children, and to develop and test a specific tool to help doctors decide which children need a neck x-ray or scan. The study will involve a large number of children across multiple hospitals in Australia and New Zealand. The research is expected to help researchers learn more about looking after children with neck injuries and hopefully allow us to safely limit the number of scans that need to be done.
The SONIC study is also supported by the Commonwealth of Australia through a MRFF Grant ID1199748 administered by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
Nathan Watkins, Bridget Wilson, Benjamin Mackle, Julla Crilly, Jamie Ranse, Marion Mitchell, Martin Wullschleger, Sarah Weber, Marion Mitchell, Matthew Boyd, Kevin McCaffer, Paula Lister, Joe Sharpe, Michael Handy
