Host Gene Expression Signatures to Diagnose Sepsis in Children, following on from the RAPIDS project: “Host Gene Expression Signatures to Diagnose Sepsis in Children”. Our paediatric pillar lead, Dr Shane George, is one of the principal investigators on this study, led by A/Prof Luregn Schlapbach from Children’s Health Queensland and UQ. Prof Keith Grimwood and Dr Peter Snelling are also co-investigators. Specific aims of the project include the creation of a paediatric biobank, identification of gene markers for sepsis, and evaluation of a point of care test that rapidly determines whether a critically ill paediatric patient has an infection (bacterial or viral).
When toilet troubles started for Emily Lavender, her mother had no idea about the long road they were about embark down or the new best friend they would meet along the way thanks to a forward-thinking nurse and her crafty mum.
Paediatric pillar lead Shane George was happy to hear that his pillar and PI Dr Megan King has received $52,493 in funding for an immunological study , working closely with Infectious Diseases doctors from Gold Coast, Forensic and Scientific Services and Griffith investigators.
Watson, L., Cartwright, D., Jardine, L.A., Pincus, D., Koorts, P., Kury, S., Bezieau, S., George, S., Moloney, S., Holt, J. and Coman, D., 2018. Transient neonatal zinc deficiency in exclusively breastfed preterm infants. Journal of paediatrics and child health, 54(3), p.319.
Acute hypoxic respiratory distress (AHRF) such as pneumonia, caused by an infection imposes the greatest health care burden on non-elective hospital admissions. The early use of non-invasive respiratory to facilitate respiratory support may avoid progression of the disease.
Nasal High Flow therapy (NHF) therapy has emerged as a new method to provide a form of positive pressure support with
titratable oxygen fraction. There is a lack of high-grade evidence on the use of NHF therapy in children with AHRF.
Eight in 1000 infants less than 12 months of age need hospital admission due to acute respiratory infection and represents the greatest number of non-elective intensive care admissions in the USA with a cost over U$ 1.7 billion per year.
This study at Gold Coast University Hospital aims to compare NHF therapy to standard subnasal oxygentherapy, in children 0-16 yrs of age with AHRF presenting to hospital. The primary outcome is treatment failure of NHF therapy or standard subnasal oxygen therapy.
Gold Coast University Hospital will be the first hospital in 2017, following the pilot trial at LCCH in 2016, to enrol patients on this much needed study.
The NHMRC awards Dr Donna Franklin (new member of our GCH ED research team) an Early Careers Researcher fellowship valued at $645,000 to continue the work on early respiratory support in children, following on from the PARIS studies GCH ED research has been involved in since 2014.
Franklin, D., Shellshear, D., Babl, F.E., Schlapbach, L.J., Oakley, E., Borland, M.L., Hoeppner, T., George, S., Craig, S., Neutze, J. and Williams, A., 2019. Multicentre, randomised trial to investigate early nasal high—flow therapy in paediatric acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure: a protocol for a randomised controlled trial—a Paediatric Acute respiratory Intervention Study (PARIS 2). BMJ open, 9(12).
Franklin, D., Babl, F.E., Schlapbach, L.J., Oakley, E., Craig, S., Neutze, J., Furyk, J., Fraser, J.F., Jones, M., Whitty, J.A. and Dalziel, S.R., 2018. A randomized trial of high-flow oxygen therapy in infants with bronchiolitis. New England Journal of Medicine, 378(12), pp.1121-1131.
