We need to talk about sepsis!

In the emergency setting, sepsis is the primary or differential diagnosis for a substantial proportion of febrile or unwell children. In this Grand Round, we will discuss challenges with early recognition and initial management of sepsis in children. We will discuss RCH efforts to improve the care of children with sepsis, including local, national, and international collaborations.

Small Translation Grants – One Year Later

In this Grand Round meet the recipients of the inaugural small translation research grants. Launched last year by the Clinical Research Incubator, this funding initiative aimed to empower 10 RCH clinicians who were new to research, including nurses, doctors, and allied health professionals.

Difficult vaccine targets – RSV and Dengue

Both RSV and Dengue have proved to be difficult vaccine targets.  In both cases vaccine development has taken a very long time, and in both cases some vaccine candidates have led to more severe disease in some individuals. We are currently in the middle of an era of remarkable progress in both fields, but problems remain. 

Children having tests, treatments, examinations and interventions; proposing an approach to minimise anxiety, distress, restraint and harm

This Grand Round will provide a critical overview of what we know about holding children for clinical procedures, considering the child, parent, health professional and system factors which can influence procedural practice. Lucy will discuss an approach to challenge accepted narratives within practice and adopt a more child-centred rights-based approach to reduce harm and the use of restrictive practice during procedures.

100 years of insulin at The Royal Children’s Hospital – pigs, pumps and pluripotent potential

One hundred years ago the first insulin injection was given at RCH. Overnight, type 1 diabetes went from a fatal to a ‘manageable’ condition. Since that time, diabetes management has developed and evolved to a point where in the near future it is hoped that exogenous insulin will represent a treatment failure rather than a therapeutic mainstay. This Grand Round will trace the history of insulin therapy and diabetes management at RCH, and discuss the likely direction of new therapies in the upcoming decades.

Exploring the role of rehabilitation services in the management of Functional Neurological Disorders

The approach and attitude towards Functional Neurological Disorders (FND) has changed over the last decade and anecdotally at least, we seem to be seeing more cases in our day-to-day practice.  Patients with functional symptoms present to many disciplines and functional symptoms can co-exist with organic pathology. There is now evidence to show earlier diagnosis and treatment can lead to more positive outcomes.   

The impact of a rare disease program on the Melbourne Children’s campus

Rare Diseases Now (RDNow) was established in 2019 with funding from The Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation to provide an advanced, clinically integrated diagnostic pathway for children with rare diseases (RD). We have delivered value to children and families by providing access to frontier multi-omics technologies, working on solutions to optimise rare disease care and upskilling the workforce.  In this Grand Round we will describe the impact of our work at the individual, team and national levels and show how the Melbourne Children’s Campus is positioned as a global leader in rare disease care.​