The decision on whether to transfuse a neonate or child can be complex. You need to carefully consider specific patient circumstances, clinical condition, response to previous transfusion and the full range of other available treatments, balancing the evidence for efficacy and improved clinical outcome against the potential risk. There are new guidelines for blood transfusions.
Politicians and policy makers increasingly focus time and resources on measuring efficiency, accrediting health care processes and public reporting, all of which have a weak evidence base. In contrast, there is growing international evidence that clinical repositories and benchmarking using patient outcome data can drive improvements in health care quality and efficiency and in patient outcomes.
Research into the role of music therapy in the care of hospitalised children provides evidence for reducing anxiety and agitation, and providing pain relief that enhances quality of life for children and their families. The music therapy team at RCH has contributed to this evidence-based research in children with cancer, cardiac problems, those undergoing rehabilitation or with complex chronic conditions
It has been said that children’s rights must be at the forefront of any health care provider, public health practitioner, advocate or researcher working to make the lives of children better. In this Grand Round, Professor John Tobin will explore what it means to adopt a rights based approach when addressing children’s health needs and the implications of such an approach on service delivery, policy design, advocacy and research concerning children’s health.
Whilst it is often assumed that there is little in the way of evidence to guide practice in child psychiatry the truth is somewhat more complex. Our evidence base has in fact developed considerably over the last 20 years and whilst there are still many gaps in our understanding it is now possible to practice evidence based healthcare for many developmental mental health problems that affect both children and adolescents.
Surprising to many in Australia, the age band with by far the greatest number of Emergency Department (ED) presentations is that of children 0-4 years of age. Other paediatric age bands are also among the highest in absolute numbers of ED presentations. Understanding the reasons why parents seek ED care for their child for lower urgency conditions, the actual availability of GP services and patterns of use of alternative emergency services can assist in the efficient organisation and delivery of health services for children in Australia.
There is no easy formula for ethical leadership in a world where systematic ethical analysis is rare and cognitive processes work against us. We will explore how we can meet these challenges and lead more ethically
Pneumonia is the dominant cause of childhood illness and death outside the neonatal age group.
This extraordinary grand round, during refugee week, will provide clinical, policy and legal perspectives on people seeking asylum. The Rt. Hon. Malcolm Fraser will provide his perspective on asylum seekers, Hon. Alistair Nicholson will examine rights and the rule of law, and Hon. Frank Vincent will detail the changes in legislation related to refugee policy over recent years.
Febrile neutropenia is a frequent complication during the treatment of childhood cancer. It occurs in up to half of patients with solid tumours and more than 80% of those with hematological malignancies.
