Latest Posts

What affects child development during the first 1000 days? Evidence and implications

This presentation focuses on the earliest stages of child development: the period from conception to the end of the child’s second year – known as the first 1000 days. A growing body of evidence shows that experiences during this period can have life-long consequences for health and wellbeing. The presentation is based on research for the “Strong Foundations” project and an evidence paper “Getting it right in the first 1000 days”. 

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Multidisciplinary teams: Are we ready?

Addressing the increasing complexity of care is a new challenge in tertiary hospitals. We also all agree that a holistic approach is the standard of care. Multidisciplinary teams have the potential to offer a greater level of expertise with a more diverse approach to work on common goals of care.

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Helping tiny babies to breathe after birth – short- and long-term consequences

Before the advent of modern neonatal intensive care in the 1970s, many tiny babies died soon after birth, most commonly because they lacked pulmonary surfactant, leading to respiratory failure.  Professor Lex Doyle first treated the breathing problems of tiny babies in the mid-1970s during his basic training in paediatrics.

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RCH National Child Health Poll – A year in review – Research done differently: Innovation, impact and implications

The RCH National Child Health Poll was launched in December 2015 to build the level of public debate and discussion about child and adolescent health issues. The poll methodology combines the rigour of academic research with the timeliness and reach of online quantitative data collection to deliver new knowledge about the experience of children and young people, and the households and communities responsible for their wellbeing.

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The challenges of implementing antimicrobial stewardship in Australia

This Grand Round will provide an overview of the current status on the use of antimicrobials in Australia, using a One Health perspective. Professor Thursky will describe the challenges facing prescribers and health care organisations in ensuring the judicious use of antimicrobials, and will showcase some of the research underway by the National Centre for Antimicrobial Stewardship.

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The developmental trajectory of clinical evidence: From RCT to living systematic review

Pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) is a newer subspecialty in child health starting in Canada in the 1980’s. To build the evidence base for clinical care, single center randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with small sample sizes were conducted. However, this led to potential of poorly designed and conducted trials with inadequate statistical power, which often were not published (if they gave negative answers). Systematic reviews of RCTs started to improve the situation, along with the establishment of research networks performing large RCTs provided more definitive guidance for the clinician.

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Why did I order the test when I don’t know what it means?

Pathology tests are fundamental to the diagnosis and management of almost all children who present to RCH, and we collectively order thousands of them every day. Yet if we don’t know what is normal, how do we interpret what is abnormal?

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“Ova-diagnoses”: Common and rare gynaecological problems explained

Period pain is a very common and troubling symptom for many adolescent girls, and many girls suffer because of inadequate treatment and support. But some of the problems associated with the menstrual cycle and ovarian function are uncommon and have atypical symptoms. The diverse range of gynaecological presentations in adolescents is often not widely known or taught, however problems arising from ovarian and menstrual cycle dysfunction can encompass almost every specialty in medicine.

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