Latest Posts

“I did it my way…” – Variation in paediatric clinical care; what, why and where to now?

Variation in care has been long recognised and is often a part of good clinical practice. However, sometimes variation in care is unwarranted and can lead to variation in quality of care and increased costs. The inaugural Australian Atlas of Variation in Healthcare will be launched later this month by the federal minister for health, Susan Ley. Harriet Hiscock will present data on variation in care for some of the paediatric conditions included in the Atlas and discuss reasons why such variation might be occurring.

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Anecdotes vs. data: can health services research lead to evidence-based ED policies?

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.

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Global Surgery: affordable and indispensable

Surgical care has long been viewed by donors as too costly and complex for low-resource health systems, apart from narrowly focused programs such as surgical contraception. The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery is an extensive review of the need for surgical care in low-resource health systems, the cost-effectiveness of these services, and the Commission’s framework for surgery that is safe, affordable, and timely.

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Probiotic Use in Preterm Infants

Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms, which when administered in adequate amounts, confer health benefits on the host. Their exact mechanism of action is currently unclear, however, their beneficial effects are likely to result from a variety of actions including, alteration of the innate commensal microbiota, modification of gut barrier function, and modulation of intestinal immune responses.

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Food Allergy Epidemic – is it unique to Australia

The rise in food allergy in developed countries is an intriguing phenomenon that has captured the attention of both the medical research community and the media. Although we need to be circumspect about the extent to which it has risen and which countries are most affected, there is little doubt that IgE mediated food allergy and anaphylaxis were rarely reported 50 years ago but are now commonly described. The drivers for this modern day epidemic are poorly understood and indeed it is not clear whether this phenomenon is part of a 2nd wave epidemic of allergy following on from the general rise in allergic disease that was noted around the world at the end of the 21st century or whether the new food allergy epidemic is due to a new set of unique factors

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Ethical issues in caring for asylum seeker children

David went to Nauru in December to see children referred to him. He will present a case related to this visit and will discuss what are our ethical responsibilities to asylum seekers and the role of advocacy

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Understanding brain trauma better in the 21st century

Brain trauma is a common reason for death in children and young adults, a major cause of long-term disability, and huge economic costs from rehabilitation, care and loss of productivity. Understanding the mechanisms of injury and having improved treatment strategies may mitigate some of the burden of neuro-trauma. This talk will cover international efforts to better understand brain trauma. There are many current inadequacies in our knowledge of this condition. Dr Michael Bell and his team at the University of Pittsburg are heading several research projects to answer these issues.

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Mission Accomplished? What novel gene discovery teaches us about leukodystrophies

Leukodystrophies remain a diagnostic challenge for practitioners and families. Next generation sequencing (NGS) offers exciting opportunities to expand our understanding of disease phenotypes and to explore pathophysiologic mechanisms, based on the molecular cause of abnormalities in central nervous system white matter. The diagnostic odyssey and its implications are discussed, from the perspective of an Australian family. Additionally, an update is provided on the contributions of NGS to the description of novel leukodystrophies and their treatments in this ever expanding field.

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Cerebral palsy – a changing landscape 2015 and beyond

The WHO’s International Classification of Functioning (ICF) was published in 2001. Advocates in the field of developmental disability have been promoting its use as an integrated and strengths-based approach to our thinking, actions, and research. Building on the ICF framework, colleagues at CanChild Centre in Canada published a tongue-in-cheek paper entitled “The F-words in Childhood Disability: I swear this is how we should think”.

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