World-first findings from the collaborative REACT study – a joint project between The Kids Research Institute Australia, PCH, UWA and Curtin University – have led to the asthma medication Ventolin being routinely given to paediatric patients before tonsillectomy surgery to prevent respiratory complications.
REACT, a randomised clinical trial run from 2014 to 2017, demonstrated for the first time that simply giving a child two puffs of the over-the-counter medication Ventolin prior to anaesthesia significantly decreased respiratory complications – by 40 per cent – during and after tonsillectomy surgery, particularly in high risk children.
Since publication of the results in the international journal, JAMA Pediatrics, in April 2019, Ventolin has been implemented in multiple hospitals and institutions around the globe as the standard premedication prior to tonsillectomy, particularly across the US and Europe.
Lead researcher and PCH anaesthetist Professor Britta Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg said tonsillectomy was one of the most frequently performed surgical procedures in children, with around 40,000 carried out in Australia each year.
“Around 1,000 tonsillectomies were performed at PCH last year and up to half of those having this procedure will experience breathing problems at some stage during or after the procedure,” Professor Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg said.
“Although most of these complications are minor, such as easily managed airway obstructions and mild desaturations, others can be more serious and have long-term effects.”
