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Research

Reasons for elective surgery cancelations and their impact vary from one institution to another. Cancelations have emotional and financial implications for patients and their families. Our service has a particularly broad and geographically diverse patient population; hence, we sought to examine these impacts in our service.

Research

Under basal insulin levels, there is an inverted U relationship between exercise intensity and exogenous glucose requirements to maintain stable blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetes (T1D), with no glucose required for intense exercise (80% V̇O2 peak), implying that high-intensity exercise is not conducive to hypoglycemia.

Research

Overall, infant immunisation coverage is currently >90% in Australia, but there are pockets of under-immunised children including children from migrant backgrounds.

Research

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infections are notoriously complicated by the ability of the organism to grow in biofilms and are difficult to eradicate with antimicrobial therapy.

Research

In about half of all patients with a suspected monogenic disease, genomic investigations fail to identify the diagnosis. A contributing factor is the difficulty with repetitive regions of the genome, such as those generated by segmental duplications. The ATAD3 locus is one such region, in which recessive deletions and dominant duplications have recently been reported to cause lethal perinatal mitochondrial diseases characterized by pontocerebellar hypoplasia or cardiomyopathy, respectively.

Research

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare genetic disorder characterised by neurodevelopmental delays, hyperphagia, difficulties with social communication and challenging behaviours. Individuals require intensive supervision from caregivers which may negatively affect caregiver quality of life. This study used data collected in the Australasian PWS Registry to evaluate associations between child behaviours and caregiver mental well-being.

Research

Hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes (HCPS) account for at least 10% of paediatric cancers.1 Li‐Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) is a dominant HCPS caused by mutations in the TP53 gene and is associated with an 80–90% lifetime risk of cancer, commencing in infancy.2 Children of affected individuals are at 50% risk of inheriting the family mutation.

Research

The BCG vaccine has long been recognized for reducing the risk to suffer from infectious diseases unrelated to its target disease, tuberculosis. Evidence from human trials demonstrate substantial reductions in all-cause mortality, especially in the first week of life. Observational studies have identified an association between BCG vaccination and reduced risk of respiratory infectious disease and clinical malaria later in childhood.

Research

Planetary health is a broad multidisciplinary effort that attempts to address what has been described as “Anthropocene Syndrome”—the wicked, interrelated challenges of our time. These include, but are not limited to, grotesque biodiversity losses, climate change, environmental degradation, resource depletion, the global burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), health inequalities, social injustices, erosion of wisdom and civility, together with the many structural underpinnings of these grand challenges.

Research

A previous cohort of adenotonsillectomy patients at our institution demonstrated moderate-severe post-tonsillectomy pain scores lasting a median (range) duration of 6 (0-23) days and postdischarge nausea and vomiting affecting 8% of children on day 1 following surgery. In this subsequent cohort, we evaluate the impact of changes to our discharge medication and parental education on post-tonsillectomy pain and recovery profile.