Author: Marian Chandler

PEAChY-0: Pharmacological Emergency management of Agitation in Children and Young people – A randomised controlled trial of Oral medication

PEAChY-M: Pharmacological Emergency management of Agitation in Children and Young people – A randomised controlled trial of IntraMuscular medication

Trial Designs:

Randomised, controlled, open-label, multi-centre, phase III superiority effectiveness trials of: ORAL olanzapine vs ORAL diazepam and IM olanzapine vs IM droperidol.

Aim:

To determine in children and adolescents aged ≥9 years to <18 years with acute severe behavioural disturbance (ASBD) whether oral olanzapine is more effective than oral diazepam and whether IM olanzapine is more effective than IM droperidol at achieving successful sedation at 1 hour post randomisation, without the requirement of additional medication. The Sedation Assessment Tool (SAT) will be used to score sedation and agitation levels – a SAT of ≤0 will be considered “successful sedation”.

Setting & Target:

7 PREDICT paediatric ED sites in Australia.  A total of 348 participants will be recruited in each trial.

• Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne – Recruitment commenced 18/10/21 for PEAChY-O and 20/10/21 for PEAChY-M.
• Monash Medical Centre – Recruitment commenced 6/6/22.
• Perth Children’s Hospital – Recruitment commenced 23/6/22.
• Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide – Recruitment commenced 21/5/22.
• Children’s Hospital at Westmead – RGO approval obtained 30/5/22 for PEAChY-O
• Gold Coast University Hospital – RGO approval obtained 25/10/21 for PEAChY-O and PEAChY-M 27/7/22.
• Queensland Children’s Hospital – awaiting PHAs.

Recruitment updates:

PEAChY-O Status: 

• Royal Children’s Hospital: 46
• Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide:12
• Monash Medical Centre: 6
• Perth Children’s Hospital:1

TOTAL: 65

PEAChY-M Status: 

• Royal Children’s Hospital: 15
• Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide: 3
• Monash Medical Centre: 1
• Perth Children’s Hospital: 3

TOTAL: 22

Update:

• First annual site visits planned for August/September for recruiting sites.

We have scheduled up to three  “New research idea” presentations at the PREDICT members meeting being held face to face and via ZOOM on Thursday 20th of October 2021.

Do you have a proposal you would like to develop and present for feedback?

If so, please email the PREDICT research co-ordinator Catherine.wilson@mcri.edu.au, a 1 – 2 page proposal by Friday 9th September 2022.

The 3 researchers selected to present their idea will receive mentoring from one of the PREDICT Executive with relevant expertise.

Presenters will be given 5 minutes to present the idea with an extra 10 minutes for discussion and questions. Presentations will be confirmed by 16th September 2022 and presentation times given later on.

 

Dear PREDICT members,

Our next PREDICT Members meeting is coming up on October 20th 2022 and the positions on the PREDICT Executive will be voted in prior to this, for participation commencing 2023.

This is a call to all PREDICT members for nominations from anyone wishing to be considered for a position on the 2023 PREDICT Executive for one of eight positions.  Nominations will close on Friday 2nd of September at 5pm.

• Executive (1)
• Executive (2)
• Executive (3)
• Executive (4)
• Executive (5)
• Executive (6)
• Executive (7)
• Executive (8)
  

Please note – the above roles are all the same. Once elected the executive will elect a Chair and Vice Chair from the executive members.  A Past Chair will be an ex-officio member of the Executive for a 2 year period after ceasing to be the committee Chair.

Positions on the Executive Committee are held for a 2 year term. The Chair position can be held for a maximum 4 year consecutive term.  Once a Chair has stepped down they will serve as Past Chair for 2 years.

Other appointed positions

There will also be two additional positions appointed by the Executive after a formal expression of interest (EOI). The request for an EOI and appointment of these positions will take place once the core Executive is established. These include:

• Research Assistant representative
• An enrolled Research Higher Degree representative

The Executive Committee also retains the right to co-opt further members from the membership or outside persons in a non-voting role to assist with its business.  These individuals will have core skills related to PREDICT’s mission, or hold a position that is closely aligned with the functions of the Executive Committee (for example, Chief Investigator in a Centre of Research Excellence based on PREDICT’s research).

What does being on the Executive involve?

• A role on the Executive requires active involvement in approximately monthly meetings about the networks operations (6 x teleconferences and 2-3 x 1 day face to face meetings per year of which 3 are in Melbourne and 1 usually interstate, (expenses are paid to attend).  It also involves regular communication and response to issues as they arise on a weekly basis.
• You can nominate yourself for one position only.
• Current incumbents can nominate themselves for another 2 year term.
• You can nominate another person for a positions but they must agree to be nominated. This will be confirmed by the Network Coordinator.
  The decision for appointment is decided by the number of membership votes received which will occur once the nominations are finalised.

What to do:

If you wish to nominate yourself or someone else please click on the link below and complete the following information:
https://redcap.link/pup9o9db

– Your title and name
– Your craft group and current position held
– The primary organisation you work with
– The state you are based in
– Please write a brief description (max. 80 words) of why you wish to be part of the Executive and what skills you bring.

NB. This information will be used in the voting form

**Nominations must be received by COB Friday 2nd of September 2022**
All nominees will remain confidential until the voting commences.

What happens next?

Once the nomination period is complete the voting process will be organised.  Voting will open on 12th September through to the 7th October 2022.  Members will be emailed a personalised link allowing them to access the voting form in REDCap.  Cate Wilson will be the voting returns officer.

Successful candidates will be notified in early October 2022.

The PREDICT Executive positions will be formally announced at the Members meeting on 20/10/22.

The PREDICT members meeting will be held on October 20th 2022 at the Larwill Hotel, Melbourne (next to the RCH).  This will be a hybrid event with a Zoom link provided for those who are unable to attend in person.

DATE: Thursday 20/10/22

TIME: 10.00am – 5.00pm

VENUE: The Larwill Hotel, 48 Flemington Road, Parkville, Melbourne.

Further details including registration process will be advised soon.  This meeting has previously been forwarded as a calendar invite.  Please check that it is in your diary.

See 2022 meeting schedule here.

Registration via Trybooking opening early August.

Congratulations to the following PREDICT authors:

Dalziel SR, Haskell L, O’Brien S, Borland ML, Plint AC, Babl FE, Oakley E. Bronchiolitis. Lancet. 2022 Jul 1:S0140-6736(22)01016-9. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01016-9. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35785792.

 

 

 

 

Forty-three clinical research staff from 10 sites across Australia, attended training for the CHOICE UTI, SONIC, PROMPT Bolus, SENTINEL and PEACHY O and M studies.  This was held at the Centre for Children’s Health Research in Brisbane, on 2 and 3^rd of June 2022.

This was the first face to face training event held since pre-COVID times and by all accounts it was a great success! The meeting provided the opportunity to finally meet fellow colleagues in the research team and there is nothing quite like being able to ask questions and give answers in a face to face context!

Thanks to the organising team including: Marian Chandler, Amanda Williams, Sharon O’Brien, Natalie Phillips, Kate Klein, Elyssia Bourke and Cate Wilson.

Study of Neck Injury Imaging in Children (SONIC): Improving the Diagnosis of Spinal Cord, Bone and Ligament Injuries

Many children sustain head and neck trauma during their lifetime. Significant neck injuries – to spinal cord, neck bones and connecting ligaments – can be identified by performing neck imaging with x-rays, or, if needed, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. Yet, it is unclear which children should receive neck imaging in the emergency department (ED), especially in the context of increasing concerns about radiation-induced cancer in children and the discomfort and delays of immobilisation prior to imaging.

This study aims to:

(i) investigate the accuracy of existing neck injury clinical decision rules (CDRs) to detect neck injuries in children (external validation) of adult focussed CDRs and the newly developed paediatric PECARN CDR
(ii) derive and validate a new CDR for neck imaging in children (the SONIC CDR),
(iii) assess the cost implications of different CDRs in children.
(iv) investigate the epidemiology of cervical spine injuries in ANZ.

Study design:

Multicentre, prospective observational study.

Timeframe:

2020 – 2025

Sites:

• Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne (VIC)
• Monash Children’s Hospital, Melbourne (VIC)
• Queensland Children’s Hospital (QLD)
• Logan Hospital (QLD)
• Sunshine Coast University Hospital (QLD)
• Gold Coast University Hospital (QLD)
• Perth Children’s Hospital, Perth (WA)
• Children’s Hospital at Westmead (NSW)
• Sydney Children’s Hospital (NSW)
• Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide (SA)
• Darwin Hospital (NT)
• Kids First, Auckland (NZ)
• Starship Children’s Hospital, Auckland (NZ)

Sample:

PREDICT ~30,000 (depending on prevalence of injuries), children aged <16 yrs with possible neck

News:

Recruitment has commenced at 8 Australian sites (Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Queensland Children’s Hospital, Perth Children’s Hospital, Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide and Darwin Hospital, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast University Hospitals and Monash Hospital Victoria, with over 1000 patients enrolled to date.

Governance approvals are underway for the remaining 3 Australian sites with hopes to commence recruitment at these in the coming weeks. We are also awaiting final ethics approval for NZ and hope to commence site education and recruitment in the coming months and therefore having all 13 sites in full recruitment mode before the end of the year!

The PREDICT Executive finally met face face in Melbourne on June 15^th 2022 following over two years of the pandemic and travel restrictions.

Hopefully we will be able to have more meetings in person in the future, including our members meeting in October.

 

The PREDICT members meeting will be held on October 20th 2022 at the Larwill Hotel, Melbourne (next to the RCH).  This will be a hybrid event with a Zoom link provided for those who are unable to attend in person.

DATE: Thursday 20/10/22

TIME: 10.00am – 5.00pm

VENUE: The Larwill Hotel, 48 Flemington Road, Parkville, Melbourne.

Further details including registration process will be advised soon.  This meeting has previously been forwarded as a calendar invite.  Please check that it is in your diary.

See 2022 meeting schedule here.

Registration open early August.

Congratulations to our Chair of PREDICT, Emergency Physician and the Director of Emergency Research, Professor Meredith Borland who has been named as a member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for her service to emergency medicine, particularly paediatrics and to medical research!

Professor Borland has been a member of PREDICT since its inception and is currently Chair of PREDICT for the past four years.  Over this time, she has made a huge contribution to our network’s development and research.  She has also undertaken several decades of research at the Emergency Department (ED) at PCH hospital. and built a reputation as a highly regarded national and international researcher in emergency research dating back to 2001.  Her world leading research has changed practice in emergency departments around the world.

We are delighted to see Professor Borland recognised with this richly deserved honour.

In case you missed this video recently, you can find out more about Professor Borland’s story here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESqrLLUb4rE.