Author: Marian Chandler

An award ceremony was held in Auckland New Zealand to acknowledge the work of Fulbright grantees, one of whom is Dr Dustin Ballard (see photo: striped shirt, blue tie, centre).

Dustin is co-chair of the Clinical Research on Emergency Services & Treatments (CREST) Network based in Kaiser in Northern California, and  has been working with PREDICT over the past 6 months (based at Starship) on the Head Injury Guidelines.

He returns to California later in the month – we wish him well.  He has been a very valuable contributor to this project.

Sharon O’Brien was a recent guest speaker at PATTERN (Paediatric Teaching and Research Network), sharing her experience and insights on how to do great things in paediatric research, and the benefits of working collaboratively.  This also provided an excellent opportunity to increase awareness of PREDICT to a wider audience.

Congratulations to Simon Craig and the team of researchers from Monash University, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, University of Western Australia, Melbourne University, Deakin University and the Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative (PREDICT) network for receiving five million dollars in funding in the recently announced Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Million Minds Mission grant opportunity.

This grant was awarded for “The Kids are Not Okay: Emergency Department management of acute mental health crises in children and young people.”

A collaborative team of emergency physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, paediatricians and research experts has been formed to understand and improve care for children and adolescents presenting with acute mental health problems. The research, to be conducted across multiple hospitals across the PREDICT network, will include observational studies and clinical trials.

Speaking about the research Simon said, “We plan to explore factors which influence how staff care for these patients, and will develop – in partnership with patients, families and clinicians – priorities for research in this area. Our research team will also examine current practice and clinical outcomes for these patients, and conduct trials on an enhanced safety planning intervention to help patients with suicidal thoughts, and medication trials for acute severe behavioural disturbance.”

“Across Australia, there has been an alarming increase in the number of children and adolescents presenting to emergency departments with concerns relating to mental health such as self-harm, depression, and behavioural disturbance. This funding provides a wonderful opportunity for us to work out why mental health presentations to the ED are increasing and how to provide improved care to these patients.”

Our “Getting to know you” segment ensures PREDICT members are aware of new members, their interests and areas of expertise and where they are located.  This month we introduce Viet Tran from Royal Hobart Hospital.

“I work at the Royal Hobart Hospital Emergency Department, a tertiary centre which is also Australia’s second oldest hospital. We see approximately 60,000 presentations per annum with a quarter being paediatric”.

My research interests currently involve low value care and the ‘Choosing Wisely’ ethos, from which paediatric care far succeeds adult medicine!

 

Our “Getting to know you” segment ensures PREDICT members are aware of new members, their interests and areas of expertise and where they are located.  This month we introduce Robert Millar from the Austin Hospital.

“I’m a Paediatric Emergency Physician at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne, a tertiary hospital with a secondary level paediatric service. The ED sees more than 85,000 patients annually, of which 20% are children.

My research interests to date have been in procedural sedation, paediatric ketoacidosis, and public policy as it influences PEM practice. I’m looking forward to broadening this through involvement with PREDICT.”

PERN PNEUMONIA – report on Australia and New Zealand sites 

Sites active

• 9 out of 13 Australia / New Zealand sites have completed governance requirements and are able to commence enrolling patients.

Enrolment:

• Over 17 patients have been enrolled to date across 6 sites

Comments:

• Overall the study the study has commenced smoothly with few issues.
• On a practical level, study enrolment is not difficult or time consuming. In essence, after brief verbal consent there are a few questions that investigators need to ask parents that are not routinely collected- such as if there is a smoker in the house and about influenza vaccinations, but most information can be extracted from the medical records.
• Some sites will find it easier to enrol during non clinical time – for others enrolment is easier during clinical shifts. At RCH we are using a mix of both.
• Please advise Franz of any concerns or difficulties with interpretation of eligibility or other issues.

Also see newsletter from PERN Central.

Trybooking is NOW OPEN to register for the PREDICT members meeting on 24/10/19.  The DEADLINE to request sponsorship for accommodation and/or flights is 12/7/19.  See full details below:

The PREDICT members meeting will be held in October 2019, aligned with the PAC/APLS conference and held at the same venue.

DATE: Thursday 24/10/19 (one day meeting only this year)

TIME: 10.00am – 5.30pm (later start time to accommodate morning flights from eastern states)

VENUE: Pan Pacific Perth, 207 Adelaide Terrace, Perth

REGISTRATION

• All attendees must register via Trybooking and be a PREDICT member. Registration is now open.
• Registrations close on Friday 18/10/19.
• If you wish to attend and are not a PREDICT member contact Cate Wilson regarding membership application prior to proceeding with Trybooking.
• Approximately 8-10 PREDICT members will be funded to attend (subject to costs). This is targeted to fund non-medical staff . We request that medical staff attending utilise CME support.
• If you wish to have your travel and/or accommodation funded by PREDICT you must indicate this by 12/7/19 when completing your registration. Successful applicants will be confirmed by email.
• Accommodation and travel will be booked by Marian for funded attendees and the PREDICT Executive only. Other members attending the meeting are requested to make their own arrangements.
• Meeting agenda will be available closer to the date.
  
  Dinner
• This year, the PREDICT dinner will be held the evening before the meeting on Wednesday 23/10/2019 at 7.30pm at the Sentinel Bar and Grill which is a short walk from the Pan Pacific.
• The dinner includes a 3 course menu with a range of meat, seafood and vegetarian options. Drinks are available at bar prices.
• Payment of $65 (plus 50 cent booking fee) must be made via Trybooking during the registration process.
• Booking and payment must be received by Friday 18/10/19 as the restaurant requires confirmation of numbers by this deadline.

The PREDICT members meeting will be held in October 2019, aligned with the PAC/APLS conference and held at the same venue.

DATE: Thursday 24/10/19 (one day meeting only this year)

TIME: 10.00am – 5.30pm (later start time to accommodate morning flights from eastern states)

VENUE: Pan Pacific Perth, 207 Adelaide Terrace, Perth

REGISTRATION

• All attendees must register via Trybooking and be a PREDICT member. Registration is now closed.
• If you wish to attend and are not a PREDICT member contact Cate Wilson regarding membership application prior to proceeding with Trybooking.
• Approximately 8-10 PREDICT members will be funded to attend (subject to costs). This is targeted to fund non-medical staff . We request that medical staff attending utilise CME support.
• If you wish to have your travel and/or accommodation funded by PREDICT you must indicate this by 12/7/19 when completing your registration. Successful applicants will be confirmed by email.
• Accommodation and travel will be booked by Marian for funded attendees and the PREDICT Executive only. Other members attending the meeting are requested to make their own arrangements.
• Meeting agenda available here.
  
  Dinner
• This year, the PREDICT dinner will be held the evening before the meeting on Wednesday 23/10/2019 at 7.30pm at the Sentinel Bar and Grill which is a short walk from the Pan Pacific.
• The dinner includes a 3 course menu with a range of meat, seafood and vegetarian options. Drinks are available at bar prices.
• Payment of $65 (plus 50 cent booking fee) must be made via Trybooking during the registration process.
• Booking and payment must be received by Wednesday 16/10/19 as the restaurant requires confirmation of numbers by this deadline.

Libby Haskell has been awarded the Academic Pediatric Association (APA) Research Award for Best Abstract by a Student at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting held in Baltimore in the US 2019.

The award recognises research excellence by trainees (including fellows and registrars) in the fields of general paediatrics (including public health, epidemiology, health policy, and underserved populations), health services research, education, adolescent medicine, child abuse, developmental/behavioural paediatrics, emergency medicine, and hospitalist medicine.

Congratulations and well done Libby.

Congratulations to the authors of the following PREDICT accepted publications:

Dalziel SR, Borland ML, Furyk J, Bonisch M, Neutze J, Donath S, Francis KL, Sharpe C, Harvey AS, Davidson A, Craig S, Phillips N, George S, Rao A, Cheng N, Zhang M, Kochar A, Brabyn C, Oakley E, Babl FE; PREDICT research network. Levetiracetam versus phenytoin for second-line treatment of convulsive status epilepticus in children (ConSEPT): an open-label, multicentre, randomised controlled trial.  Lancet. 2019 Apr 17. pii: S0140-6736(19)30722-6. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30722-6. [Epub ahead of print] [link].

Long E, Craig S, Babl FE, Tavender E, Lunny C. How to conduct a systematic review in the field of Emergency Medicine, EMA (in press). [link].

Bressan S, Kochar A, Oakley E, Borland M, Phillips N, Dalton S, Lyttle MD, Hearps S, Cheek JA, Furyk J, Neutze J, Dalziel S, Babl FE; Paediatric Research in Emergency Department International Collaborative (PREDICT) group. Traumatic brain injury in young children with isolated scalp haematoma. Arch Dis Child. 2019 Mar 4. pii: archdischild-2018-316066. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2018-316066. [Epub ahead of print]. [link].

Pfeiffer H, Smith A, Kemp AM, Cowley LE, Cheek JA, Dalziel SR, Borland ML, O’Brien S, Bonisch M, Neutze J, Oakley E1, Crowe L, Hearps SJC, Lyttle MD, Bressan S, Babl FE; Paediatric Research in Emergency Department International Collaborative (PREDICT).  External Validation of the PediBIRN Clinical Prediction Rule for Abusive Head Trauma.  Pediatrics. 2018 May;141(5). pii: e20173674. doi: 10.1542/peds.2017-3674.[link].