Westmead Hospital

Vascular device practices in extremely preterm infants: an international cross-sectional survey

Abstract Objective To explore global practices in vascular device selection, securement, and monitoring for extremely preterm infants, and to assess regional variation. Study design A web-based cross-sectional survey was completed by one respondent per neonatal unit. Result We re...

Anesthesia as a Partner in Public Health: Enabling National Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 Serosurveillance in Australia

Anesthetic departments played a critical role in Australia’s COVID-19 response by facilitating the collection of residual blood samples from children undergoing elective procedures. Through a partnership with the Pediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance network, this approa...

Rehabilitation management of children with hereditary spastic paraplegia: a retrospective cohort study

Background Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a group of rare, genetically heterogeneous neurodegenerative conditions characterized by progressive lower limb spasticity. In children, rehabilitation management of HSP is commonly extrapolated from cerebral palsy practice, despi...

Mind the Gap: Disparities in Education on Organ Donation and Transplantation-Results of a Global Survey.

Background: Widely accessible education on organ donation and transplantation (ODT) is a tool to reduce waiting lists, as <10% of transplant needs are met (Global Observatory on Donation and Transplantation). We aimed to assess the current state of access to education on ODT worl...

Acceptance of Organs From Deceased Donors: Results of a Global Survey.

Background: With <10% of transplantation needs being met, one contributing factor may be the potential subjectivity in transplant specialists' acceptance of organs. Such decisions, if influenced by knowledge and/or comfort gaps, warrant intervention. We assessed knowledge and com...

Evaluating the use, acceptability, usability, and perceptions of melanoma risk prediction tools for estimating melanoma risk among the community and patients in Australia: a mixed methods study

Abstract Background To identify high-risk individuals, melanoma risk prediction tools have been developed. However, little is known about their use in practice by patients and the community. We assessed the use, usability and acceptability of two validated melanoma risk predictio...

Investigating the role of excipients in mitigating surface adsorption, aggregation and structural degradation in liquid phage formulations

The race to produce therapeutically acceptable phages is driven by their rapid loss of infectivity, placing strain on laboratories, healthcare infrastructure and patients. Enhancing product shelf-life will alleviate this barrier to their upscaling and clinical application. We sys...

Lenalidomide maintenance after initial immunochemotherapy in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia—Final analysis of the international phase III CLL6 RESIDUUM study of the ALLG and FILO groups

Summary Most patients treated for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) fail to achieve measurable residual disease (MRD) negativity. The role of maintenance with the immunomodulatory drug lenalidomide in these patients is unclear. A randomised multicentre phase III trial (ACTRN126...

Drug induced phospholipidosis following haematopoietic stem cell transplantation complicated by graft versus host disease: a small case series

Drug-induced phospholipidosis is a rare histopathological phenomenon associated with an abnormal intracellular accumulation of polar phospholipids, resulting from the use of cationic amphiphilic drugs. We describe two patients who developed acute kidney injury (AKI) likely second...

First-in-human experience from RESET-AF (Rapid onE-Shot Electroporation Trial for Atrial Fibrillation)

Abstract Background and Aims Pulsed field ablation (PFA) is increasingly used to treat patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The RESET-AF was a single-arm, first-in-human, clinical trial of AF ablation using a novel, single-shot PFA system (ElePulse ® , CRC EP, Tustin, CA, USA)...

Oral health education in cardiac rehabilitation: a randomised controlled trial of face-to-face and digital interventions

Despite the evidence supporting an association between oral disease and cardiovascular disease (CVD), oral health as a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular health is rarely addressed. This randomised clinical trial (1:1:1) evaluated whether oral health education improves ora...

Same-day discharge appendicectomy protocol (SDAP): implementation and outcomes from an Australian prospective study

Acute appendicitis is one of the three most common causes for emergency admission for which many patients with uncomplicated appendicectomies require minimal post-operative care. International studies have demonstrated same-day discharge appendicectomy protocols as a safe managem...

Cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients treated with chemoradiotherapy

With national breast cancer screening programs leading to earlier diagnosis and improved treatments, more women are achieving long-term remission. However, this has resulted in rising rates of cardiotoxicity in breast cancer survivors consequent to their cancer therapies. Anthrac...

ANZTCT cytomegalovirus practice survey for allogeneic haemopoietic stem cell transplant and cellular therapy recipients in Australia and New Zealand

BACKGROUND: Despite pre-emptive treatment (PeT), cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease and reactivation remain a clinical concern. In Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), variability exists in the management of CMV for haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients. AIMS AND METH...

Oxygen vs Air at Birth for Moderate- to Late-Preterm Infants

Importance The optimal initial fraction of inspired oxygen (F io 2 ) for delivery room resuscitation of neonates born at 32 to 35 weeks’ gestation is unknown. Objective To compare outcomes for neonates born at 32 to 35 weeks’ gestation when initiating resuscitation with F io 2 0....

Silk Fibroin for Cardiovascular Medical Devices: Review of Material Properties, Applications, and Clinical Potential

Silk fibroin, a natural protein polymer derived from the silkworm Bombyx mori , has emerged as a versatile biomaterial in regenerative medicine. Its mechanical strength, cytocompatibility, slow biodegradability, and tunable properties have positioned silk as a promising candidate...

Weighted sliced inverse regression for scalable supervised dimensionality reduction of spatial transcriptomics data

Abstract With the dramatic take-up of spatially resolved transcriptomics biotechnologies, performing spatially-aware analysis of the resulting data is crucial to maximise advances in biological understanding. Dimensionality reduction is a first step in almost any analysis of spat...

Potential Neonatal Donors in Australia: A National Cohort Study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Neonatal organ donation could significantly expand the deceased donor pool, but referral pathways and acceptance criteria remain highly variable worldwide and determination of neurological death in neonatal patients has traditionally been considered chal...

Clinical Outcomes After Catheter Ablation in Patients With Structural Heart Disease and Ventricular Fibrillation

ABSTRACT Introduction In patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM), recurrent VF may be treated with catheter ablation by targeting triggering premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) and/or ventricular scar homogenization. Data on optimal ablation strategies in patients with non...

Efficacy of D-Mannose in the Management of Urinary Tract Infections: From Acute Treatment to Long-term Prophylaxis — A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of D-mannose for preventing recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), including in kidney transplant recipients, and to clarify discrepancies between early openlabel and placebo-controlled trials.Materials and Methods: PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL (C...