Research Portfolio

Basel Syncope Evaluation Study: BASEL IX Study

Management of patients with syncope (loss of consciousness) is a serious problem concerning 1 - 2 per cent of Emergency Department presentations. Of these, it is known that between six and 20 per cent of patients will have a problem with their heart. The rapid and accurate identification of patients with cardiac related syncope is an important clinical need which until this time has not been met. This observational study will evaluate the diagnostic value of patients’ history, clinical judgement and new blood tests (biomarkers) for cardiac syncope. The study will recruit 720 adult patients across multiple sites internationally. Eligibility…

Principal Investigator: Prof Louise Cullen
Amount Awarded: $32,100
Institution: Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital

High Flow Nasal Cannula treatment for viral Bronchiolitis, a randomised controlled trial

Acute respiratory disease is the leading cause for infants and children needing hospital admission. The main focus of hospital treatment is oxygen therapy beside disease specific treatment like inhalers for asthma or antibiotics for pneumonia. 10 to 20% of these infants or children need higher level of care at some point of their illness and will be transferred to a children’s hospital intensive care unit. This is not only expensive and imposes a huge burden on health care costs but more importantly is very stressful for these children and families because they are taken out of their familiar environment. Recent…

Principal Investigator: Dr Christa Bell
Amount Awarded: $50,800
Institution: Gold Coast University Hospital

ConSEPT: Convulsive Status Epilepticus Paediatric Trial

Convulsive Status Epilepticus (CSE) is the most common childhood neurological emergency, sometimes resulting in death or serious disability. CSE is managed with anticonvulsant medications in a step-wise approach until seizures stop. While some management strategies for CSE are well supported by evidence (e.g. initial administration of benzodiazepines), subsequent strategies are based on expert consensus and not evidence. Phenytoin, the traditional second line agent for CSE has a high failure rate, causes adverse events and must be administered slowly. Levetiracetam, a newer anticonvulsant, has a favourable adverse events profile, can be administered quickly and has good efficacy for various seizure types.…

Principal Investigator: Dr Jeremy Furyk
Amount Awarded: $147,820
Institution: The Townsville Hospital

Adrenaline Delivery through Ventilation of Aerosolised Nanoparticles in Cardiac arrEst (ADVANCE Study)

Every second counts when a patient’s heart stops and critical to this is restarting the heart and maximising blood flow to the brain. Without adequate blood flow to the brain, eventual survivors can be left with a devastating brain injury and be forced to live for their remaining years with severely reduced quality of life. The rapid delivery of adrenaline to restore cardiac function and deliver blood to the brain is critical to improving survival. Current techniques for delivering adrenaline focus on cannulating a vein. This can take many of those crucial seconds and more frequently several minutes, as the…

Principal Investigator: Dr Andrew Staib
Amount Awarded: $250,000
Institution: The Prince Charles Hospital

Multicentre randomised controlled trial incorporating bedside lung ultrasound into the diagnosis of congestive cardiac failure in breathless older patients.

Many older persons present to the Emergency Department complaining of shortness of breath (Dyspnoea). This can be an important forewarning of heart failure, but is also present in many other conditions. In most cases, several bedside tests are carried out to identify those patients with heart failure. Despite these investigations, which include blood tests, electrocardiograph and chest x-ray, heart failure is initially misdiagnosed in up to one quarter of patients in the emergency department. This project focuses on secondary prevention of the complications of the disease caused by missed diagnosis. Some European hospitals use bedside lung ultrasound as an adjunct…

Principal Investigator: Dr Kylie Baker
Amount Awarded: $195,542.00
Institution: Ipswich Hospital