Kids Critical Care Research
The Kids’ Critical Care Research group is a team of doctors and nurses dedicated to improving health outcomes for approximately 1500 critically ill and injured children admitted every year to paediatric intensive care at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
Our research focuses on the range of conditions affecting these patients, with the aim of improving the diagnosis of clinical problems and their management in order to achieve optimal patient outcomes.
A number of research studies are being conducted in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) into various clinical conditions and treatments administered in intensive care. We also contribute data to many collaborative research projects in paediatric intensive care across Australia and New Zealand, as well as internationally.
Current research project highlights include:
- Randomized control trial of nitric oxide on cardiopulmonary bypass to infants – Nitric Oxide on Cardio Pulmonary Bypass in Congenital Heart Disease Study
- Randomized control trial of approaches to ventilation in severe lung disease – Prospect study
- Randomized control trial of approaches to intubation in critically ill children – Thrive study
- Point prevalence study in children ventilated for more than 14 days - LongVentKids Study
- Neurodevelopmental outcome of infants following ECMO support
- Study into a comparison of blood products for the management of severe bleeding in trauma
- Data linkage study of developmental and educational outcomes in children following PICU discharge
- Contributor to the Paediatric Resuscitation Quality Collaborative
The research team
- Dr Marino Festa, Medical Co-Lead, email: marino.festa@health.nsw.gov.au
- Dr Andrea Christoff, Medical Co-lead, email: andrea.christoff@health.nsw.gov.au
> Research Team Members
- Ms Wendy Stephen, Nurse Manager
- Dr Chong Tien Goh, Associate Clinical Lecturer and Staff Specialist
- Dr David Schell, Staff Specialist
- Dr Elena Cavazzoni, Staff Specialist
- Dr. Greg Kelly, Staff Specialist
- Dr. Himanshu Aneja, Staff Specialist
- Dr. Jonathan Egan, Staff Specialist, Conjoint Senior Lecturer.
- Dr. Katie Moynihan, Locum Staff Specialist
- Dr Melanie Jansen, Staff Specialist
- Dr Nitesh Singhal, Staff Specialist
- Dr Robin Choong, Staff Specialist
- Dr Stephen Jacobe, Clinical Associate Professor and Staff Specialist
- Dr Vishal Jatana, Staff Specialist
- Jennifer Darvas, Registered Nurse
- Elissa Haddrick, Registered Nurse
- Jaisa Kuriakose, Clinical Nurse Educator/Registered Nurse
Key publications
2019
Study protocol: NITric oxide during cardiopulmonary bypass to improve Recovery in Infants with Congenital heart defects (NITRIC trial): a randomized controlled trial. Schlapbach LJ, Horton SB, Long DA, Beca J, Erickson S, Festa M, d’Udekem Y, Alphonso N, Winlaw D, Johnson K, Delzoppo C, van Loon K, Gannon B, Fooken J, Blumenthal A, Young P, Jones M, Butt Schibler A, on behalf of the NITRIC Study Group, the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Clinical Trials Group (ANZICS CTG), the Paediatric Critical Care Research group (PCCRG) and the ANZICS Paediatric Study Group (PSG). BMJ Open 2019;9:e026664
Gender equality in science, medicine, and global health: where are we at and why does it matter? Shannon G, Jansen M, Williams K, et al, The Lancet 2019, 393:560-69
Transnasal Humidified Rapid Insufflation Ventilatory Exchange in children requiring emergent intubation (Kids THRIVE): a protocol for a randomised controlled trial., on behalf of the Paediatric Critical Care Research Group (PCCRG), Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative (PREDICT) and the Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Paediatric Study Group (ANZICS PSG). Shane George, Susan Humphreys, Tara Williams, Ben Gelbart, Arjun Chavan, Katie Rasmussen, Anusha Ganeshalingham, Simon Erickson, Subodh Suhas Ganu, Nitesh Singhal, Kelly Foster, Brenda Gannon, Kristen Gibbons,Luregn J Schlapbach, Marino Festa, Stuart Dalziel, Andreas Schibler, BMJ Open 2019;9:e025997
Epidemiology of childhood death in Australian and New Zealand intensive care units. Intensive care medicine, Moynihan, K.M., Alexander, P.M., Schlapbach, L.J., Millar, J., Jacobe, S., Ravindranathan, H., Croston, E.J., Staffa, S.J., Burns, J.P. and Gelbart, B., 2019. 45(9), pp.1262-1271.
Successful embolization of an infected aneurysm of a subsegmental pulmonary artery in an infant with necrotizing MRSA pneumonia, Radiology Case Reports, Burren J.M, Hogarth S, Rashid M, Masters I.B, Anderson B, Borzi P, Grips M, Volume 14, Issue 9, 2019, Pages 1079-1083
Recombinant activated factor VII in neonatal cardiac surgery. European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Christoff A.S, Winlaw D.S, Curtin J, Barnes E.H, Egan J.R. 2019 May 1;55(5):817-822.
2018
Goldilocks meets heparin dosing—enough but not too much. J.R. Egan, T. Kilo, D.S. Winlaw. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2018 Jul;156(1):341-342
Fluid bolus therapy in critically ill children: a survey of practice among paediatric intensive care doctors in Australia and New Zealand. Gelbart B, Schlapbach L, Ganeshalingham A, Ganu S, Erickson S, Oberender F, Hoq M, Williams G, George S, Festa M; Crit Care Resusc. 2018 Jun;20(2):131-138.
Dedicated cardiac intensive care units: Good for the patient, good for the surgeon. Festa M, Winlaw DS. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2018 Jun;155(6):2604-2605.
Outcomes of paediatric critical care asthma patients, N Rampersad, B Wilkins, J.R. Egan. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 54 (2018) Jun;54(6):633-637.
Trends in Mortality in an Australian Teritary Surgical Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Tauro JK, Walker K, Halliday R, Jatana V, Trivedi A, J Neonatal Surg, 2018; 7:4
2017
Maintenance fluid practices in paediatric intensive care units in Australia and New Zealand. Bihari S, Gelbart B, Seppelt I, Thompson K, Watts N, Prakash S, Festa M, Bersten A; The George Institute for Global Health, Crit Care Resusc. 2017 Dec;19(4):310-317.
The intensive care medicine clinical research agenda in paediatrics. Peters MJ, Argent A, Festa M, Leteurtre S, Piva J, Thompson A, Willson D, Tissières P, Tucci M, Lacroix J. Intensive Care Med. 2017 Sep;43(9):1210-1224.
Contemporary incidence of stroke (focal infarct and/or haemorrhage) determined by neuroimaging and neurodevelopmental disability at 12 months of age in neonates undergoing cardiac surgery utilizing cardiopulmonary bypass. Verrall CE, Walker K, Loughran-Fowlds A, Prelog K, Goetti R, Troedson C, Julian Ayer, Jonathan Egan, Robert Halliday, Yishay Orr, Gary F. Sholler, Nadia Badawi and David S. Winlaw. CardioVasc Thorac Surg 2017
Humidified high-flow nasal cannula oxygen in bronshiolitis reduces need for invasive ventilation but not intensive care admission. Goh CT, Kirby L, Schell D, Egan JR. J Paediatr Child Health. 2017 Sep;53(9):897-902
Prediction of pediatric sepsis mortality within 1 h of intensive care admission. Schlapbach LJ, MacLaren G, Festa M, Alexander J, Erickson S, Beca J, Slater A, Schibler A, Pilcher D, Millar J, Straney L; Intensive Care Med. 2017 Aug;43(8):1085-1096.
The Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Clinical Trials Group point prevalence program, 2009-2016. Thompson K, Hammond N, Eastwood G, Festa M, Glass P, Rajbhandari D, Seppelt I, Taylor C, Watts N, Myburgh J, Crit Care Resusc. 2017 Mar;19(1):88-93.
2016
Lack of MG53 in human heart precludes utility as a biomarker of myocardial injury or endogenous cardioprotective factor. Frances A. Lemckert, Adam Bournazos, Daniel M. Eckert, Manuel Kenzler, Joanne M. Hawkes, Tanya L. Butler, Bradley Ceely, Kathryn N. North, David S. Winlaw, Jonathan R. Egan, Sandra T. Cooper. Cardiovasc Res 2016 May 15;110(2):178-87
The Impact of Observed Trauma on Parents in a PICU, S Khanna, JK Finlay, V Jatana, AM Gouffe, S Redshaw, Pediatr Crit Care Med, 2016; 17:e154-e158
Ventilation strategies in paediatric inhalation injury. Goh CT, Jacobe S. Paediatr Respir Rev. 2016 Sep;20:3-9
End-of-life care in the intensive care unit, Myburgh J, Abillama F, Chiumello D, Dobb G, Jacobe S, Kleinpell R, Koh Y, Martin C, Michalsen A, Pelosi P, Torra LB. J Crit Care. 2016 Aug 31;34:125-30.
The Pediatric Nurse Practitioner – an Australian Perspective. Kirby L, Ceely B, Duns N, Haddad M, Tegg O, Festa M, Jacobe S. Pediatr Intens Care Nursing 2016; 17 (1)
