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Research
Widening the lens for pandemic preparedness: children must be seen and heardThe Australian and New Zealand Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ANZPID) Group of the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases (ASID) calls for urgent consideration of the needs and voices of children in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in planning for future pandemics.
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Study of Children Aged Under 2 Years Admitted With RSV at Four Australian Hospitals [2021–2022]Primary aim was to review severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) hospitalisations caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children aged < 2 years in paediatric hospitals in Australia. Secondary aims included RSV subtyping, assessing RSV seasonality and contributing to the World Health Organisation's RSV surveillance programme.
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Effectiveness of 2023 southern hemisphere influenza vaccines against severe influenza-associated illness: pooled estimates from eight countries using the test-negative designAnnual estimates of seasonal influenza vaccine effectiveness can guide global risk communication and vaccination strategies to mitigate influenza-associated illness. We aimed to evaluate vaccine effectiveness in countries using the 2023 southern hemisphere influenza vaccine formulation.
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Australian Group on Antimicrobial Research surveillance outcome programs - bloodstream infections and antimicrobial resistance patterns from patients less than 18 years of ageFrom 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021, thirty-eight institutions across Australia submitted data to the Australian Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AGAR) from patients aged < 18 years (AGAR-Kids). Over the two years, 1,679 isolates were reported from 1,611 patients. This AGAR-Kids report aims to describe the population of children and adolescents with bacteraemia reported to AGAR and the proportion of resistant isolates.
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Antimicrobial Resistance in Enterobacterales, Acinetobacter spp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates From Bloodstream Infections in Australian Children, 2013–2021Gram-negative bloodstream infections are associated with significant morbidity and mortality in children. Increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is reported globally, yet efforts to track pediatric AMR at a national level over time are lacking.
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Cohort profile: A population-based record linkage platform to address critical epidemiological evidence gaps in respiratory syncytial virus and other respiratory infectionsThe Western Australia (WA) Respiratory Infections Linked Data Platform is a population-based cohort established to investigate the epidemiology of RSV and other respiratory infections in children aged 0-10 years, incorporating microbiological testing patterns, hospital admissions, emergency department presentations, and socio-demographic data.
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Impact of an evidence-based sepsis pathway on paediatric hospital clinical practice: A quality improvement studyTo assess the impact of implementing a sepsis pathway and education program on key sepsis outcomes and performance targets in a tertiary paediatric hospital.
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Estimating the impact of Western Australia's first respiratory syncytial virus immunisation program for all infants: A mathematical modelling studyThe Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration approved the use of nirsevimab, a long-acting monoclonal antibody for the prevention of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), in November 2023. Western Australia (WA) implemented a combination of nirsevimab administration strategies designed to protect all infants starting in April 2024, before the epidemic season. We developed a dynamic transmission model to predict the impact of WA's RSV immunisation program on infant hospitalisations.
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Haemophilus influenzae remains the predominant otitis media pathogen in Australian children undergoing ventilation tube insertion in the PCV13 eraUnderstanding patterns of bacterial carriage and otitis media (OM) microbiology is crucial for assessing vaccine impact and informing policy. The microbiology of OM can vary with geography, time, and interventions like pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs). We evaluated the microbiology of nasopharyngeal and middle ear effusions in children living in Western Australia, 11 years following the introduction of PCV13.
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“Food faddists and pseudoscientists!”: Reflections on the history of resistance to ultra-processed foodsThe term 'ultra-processed food' emerged in the 1980s, mostly used in reference to highly-processed convenience foods and snacks, often energy-dense, poor in nutrients, and inclusive of various synthetic additives such as emulsifiers, colors, artificial sweeteners, and/or flavor enhancers.
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Refining nosology by modelling variation among facial phenotypes: The RASopathiesIn clinical genetics, establishing an accurate nosology requires analysis of variations in both aetiology and the resulting phenotypes. At the phenotypic level, recognising typical facial gestalts has long supported clinical and molecular diagnosis; however, the objective analysis of facial phenotypic variation remains underdeveloped.
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Association between disability status and dental attendance patterns in Australian children: A national surveyThis study investigated the dental attendance patterns of Australian children with and without disabilities using data from Growing up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children.
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The weight of culture: Societal individualism and flexibility explain large global variations in obesityObesity rates have been rising steeply across the globe in recent decades, posing a major threat to global human health. Despite this almost universal increase, differences between countries remain striking, even among equally developed societies.
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Age of Diagnosis for Co-occurring Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder During Childhood and Adolescence: a Systematic ReviewEarly identification and intervention are recognised as important elements of the clinical pathway for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Children with ASD and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be diagnosed at a different age than children who only have one of these diagnoses.
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Methotrexate-related central neurotoxicity: clinical characteristics, risk factors and genome-wide association study in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemiaSymptomatic methotrexate-related central neurotoxicity (MTX neurotoxicity) is a severe toxicity experienced during acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) therapy with potential long-term neurologic complications. Risk factors and long-term outcomes require further study.
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Early detection of hearing loss for infants in Western Australia: Comparison to international benchmarksTo assess the degree to which timely audiological assessment of congenital hearing loss is achieved at our institution - Perth Children's Hospital, Western Australia, and to review cases which breached this timeframe in order to address barriers to timely assessment. The benchmark used to determine timely assessment is that set out by The Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH) in which diagnostic audiological testing occurs by three months of age for those who do not pass newborn hearing screening.
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Supporting Maternal and Child Mental Health Through Dietary Changes Focused on the Gut MicrobiotaGrowing evidence from preclinical studies, epidemiology, and randomized controlled trials supports a causal role for diet quality in mental disorder risk, and clinical psychiatric guidelines now place diet, along with other life-style behaviors, as foundational treatment targets for mood disorders.