Recombinant fragment of human surfactant protein D to prevent neonatal chronic lung disease (RESPONSE): a protocol for a phase I safety trial in a tertiary neonatal unit.

Introduction: Chronic respiratory morbidity from bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) remains the most common complication of preterm birth and has consequences for later respiratory, cardiovascular and neurodevelopmental outcomes. The early phases of respiratory illness are characterised by rapid consumption of endogenous surfactant and slow replenishment. Exogenous surfactant is routinely administered to infants born before 28 weeks of gestation as prophylaxis.

Job satisfaction and intent to stay in neonatal nursing in England and Wales: a study protocol.

Background: Nursing shortages are an ongoing concern for neonatal units, with many struggling to meet recommended nurse to patient ratios. Workforce data underlines the high proportion of neonatal nurses nearing retirement and a reduced number of nurses joining the profession. In order to recommend strategies to increase recruitment and retention to neonatal nursing, we need to understand the current challenges nurses are facing within the profession.

The NeoPACE study: study protocol for the development of a core outcome set for neonatal palliative care.

Background: Neonatal death is the leading category of death in children under the age of 5 in the UK. Many babies die following decisions between parents and the neonatal team; when a baby is critically unwell, with the support of healthcare professionals, parents may make the decision to stop active treatment and focus on ensuring their baby has a 'good' death. There is very little evidence to support the clinical application of neonatal palliative care and/or end-of-life care, resulting in variation in clinical provision between neonatal units.

Neonatal organ donation: Retrospective audit into potential donation in a single neonatal unit.

Background: Research has shown that many babies who die in neonatal units could have been potential tissue and/or organ donors. Despite the existence of guidelines supporting its implementation, the incidence of neonatal donation remains rare in the United Kingdom.

Aim: The aim of this audit was to retrospectively determine potential eligibility for neonatal tissue and/or organ donation referral in infants who died in a single UK tertiary-level neonatal unit between 2012 and 2021.

Parental experiences of live video streaming technology in neonatal care in England: a qualitative study.

Background: The use of bedside cameras in neonatal units facilitates livestreaming of infants to support parental and family bonding when they are unable to be physically present with their baby. This study aimed to explore the experiences of parents of infants previously admitted for neonatal care and who used live video streaming to view their baby in real-time.

Methods: Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted after discharge with parents of infants admitted for neonatal care on a tertiary level neonatal unit in the UK in 2021.

Cumulative risk factors contributing to hearing loss in preterm infants.

Objective: To investigate individual and concomitant risk factors for hearing loss during neonatal care.

Design: Case-control study.

Setting: Community.

NSW Health COVID-19 Emergency Response Priority Research program: a case study of rapid translation of research into health decision making.

Objectives: The NSW Health COVID-19 Research Program was established in April 2020 to contribute to minimising the health, social and economic impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in New South Wales (NSW). This paper describes the establishment and implemention of one element of the Program, the Emergency Response Priority Research (Emergency Response) workstream, which is focused on the rapid creation of evidence to support urgent operational work for the public health management of COVID-19 in NSW.

Methods: Narrative description.

Cardiac procedures in ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction - the influence of age, geography and Aboriginality.

Background: Timely restoration of bloodflow acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) reduces myocardial damage and improves prognosis. The objective of this study was describe the association of demographic factors with hospitalisation rates for STEMI and time to angiography, Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) and Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) in New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Australia.

Methods: This was an observational cohort study using linked population health data.

Nurse Residency Programs: Key Components for Sustainability.

The purpose of this integrative literature review was to identify commonalities among nurse residency programs deployed for greater than 3 years, showing improved job retention and satisfaction. The Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Model guided this review. Successful, sustainable nurse residency programs have a strong foundation with committed leadership to support transition; a structured program with defined outcomes to promote clinical competence, safe patient care, and professional development; and an evaluation process to guide continual improvement and meet organizational needs.

Gentamicin, genetic variation and deafness in preterm children.

Background: Hearing loss in children born before 32 weeks of gestation is more prevalent than in full term infants. Aminoglycoside antibiotics are routinely used to treat bacterial infections in babies on neonatal intensive care units. However, this type of medication can have harmful effects on the auditory system.

High hepatitis C incidence in new injecting drug users: a policy failure?

Objective: Evidence of ongoing hepatitis C (HCV) transmission among injecting drug users (IDUs) suggests a need for a better understanding of seroconversion characteristics among new IDUs and other vulnerable subgroups. This study aimed to determine incidence of HCV and associated risk factors among new IDUs in Sydney.

Methods: IDUs who had injected drugs in the past six months and who were unaware of their antibody HCV status or knew their serostatus to be negative were recruited through street-based outreach, methadone clinics and needle and syringe programs in south-western Sydney.

Preparing for the next influenza pandemic: a New South Wales perspective.

Pandemic influenza is one of a small number of infectious diseases that pose a significant global threat. Pandemic preparedness has accelerated around the world in recent years in response to the perceived increased risk of a pandemic developing following the emergence of H5N1 avian influenza in domestic poultry flocks in Asia, Africa and Europe. There is a hierarchy of pandemic plans - international, national, state, and local - and harmonisation of all of these is imperative for a coordinated and effective response.

Incidence and risk factors for hepatitis C seroconversion in injecting drug users in Australia.

Aims: To determine the incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and identify risk factors for seroconversion.

Design: Prospective cohort study. Participants were recruited through direct approaches, street-based outreach, methadone and sexual health clinics and needle and syringe programmes.

Meningococcal disease--probable transmission during an international flight.

Two cases of meningococcal disease were identified in passengers who travelled on the same international flight. Both cases were serogroup B with the same allelic profile. The public health action involved chemoprophylaxis for persons seated adjacent to, and in the rows in front and behind, each case.

Risk behaviors and antibody hepatitis B and C prevalence among injecting drug users in south-western Sydney, Australia.

Background And Aim: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is now the leading notifiable disease in Australia. The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of HCV and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and associated risk behaviors among injecting drug users (IDUs) screened in south-western Sydney as part of a multisite prospective cohort study.

Methods: Using a combination of snowball sampling and word-of-mouth recruitment strategies, 377 IDUs were interviewed using a structured questionnaire and tested for exposure to HCV and HBV.

A novel hepatitis B vaccination regimen for adolescents: two doses 12 months apart.

Background: Two- and three-dose hepatitis B vaccinations for adolescents are usually administered using dosing schedules of 6 months duration. This does not suit all circumstances. A 12-month schedule would be useful in schools and settings where only annual vaccination is the most practical option.

Non-multiresistant and multiresistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in community-acquired infections.

Objective: To survey Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from patients presenting from the community, comparing clinical features and antibiotic sensitivity profiles between multiresistant and non-multiresistant methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive isolates.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Participants And Setting: Patients who presented to emergency or dermatology departments in hospitals served by the South Western Sydney Area Health Service between 1 May 1998 and 30 April 1999.

Investigation and control of a cluster of cases of Legionnaires disease in western Sydney.

Three cases of Legionella pneumophila infection were identified in Sydney's west in November 1998. Epidemiological investigations identified an association with one workplace. Environmental sampling revealed that the cooling towers in the workplace, and at 2 other premises within a 1 km radius of the workplace, were positive for L.

Community-acquired, non-multiresistant oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (NORSA) in South Western Sydney.

Community-acquired oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ORSA) infections are an emerging problem in the 1990s in Sydney, Australia. Laboratory data pertaining to all specimens that grew S. aureus between 1/1/1990 and 31/12/1999 were analysed.

Outbreak of echovirus 30 meningitis in Wingecarribee Shire, New South Wales.

An outbreak of aseptic meningitis due to echovirus 30 occurred in the Wingecarribee Shire, NSW, during October to November 1994, with 30 cases fitting the clinical case definition. Cases were ascertained from attendees of the local hospital. Medical files were reviewed and a standard questionnaire administered.

Operation Safe Haven: an evaluation of health surveillance and monitoring in an acute setting.

From May to June 1999, 3,920 ethnic Albanians from Kosovo arrived in Australia as part of Operation Safe Haven. These people were evacuated from refugee camps in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Initial processing in Australia occurred at East Hills Reception Centre, and accommodation for the duration of stay was provided in eight Haven Centres in five States.