Effect of Low-Dose Aspirin on the Course of Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Secondary Analysis of the ASPREE Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in old age. There is no proven intervention to prevent AMD and, apart from lifestyle, nutritional, and supplement advice, there is no intervention to delay its progression.

Objective: To determine the impact of long-term low-dose aspirin on the incidence and progression of AMD.

Symptoms of depression and risk of emergency department visits among people aged 70 years and over.

Background: Older people experiencing depression and anxiety have higher rates of health service utilisation than others, but little is known about whether these influence their seeking of emergency care. The aim was to examine the associations between symptoms of depression and the use of emergency health care, in an Australian context, among a population of people aged 70 years and over initially free of cardiovascular disease, dementia or major physical disability.

Methods: We undertook secondary analyses of data from a large cohort of community-dwelling Australians aged [Formula: see text]70 years.

Infective complications in cancer patients treated with subcutaneous versus intravenous trastuzumab and rituximab: An individual patient data meta-analysis.

Background: Investigation of infection risk with subcutaneous versus intravenous trastuzumab and rituximab administration in an individual patient data (IPD) and published data meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs).

Methods: Databases were searched to September 2021. Primary outcomes were serious and high-grade infection.

Examining evidence of time-dependent treatment effects: an illustration using regression methods.

Background: For the design and analysis of clinical trials with time-to-event outcomes, the Cox proportional hazards model and the logrank test have been the cornerstone methods for many decades. Increasingly, the key assumption of proportionality-or time-fixed effects-that underpins these methods has been called into question. The availability of novel therapies with new mechanisms of action and clinical trials of longer duration mean that non-proportional hazards are now more frequently encountered.

Impact of a non-constant baseline hazard on detection of time-dependent treatment effects: a simulation study.

Background: Non-proportional hazards are common with time-to-event data but the majority of randomised clinical trials (RCTs) are designed and analysed using approaches which assume the treatment effect follows proportional hazards (PH). Recent advances in oncology treatments have identified two forms of non-PH of particular importance - a time lag until treatment becomes effective, and an early effect of treatment that ceases after a period of time. In sample size calculations for treatment effects on time-to-event outcomes where information is based on the number of events rather than the number of participants, there is crucial importance in correct specification of the baseline hazard rate amongst other considerations.

Odds of culpability associated with use of impairing drugs in injured drivers in Victoria, Australia.

Culpability analysis was conducted on 5000 drivers injured as a result of a vehicular collision and in whom comprehensive toxicology testing in blood was conducted. The sample included 1000 drivers for each of 5 years from approximately 5000-6000 drivers injured and taken to hospital in the State of Victoria. Logistic regression was used to investigate differences in the odds of culpability associated with alcohol and drug use and other selected crash attributes using the drug-free driver as the reference group.

Are non-constant rates and non-proportional treatment effects accounted for in the design and analysis of randomised controlled trials? A review of current practice.

Background: Most clinical trials with time-to-event primary outcomes are designed assuming constant event rates and proportional hazards over time. Non-constant event rates and non-proportional hazards are seen increasingly frequently in trials. The objectives of this review were firstly to identify whether non-constant event rates and time-dependent treatment effects were allowed for in sample size calculations of trials, and secondly to assess the methods used for the analysis and reporting of time-to-event outcomes including how researchers accounted for non-proportional treatment effects.

Association of Rotavirus Vaccination With the Incidence of Type 1 Diabetes in Children.

This study examines the association between rotavirus vaccination and declining rates of type 1 diabetes in children.

Prevalence of chronic kidney disease in the elderly using the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly study cohort.

Aim: The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the elderly is controversial because age-related decline in kidney function may not truly reflect underlying kidney disease. We estimate the baseline prevalence and predictors of CKD using the CKD Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI ) and Berlin Initiative Study 1 (BIS1 ) eGFR equations in the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial cohort of healthy older participants.

Methods: GFR was estimated using CKD-EPI and BIS1 equations.

Patterns and Predictors of Language Development from 4 to 7 Years in Verbal Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This study used a prospective community-based sample to describe patterns and predictors of language development from 4 to 7 years in verbal children (IQ ≥ 70) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n = 26-27). Children with typical language (TD; n = 858-861) and language impairment (LI; n = 119) were used for comparison. Children with ASD and LI had similar mean language scores that were lower on average than children with TD.

Medication use in infants admitted with bronchiolitis.

Background: There are no medications known that improve the outcome of infants with bronchiolitis. Studies have shown the management of bronchiolitis to be varied.

Objectives: To describe medication use at the seven study hospitals from a recent multi-centre randomised controlled trial on hydration in bronchiolitis (comparative rehydration in bronchiolitis [CRIB]).

Prevalence and determinants of antibiotic exposure in infants: A population-derived Australian birth cohort study.

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe antibiotic exposure in Australian infants during the first year of life, focusing on antibiotic class, indication, risk factors associated with exposure and comparison with international counterparts.

Methods: The Barwon Infant Study is a birth cohort study (n = 1074) with an unselected antenatal sampling frame from a large regional centre in Victoria, Australia. Longitudinal data on infection and medication were collected at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months by parental questionnaire and from general practitioner and hospital records.

Influence of weather on incidence of bronchiolitis in Australia and New Zealand.

Aim: We aimed to examine the impact of weather on hospital admissions with bronchiolitis in Australia and New Zealand.

Methods: We collected data for inpatient admissions of infants aged 2-12 months to seven hospitals in four cities in Australia and New Zealand from 2009 until 2011. Correlation of hospital admissions with minimum daily temperature, wind speed, relative humidity and rainfall was examined using linear, Poisson and negative binomial regression analyses as well as general estimated equation models.

Intensive care unit admissions and ventilation support in infants with bronchiolitis.

Objectives: To describe the rate of intensive care unit (ICU) admission, type of ventilation support provided and risk factors for ICU admission in infants with bronchiolitis.

Design: Retrospective review of hospital records and Australia and New Zealand Paediatric Intensive Care (ANZPIC) registry data for infants 2-12 months old admitted with bronchiolitis.

Setting: Seven Australian and New Zealand hospitals.

Accuracy of PECARN, CATCH, and CHALICE head injury decision rules in children: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Clinical decision rules can help to determine the need for CT imaging in children with head injuries. We aimed to validate three clinical decision rules (PECARN, CATCH, and CHALICE) in a large sample of children.

Methods: In this prospective observational study, we included children and adolescents (aged <18 years) with head injuries of any severity who presented to the emergency departments of ten Australian and New Zealand hospitals.

Computed tomography for head injuries in children: Change in Australian usage rates over time.

Objective: Paediatric head injury is a common presentation to the ED. North American studies demonstrate increasing use of computed tomography (CT) brain scan (CTB) to investigate head injury. No such data exists for Australian EDs.

Economic evaluation of nasogastric versus intravenous hydration in infants with bronchiolitis.

Objective: Bronchiolitis is the most common lower respiratory tract infection in infants and the leading cause of hospitalisation. We aimed to assess whether intravenous hydration (IVH) was more cost-effective than nasogastric hydration (NGH) as a planned secondary economic analysis of a randomised trial involving 759 infants (aged 2-12 months) admitted to hospital with a clinical diagnosis of bronchiolitis and requiring non-oral hydration. No Australian cost data exist to aid clinicians in decision-making around interventions in bronchiolitis.

Nasogastric Hydration in Infants with Bronchiolitis Less Than 2 Months of Age.

Objectives: To determine whether nasogastric hydration can be used in infants less than 2 months of age with bronchiolitis, and characterize the adverse events profile of these infants compared with infants given intravenous (IV) fluid hydration.

Study Design: A descriptive retrospective cohort study of children with bronchiolitis under 2 months of age admitted for hydration at 3 centers over 3 bronchiolitis seasons was done. We determined type of hydration (nasogastric vs IV fluid hydration) and adverse events, intensive care unit admission, and respiratory support.

The ontogeny of naïve and regulatory CD4(+) T-cell subsets during the first postnatal year: a cohort study.

As there is limited knowledge regarding the longitudinal development and early ontogeny of naïve and regulatory CD4(+) T-cell subsets during the first postnatal year, we sought to evaluate the changes in proportion of naïve (thymic and central) and regulatory (resting and activated) CD4(+) T-cell populations during the first postnatal year. Blood samples were collected and analyzed at birth, 6 and 12 months of age from a population-derived sample of 130 infants. The proportion of naïve and regulatory CD4(+) T-cell populations was determined by flow cytometry, and the thymic and central naïve populations were sorted and their phenotype confirmed by relative expression of T cell-receptor excision circle DNA (TREC).

Cohort Profile: The Barwon Infant Study.

The modern environment is associated with an increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Mounting evidence implicates environmental exposures, experienced early in life (including in utero), in the aetiology of many NCDs, though the cellular/molecular mechanism(s) underlying this elevated risk across the life course remain unclear. Epigenetic variation has emerged as a candidate mediator of such effects.

A prospective observational study to assess the diagnostic accuracy of clinical decision rules for children presenting to emergency departments after head injuries (protocol): the Australasian Paediatric Head Injury Rules Study (APHIRST).

Background: Head injuries in children are responsible for a large number of emergency department visits. Failure to identify a clinically significant intracranial injury in a timely fashion may result in long term neurodisability and death. Whilst cranial computed tomography (CT) provides rapid and definitive identification of intracranial injuries, it is resource intensive and associated with radiation induced cancer.