Assessing the Efficacy of Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry for Nanoplastic and Microplastic Analysis in Human Blood.

Humans are constantly exposed to micro- and nanosized plastics (MNPs); however, there is still limited understanding of their fate within the body, partially due to limitations with current analytical techniques. The current study assessed the appropriateness of pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) analysis for the quantification of a range of polymers in human blood. An extraction protocol that reduced matrix interferences (false positives) of polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was developed and validated.

Sex-Specific Clinical and Genetic Factors Associated With Adverse Outcomes in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Females with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy present at a more advanced stage of the disease and have a higher risk of heart failure and death. The factors behind these differences are unclear. We aimed to investigate sex-related differences in clinical and genetic factors affecting adverse outcomes in the Sarcomeric Human Cardiomyopathy Registry.

Definition of a European pre-vasectomy scoring system to identify patients at risk of vasectomy regret.

Introduction: Vasectomy is a widely used, safe, effective method of permanent contraception and contributes to healthy sexuality.

Aims: We have conducted a 3-step observational clinical study to develop a vasectomy regret risk score and guide patients and clinicians when discussing a vasectomy.

Methods: A 3-step approach has been followed.

KDIGO 2025 clinical practice guideline for the evaluation, management, and treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD): executive summary.

The Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) 2025 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation, Management, and Treatment of Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) represents the first KDIGO guideline on this subject. Its scope includes nomenclature, diagnosis, prognosis, and prevalence; kidney manifestations; chronic kidney disease (CKD) management and progression, kidney failure, and kidney replacement therapy; therapies to delay progression of kidney disease; polycystic liver disease; intracranial aneurysms and other extrarenal manifestations; lifestyle and psychosocial aspects; pregnancy and reproductive issues; pediatric issues; and approaches to the management of people with ADPKD. The guideline has been developed with patient partners, clinicians, and researchers around the world, with the goal to generate a useful resource for healthcare providers and patients by providing actionable recommendations.

Comparing Midline and Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters-A Randomized Feasibility Trial.

Objectives: The most effective use of midline catheters in children is not understood. We aimed to (1) test the feasibility of a trial comparing peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) to midline catheters in hospitalized children in need of durable vascular access and (2) collect preliminary effectiveness data of the 2 devices.

Methods: Our study combined a single site, randomized controlled feasibility trial (RCT, primary study) and a prospective observational study (alternative study) comparing PICCs to midline catheters.

Quality of life disparities among Mexican people with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Higher prevalence and worst outcome have been reported among people with systemic lupus erythematosus with non-European ancestries, with both genetic and socioeconomic variables as contributing factors. In Mexico, studies assessing the inequities related to quality of life for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus patients remain sparse. This study aims to assess the inequities related to quality of life in a cohort of Mexican people with SLE.

Antibiotics for Paediatric Community-Acquired Pneumonia: What is the Optimal Course Duration?

Despite significant global reductions in cases of pneumonia during the last 3 decades, pneumonia remains the leading cause of post-neonatal mortality in children aged <5 years. Beyond the immediate disease burden it imposes, pneumonia contributes to long-term morbidity, including lung function deficits and bronchiectasis. Viruses are the most common cause of childhood pneumonia, but bacteria also play a crucial role.

The Kids Pain Collaborative: A Hybrid Type 3 Implementation Effectiveness Study Transforming Paediatric Pain Care in the Emergency Department.

Aim: To evaluate the impact of a participatory, action-oriented implementation study, guided by the integrated Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services framework, for optimising pain care processes in a tertiary paediatric emergency department.

Design: Hybrid type 3 implementation effectiveness.

Methods: A collaborative appraisal of the context and culture of pain care informed two interdependent action cycles: Enabling nurse-initiated analgesia and involving families in pain care.

Impact of COVID-19 on Antimicrobial Stewardship Activities in Hospitalised Children: A Scoping Review.

Aim: COVID-19 has brought unprecedented challenges to the healthcare system. The rapid spread of the virus, laboratory burn-out, exhausted staff, diagnostic uncertainty and lack of guidelines cumulatively disrupted hospital antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs. This scoping review evaluated how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the implementation of AMS, particularly within the context of clinical audits.

Genomics yields biological and phenotypic insights into bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is a leading contributor to the global burden of disease. Despite high heritability (60-80%), the majority of the underlying genetic determinants remain unknown. We analysed data from participants of European, East Asian, African American and Latino ancestries (n = 158,036 cases with bipolar disorder, 2.

Postpartum depression in relation to chronic diseases and multimorbidity in women's mid-late life: a prospective cohort study of UK Biobank.

Background: Maternal short-term outcomes of postpartum depression (PPD) were widely examined, but little is known about its long-term association with multiple chronic diseases (multimorbidity) in women's later life. This study aims to assess the association of PPD with chronic diseases and multimorbidity in women's mid-late life.

Methods: This prospective cohort study included female participants in UK Biobank who attended online follow-up assessment and reported their history of PPD.

Wellbeing and quality of life among parents of individuals with Fontan physiology.

Purpose: To examine global and health-related quality of life (QOL) among parents of individuals with Fontan physiology and determine associations with sociodemographic, parent and child-related health, psychological, and relational factors.

Methods: Parents participating in the Australian and New Zealand Fontan Registry (ANZFR) QOL Study (N = 151, Parent Mean age = 47.9 ± 10.

Functional validation of a novel STAT3 'variant of unknown significance' identifies a new case of STAT3 GOF Syndrome and reveals broad immune cell defects.

Introduction: STAT3 orchestrates crucial immune responses through its pleiotropic functions as a transcription factor. Patients with germline monoallelic dominant negative or hypermorphic STAT3 variants, who present with immunodeficiency and/or immune dysregulation, have revealed the importance of balanced STAT3 signaling in lymphocyte differentiation and function, and immune homeostasis. Here, we report a novel missense variant of unknown significance in the DNA binding domain of STAT3 in a patient who experienced hypogammaglobulinemia, lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, immune thrombocytopenia, eczema and enteropathy over a 35-year period.

How do we capture child and family goals? Examining the goal setting practices used by community-based allied health professionals.

Purpose: This study aimed to i) identify child and family goals reported in a community allied health service, ii) map goals to ICF domains, and iii) evaluate goal characteristics against child-centred and family-centred practice principles.

Methods: A retrospective study design was used to extract and analyse raw goal data documented for children and families accessing a community-based allied health service. ICF linking rules were used to map goals to the ICF domains.

BARRIERS AND ENABLERS OF DIETARY REINTRODUCTION FOLLOWING NEGATIVE ORAL FOOD CHALLENGE: A SCOPING REVIEW.

Background: Following a negative oral food challenge (OFC), it is recommended the individual continues to consume the historical allergen regularly. However, the proportion of families achieving sustained reintroduction, and enablers and barriers for reintroduction, are currently unclear.

Objective: To understand the frequency and definitions of optimal food reintroduction in children and adolescents following negative OFC, and associated barriers and enablers.

Comparison of Piperacillin-tazobactam and Vancomycin (TZP-VAN) with Piperacillin-tazobactam and Teicoplanin (TZP-TEI) for the risk of Acute Kidney Injury (CONCOMITANT): A prospective observational, multinational, multi-centre cohort study.

Objectives: Both vancomycin (VAN) and teicoplanin (TEI) augment the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) when combined with piperacillin-tazobactam (TZP). We aimed to compare the risk of AKI among patients receiving TZP-VAN versus TZP-TEI.

Methods: This was a prospective, multinational, multicentre cohort study conducted in 12 centres from Turkiye, Italy and Spain between June 1, 2022, and December 31, 2023.

Early developmental trajectories of the impaired hand in infants with unilateral cerebral palsy.

Aim: To identify developmental trajectories of impaired hand function in infants aged 3 to 15 months with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP).

Method: Sixty-three infants (37 male; median gestational age 37 weeks [interquartile range 30-39.1 weeks]) recruited as part of a randomized trial with a confirmed diagnosis of unilateral CP were included.

Study of Children Aged Under 2 Years Admitted With RSV at Four Australian Hospitals [2021-2022].

Aims: 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.

Methods: We prospectively reviewed the medical records of children (< 2 years of age) with a confirmed SARI who were admitted to one of four major Australian paediatric hospitals and had a respiratory sample analysed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).

Prevalence of and risk factors for osteoporosis and fragility fracture in adults with cerebral palsy: A systematic review.

Aim: To systematically review the prevalence and incidence of osteoporosis, osteopenia, low bone mass, and fragility fracture in adults with cerebral palsy (CP), and identify the risk factors for osteoporosis and fracture.

Method: A systematic literature search was performed in the MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL, AMED, Cochrane Reviews, EMBASE, and EBM database reviews from inception until May 2024. Search terms covered a combination of keywords for CP, fracture, osteoporosis, incidence and prevalence, and risk factors.

Discovery of a DNA methylation profile in individuals with Sifrim-Hitz-Weiss syndrome.

Pathogenic heterozygous variants in CHD4 cause Sifrim-Hitz-Weiss syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with brain anomalies, heart defects, macrocephaly, hypogonadism, and additional features with variable expressivity. Most individuals have non-recurrent missense variants, complicating variant interpretation. A few were reported with truncating variants, and their role in disease is unclear.

Recurrent peripheral intravenous catheterization in neonates: A case series.

Neonatal peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs) can be difficult to insert, often requiring multiple attempts, with each attempt causing pain and delaying treatment. The aim of this study was describe the clinical characteristics of neonates requiring multiple PIVCs during hospitalization. A secondary case series of neonates requiring three or more PIVCs during their admission were identified from a cohort admitted to an Australian Neonatal Unit between October 2020 and February 2021.

Paediatric Acute Urinary Retention in Central Queensland.

Background: The aetiology of paediatric acute urinary retention (PAUR) is poorly documented across English medical literature and none from Australasia. This study aimed to document incidence, aetiology and associated time to diagnoses and treatment of PAUR in regional Australia.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of children aged 0-17 years at presentation to two regional hospitals from 01.

Angiostrongylus cantonensis Meningo-Encephalitis in Children-Heightened Awareness Needed During Prolonged Wet Weather Conditions.

Aim: Angiostrongylus cantonensis, the leading cause of eosinophilic meningoencephalitis, is well established in eastern Australia. Prolonged wet weather in Queensland during 2021-2022 coincided with anecdotal reports of increased neuroangiostrongyliasis cases, prompting an evaluation of paediatric cases from 2013 to 2022.

Methods: This retrospective observational study reviewed children (0-16 years) with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) eosinophilia (≥ 10% of the total CSF leukocyte count) and/or A.

Recommendations for mitochondria transfer and transplantation nomenclature and characterization.

Intercellular mitochondria transfer is an evolutionarily conserved process in which one cell delivers some of their mitochondria to another cell in the absence of cell division. This process has diverse functions depending on the cell types involved and physiological or disease context. Although mitochondria transfer was first shown to provide metabolic support to acceptor cells, recent studies have revealed diverse functions of mitochondria transfer, including, but not limited to, the maintenance of mitochondria quality of the donor cell and the regulation of tissue homeostasis and remodelling.

Antibody responses against influenza A decline with successive years of annual influenza vaccination.

Influenza vaccine effectiveness and immunogenicity can be compromised with repeated vaccination. We assessed immunological markers in a cohort of healthcare workers (HCW) from six public hospitals around Australia during 2020-2021. Sera were collected pre-vaccination and ~14 and ~180 days post-vaccination and assessed in haemagglutination inhibition assay against egg-grown vaccine and equivalent cell-grown viruses.