Osteomyelitis and Septic Arthritis in the Darwin Prospective Melioidosis Study.

Background: Melioidosis is a multisystem infectious disease caused by the environmental bacterium . Osteomyelitis (OM) and septic arthritis (SA) are uncommon primary presentations for melioidosis but important secondary foci, often requiring prolonged therapy and multiple surgeries. We characterized the epidemiology, presentation, treatment, and outcomes of patients from 24 years of the Darwin Prospective Melioidosis Study (DPMS).

Not "a cute" complication: phenotypic analysis of acute kidney injury in S. aureus bacteraemia.

Objectives: In this large retrospective cohort analysis, we aimed to determine the incidence of KDIGO-defined acute kidney injury (AKI) within 14 days in patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia, and the association of AKI with 30-day mortality.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of adults with S. aureus bacteraemia between 1998 to 2023 admitted to a large regional Australian health service.

Unusual Causes of Death Due to Constipation.

Constipation is found in individuals with intellectual disabilities, autism, and cerebral palsy. Although generally a benign condition, it may lead to life-threatening intestinal obstruction, with or without volvulus, or to stercoral ulceration with enteritis and/or perforation. Two unusual cases of lethal chronic constipation are reported to demonstrate other very rare fatal mechanisms that may occur.

Intergenerational risk of preterm birth in First Nations Australians: a population-based cohort study from the Northern Territory, Australia.

Background: PTB increases the risk of health problems such as chronic renal disease and diabetes in later life and adverse impacts are inversely correlated with gestational age at birth. Rates of PTB in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia are amongst the highest nationally and globally, with First Nations babies most affected. This study assessed the magnitude and potential drivers of intergenerational PTB recurrence in the NT.

Applicability and Validity of the "Bronchiectasis Severity Index" (BSI) and "FACED" Score in Adult Aboriginal Australians.

Background: The prevalence of bronchiectasis is significantly higher among adult Aboriginal Australians (the Indigenous peoples of Australia) compared to non-Aboriginal Australians. Currently, there is no well-established tool to assess bronchiectasis severity specific to Indigenous peoples. Nor has the applicability and validity of the two well-established bronchiectasis severity assessment tools - The "Bronchiectasis Severity Index" (BSI) and "FACED" scale been vigorously tested in an Indigenous population.

Aeromedical retrieval for suspected preterm labour or rupture of membranes in the Northern Territory, Australia: may some cases be safely not retrieved?

Background: Suspected preterm labour (PTL) and prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM) are common indications for aeromedical retrieval in the Top End, Northern Territory, Australia, where many women reside remotely and preterm birth (< 37 completed weeks of gestation) is common. The primary objective of this study was to determine rate of delivery during the index admission following aeromedical transfers from remote clinics to Royal Darwin Hospital for suspected PTL/PPROM.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of aeromedical transfers for suspected PTL/PPROM from 1 January 2020 to 31 July 2022 was undertaken.

General Practice Sleep Scale - The "GPSS" - A proposed new tool for use in General Practice for risk assessment of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea.

Background: This pilot study investigated a new simplified OSA screening tool that could be used in primary care/GP settings - the "GPSS" tool - "General Practice Sleep Scale" and compared against common existing OSA screening tools.

Methods: A convenience sample of patients attending the respiratory and sleep clinic in the Northern Territory of Australia were included if they completed the GPSS prior to undergoing a diagnostic polysomnography. The GPSS contained 9 questions to provide information on: sex, age, body mass index, neck circumference, snoring, witnessed apnoeas, morning tiredness, daytime sleepiness and presence of hypertension/diabetes/heart disease/depression.

Neurosurgery in Australia's Top End: the lifesaving advantages of developing sustainable neurosurgical care in rural and remote regions.

Objective: The authors' goal was to perform a retrospective audit of all emergency cranial neurosurgery performed at the Royal Darwin Hospital in the first 5 years of the unit and to compile their data in a similar fashion to an earlier study titled "Emergency Neurosurgery in Darwin: Still the Generalist Surgeons' Responsibility," which was published in 2015.

Methods: All emergency cranial neurosurgery performed by a neurosurgeon between 2017 and 2021 was identified. Data were extracted from the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre database.

Opportunistic post mortem scavenging by the terrestrial flatworm Platydemus manokwari.

Post mortem damage by predators varies with geography, climate, and location of cadavers. Frequently encountered facultatively parasitic terrestrial organisms include fly larvae (maggots), ants and beetles. This report describes for the first time opportunistic post mortem damage caused by the terrestrial flatworm Platydemus manokwari de Beauchamp,1963 (New Guinea Flatworm) (phylum Platyhelminthes: order Tricladida: suborder Continenticola: family Geoplanidae) to exposed skin of a body located in a tropical urban location.

Adverse reactions to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole for melioidosis eradication therapy: An evaluation of frequency and risk factors.

Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole is the first-line agent for oral eradication therapy for melioidosis but has been associated with toxicity in this context. This study aimed to quantify adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole when used for treatment of melioidosis, and assess risk factors for ADR development. A retrospective review of antimicrobial associated ADRs was performed in all patients treated for melioidosis in the Northern Territory of Australia from January 2017-September 2022.

Pediatric physiotherapy management of airway clearance therapy and exercise: Data from the Australian Bronchiectasis Registry.

Background: Regular airway clearance techniques (ACTs) and exercise are recommended for children with bronchiectasis, but current clinical practice and their predictors are unknown.

Objective: We aimed to describe current use of ACTs and exercise among Australian children with bronchiectasis and identify associated predictors.

Methods: Physiotherapy-specific data of 397 children (median age = 8 were extracted from the Australian Bronchiectasis Registry.

Cerebral palsy in Australia: birth prevalence, 1995-2016, and differences by residential remoteness: a population-based register study.

Objective: To examine recent changes in the birth prevalence of cerebral palsy in Australia; to examine the functional mobility of children with cerebral palsy by residential remoteness.

Study Design: Population-based register study; analysis of Australian Cerebral Palsy Register (ACPR) data.

Setting, Participants: Children with cerebral palsy born in Australia, 1995-2016, and included in the ACPR at the time of the most recent state/territory data provision (31 July 2022).

Adult penicillin allergy programmes in Australian hospitals: a practical guide from the National Antibiotic Allergy Network.

Penicillin allergy is a significant burden on patient, prescribing and hospital outcomes. There has been increasing interest in the incorporation of penicillin allergy testing (i.e.

NEARER SCAN (LENO BESIK) evaluation of a task-sharing echocardiographic active case finding programme for rheumatic heart disease in Australia and Timor-Leste: protocol for a hybrid type II effectiveness-implementation study.

Introduction: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is underdiagnosed globally resulting in missed treatment opportunities and adverse clinical outcomes. We describe the protocol for a study which aims to co-design, implement and conduct an evaluation of a task-sharing approach to echocardiographic active case finding for early detection and management of RHD in high-risk settings in Australia and Timor-Leste.

Methods And Analysis: Echocardiograms will be obtained by trained local staff using hand-held echocardiographic devices employing the 'Single Parasternal Long Axis view with a Sweep of the Heart' (SPLASH) technique and interpreted by experts remote from the site of acquisition.

Case Report: Effects of Environmental Smoke Exposure on Respiratory Conditions-A Report of an Aboriginal Man Fire Hunting for Mud Turtles in the Top End, Northern Territory of Australia.

Environmental smoke has been shown to have significant associations with both causation and exacerbation of respiratory conditions. Aboriginal Australians in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia are disproportionately affected by respiratory illness in comparison with non-Aboriginal Australians. Traditionally, Aboriginal communities have utilized fire for multiple purposes, such as land management practices, cultural ceremonies, hunting, and cooking.