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Acute gastroenteritis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children. The aim of this study was to explore assessment and management of children aged between 6 and 48 months presenting to the emergency department (ED) with acute gastroenteritis.This retrospective cohort study included 340 children aged 6-48 months. Data were collected by medical record audit for children presenting between 1 January and 31 December 2019.General assessments were appropriate, specific dehydration assessment, blood pressure measurement and fluid balance chart documentation could be improved. Management of children with severe or no/mild dehydration was largely compliant with current recommendations: there was variability in management of children with moderate dehydration. There were no significant differences between Australian Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in terms of dehydration severity and pathology abnormalities, however there were differences in management strategies.ED management of children with gastroenteritis was largely consistent with, or superior to, evidence-based recommendations. There was variability in the management of children with moderate dehydration and Australian Aboriginal children but it is unclear whether this is suboptimal or patient specific care. This study has highlighted areas for further research in this unique context.

During a paediatric emergency, it is often impractical to weigh a child. Many resuscitative measures require a child's weight; therefore, estimation is often used. Different methods are available to do this, usually based on a child's age or length. The accuracy of these methods has not been validated in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from remote communities. The objective of this study was to determine how well these paediatric emergency weight estimation methods predict weight for this group of children. A retrospective descriptive study using the measured weights and heights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from remote locations across the Northern Territory (NT) was used. The weight estimation methods chosen to evaluate were the APLS, 'Best Guess', Luscombe and Nelson's formulae, Argall's modification, the Broselow® and Sandell® tapes, and the World Health Organization standard reference growth charts. Adjusted R-squared values for each method are reported, and agreement was measured in terms of mean percentage error (MPE). A total of 2102 children were included. The length-based methods performed the best. The Broselow Tape had the highest adjusted R-squared value at 0.8886 in all age groups. The APLS, Luscombe and Argall's methods were the worst performing methods. The Broselow® Tape was also the best performing in terms of accuracy and precision, with an MPE of -0.35% (95% CI -0.82-0.1). Our data support the use of the Broselow® Tape as the recommended method when estimating weight in an emergency for remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the NT for the 0-5 year age group.

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Climate change threatens the health of all Australians: without adaptation, many areas may become unlivable, in particular the tropical north. The Northern Territory (NT) health workforce is already under colliding operational pressures worsened by extreme weather events, regional staff shortages and infrastructure that is poorly adapted to climate change. The H3 Project (Healthy Patients, Workforce and Environment) explores nature-based interventions in the NT health sector aiming to strengthen the resilience and responsiveness of health infrastructure and workforce in our climate-altered future. The H3 Project engaged the health workforce, climate researchers and the wider community, in recognition that meaningful and timely climate action requires both organization-led and grassroots engagement. We recruited campus greening volunteers and sustainability champions to Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) to develop strategies that enhance climate adaptation, build climate and health literacy, and incentivize active mobility. We implemented low-cost biophilic design within the constraints of legacy healthcare infrastructure, creating cool and restorative outdoor spaces to mitigate the impacts of heat on RDH campus users and adapt to projected warming. This case study demonstrated substantial cooling impacts and improved local biodiversity and hospital campus aesthetics. We collaborated with Indigenous healers and plant experts to harness the synergy between Aboriginal people’s traditional knowledge and connectedness to land and the modern concept of biophilic design, while seeking to improve hospital outcomes for Indigenous patients who are both disconnected from their homelands and disproportionately represented in NT hospitals.

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Currently there are no pharmacokinetic (PK) data to guide antibiotic dosing in critically ill Australian Indigenous patients with severe sepsis. This study aimed to determine whether the population pharmacokinetics of meropenem were different between critically ill Australian Indigenous and critically ill Caucasian patients. Serial plasma and urine samples as well as clinical and demographic data were collected over two dosing intervals from critically ill Australian Indigenous patients. Plasma meropenem concentrations were assayed by validated chromatography. Concentration-time data were analysed with data from a previous PK study in critically ill Caucasian patients using Pmetrics. The population PK model was subsequently used for Monte Carlo dosing simulations to describe optimal doses for these patients. Six Indigenous and five Caucasian subjects were included. A two-compartment model described the data adequately, with meropenem clearance and volume of distribution of the central compartment described by creatinine clearance (CLCr) and patient weight, respectively. Patient ethnicity was not supported as a covariate in the final model. Significant differences were observed for meropenem clearance between the Indigenous and Caucasian groups [median 11.0 (range 3.0-14.1) L/h vs. 17.4 (4.3-30.3) L/h, respectively; P <0.01]. Standard dosing regimens (1 g intravenous every 8 h as a 30-min infusion) consistently achieved target exposures at the minimum inhibitory concentration breakpoint in the absence of augmented renal clearance. No significant interethnic differences in meropenem pharmacokinetics between the Indigenous and Caucasian groups were detected and CLCr was found to be the strongest determinant of appropriate dosing regimens.

OBJECTIVE: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is an event with an extremely poor prognosis. There is limited literature on the outcomes for regional Australia, with none specifically addressing remote populations. We aimed to assess out-of-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes in the aeromedical retrieval population of the Top End Medical Retrieval Service. DESIGN: We retrospectively identified all cardiac arrests, deaths and patients who had cardiopulmonary resuscitation within the aeromedical retrieval database for a 5-year period from January 2012 to December 2016. SETTING: Retrieval patients across the Top End of the Northern Territory, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: All patients within the cohort with a non-traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Data were collected on outcomes as per Utstein definitions, along with patient demographics, retrieval timings and interventions. RESULTS: Seventy-five patients suffering cardiac arrest were identified, with 58 having a non-traumatic arrest in an out-of-hospital setting. The median age of the cohort was 40 years, and 53% had an initial shockable rhythm. Return of spontaneous circulation was achieved in 55% and 43% survived to hospital. The survival to hospital discharge and 28 days were 31% and 29%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Although the study has a small sample size and limitations on generalisability due to the restricted nature of the cohort selection, the results suggest a 28-day survival rate is potentially comparable to other regions of Australia and the rest of the world. Further research needs to be undertaken in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in remote regions to establish a true population-based cohort and ascertain where improvements can be made.

There are no available pharmacokinetic data to guide piperacillin dosing in critically ill Australian Indigenous patients despite numerous reported physiological differences. This study aimed to describe the population pharmacokinetics of piperacillin in critically ill Australian Indigenous patients with severe sepsis. A population pharmacokinetic study of Indigenous patients with severe sepsis was conducted in a remote hospital intensive care unit. Plasma samples were collected over two dosing intervals and assayed by validated chromatography. Population pharmacokinetic modeling was conducted using Pmetrics. Nine patients were recruited, and a two-compartment model adequately described the data. The piperacillin clearance (CL), volume of distribution of the central compartment (Vc), and distribution rate constants from the central to the peripheral compartment and from the peripheral to the central compartment were 5.6 ± 3.2 liters/h, 14.5 ± 6.6 liters, 1.5 ± 0.4 h-1, and 1.8 ± 0.9 h-1, respectively, where CL and Vc were found to be described by creatinine clearance (CLCR) and total body weight, respectively. In this patient population, piperacillin demonstrated high interindividual pharmacokinetic variability. CLCR was found to be the most important determinant of piperacillin pharmacokinetics.

Rarely, appendiceal neuroendocrine tumours (NET) are an incidental finding when an appendicectomy is undertaken for suspected appendicitis. The role of further imaging in this setting is poorly defined. Positron emission tomography (PET) using Ga-DOTATATE is requested to evaluate post-surgical status, however, there is little evidence to guide how it should be employed. The aims of this project are to: (i) characterize Ga-DOTATATE PET findings in patients with incidental appendiceal NETs and (ii) discuss how these data might inform post-surgical imaging with PET.We reviewed 47 PET scans in 30 patients, undertaken from 2009 to 2018. Scintigraphic findings, histopathological characteristics of the initial appendiceal lesion and medical records were reviewed.Most patients (n = 15) had small (<10 mm) appendiceal NETs with low grade (Ki67 < 2%) features. Eight patients had tumours between 10 and 20 mm, and seven had tumours >20 mm. Goblet cell features were identified in two patients. Three positive PET scans were reported in one patient with an index tumour measuring 40 mm and Ki67 < 2%. The remaining 29 patients had 44 negative scans. Clinical outcome data were available in 27 patients (mean follow-up time 57 months; range 6-123 months). There was no evidence of recurrent neuroendocrine disease at the time of the last follow-up.These data indicate that in most cases, post-surgical Ga-DOTATATE PET is negative in patients with incidentally detected appendiceal NETs. Clinical outcome data suggest that Ga-DOTATATE PET should be reserved for patients with large tumours (>20 mm) or those displaying goblet cell features.

Augmented renal clearance (ARC) refers to the enhanced renal excretion of circulating solute commonly demonstrated in numerous critically ill subgroups. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of ARC in critically ill Indigenous Australian patients and explore the accuracy of commonly employed mathematical estimates of glomerular filtration. We completed a single-centre, prospective, observational study in the intensive care unit (ICU), Alice Springs Hospital, Central Australia. Participants were critically ill adult Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian patients with a urinary catheter in situ. Exclusion criteria were anuria, pregnancy or the requirement for renal replacement therapy. Daily eight-hour measured creatinine clearances (CrCL_m) were collected throughout the ICU stay. ARC was defined by a CrCL_m ≥130 ml/min/1.73 m². The Cockcroft-Gault and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equations were also used to calculate mathematical estimates for comparison. In total, 131 patients were recruited (97 Indigenous, 34 non-Indigenous) and 445 samples were collected. The median (range) CrCL_m was 93.0 (5.14 to 205.2) and 90.4 (18.7 to 206.8) ml/min/1.73 m² in Indigenous and non-Indigenous patients, respectively. Thirty-one of 97 (32%) Indigenous patients manifested ARC, compared to 7 of 34 (21%) non-Indigenous patients (P=0.21). Younger age, major surgery, higher baseline renal function and an absence of diabetes were all associated with ARC. Both mathematical estimates manifest limited accuracy. ARC was prevalent in critically ill Indigenous patients, which places them at significant risk of underdosing with renally excreted drugs. CrCL_m should be obtained wherever possible to ensure accurate dosing.

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Conducting research in ED is important and necessary to improve emergency care. Effective recruitment is an essential ingredient for the success of a research project and must be carefully monitored. Research coordinators are focused on optimising recruitment to research studies while also ensuring that the needs of participants and their families are met, and the research is acceptable to ED staff. In this paper, a group of experienced research coordinators from Australia and New Zealand have shared their strategies to engage staff and enhance recruitment of participants in emergency research. Although this paper is from a paediatric research network, the findings are applicable for EDs in general, both in Australasia and elsewhere.

A volunteer project at Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) is using native landscapes to adapt to climate while enhancing wellbeing, Indigenous cultural security and local biodiversity.

In the absence of specific data to guide optimal dosing, this study aimed to describe the pharmacokinetics of ceftriaxone in severely septic Australian Indigenous patients and to assess achievement of the pharmacodynamic target of the regimens prescribed. A pharmacokinetic study was conducted in a remote hospital intensive care unit in patients receiving ceftriaxone dosing of 1 g every 12 h (q12h). Serial blood and urine samples were collected over one dosing interval on two consecutive days. Samples were assayed using a validated chromatography method for total and unbound concentrations. Concentration-time data collected were analysed with a non-compartmental approach. A total of 100 plasma samples were collected from five subjects. Ceftriaxone clearance, volume of distribution at steady-state, elimination half-life and elimination rate constant estimates were 0.9 (0.6-1.5) L/h, 11.2 (7.6-13.4) L, 9.5 (3.2-10.2) h and 0.07 (0.07-0.21) h-1, respectively. The unbound fraction of ceftriaxone ranged between 14% and 43%, with a higher unbound fraction present at higher total concentrations. The unbound concentrations at 720 min from the initiation of infusion for the first and second dosing intervals were 7.2 (4.8-10.7) mg/L and 7.8 (4.7-12.1) mg/L respectively, which exceeds the minimum inhibitory concentration of all typical target pathogens. In conclusion, the regimen of ceftriaxone 1 g q12h is adequate for critically ill Australian Indigenous patients with severe sepsis caused by non-resistant pathogens.

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