Newborn Research
Breathing support in extremely premature babies - reducing nasal trauma
Supervisors: Dr Louise Owen, Dr Brett Manley, Dr Jennifer Dawson, Prof. Peter Davis
Project Site: The Royal Women’s Hospital
Contact: E: louise.owen@thewomens.org.au / brett.manley@thewomens.org.au
Project description: This exciting project is a clinical trial in very premature babies in the intensive care nursery at the Royal Women’s Hospital.
Very premature babies need help to breathe for many weeks after they are born. There are several ways to support breathing but none of them are perfect. One standard method uses short prongs placed in the babies’ nostrils to apply pressurised oxygen. This system increases oxygen levels and helps hold the lungs open. Unfortunately the prongs themselves can damage the delicate tissues around the nose, causing skin breakdown and bleeding. One potential way of reducing this nasal trauma is to place a special barrier dressing over the tip of the nose, but the dressings have not been rigorously tested. We are currently designing a year-long randomised trial to assess the impact of using these dressings. We are aiming to recruit 120 babies into the trial, commencing in February 2016. With comprehensive support from a dedicated, experienced clinical research team the successful applicant will be able to run this project. They will have direct patient contact, be able to attend preterm births, be responsible for recruiting babies to the trial, collecting and analysing data, and writing up the results for presentation and publication