Contacts
Prof Britta von Ungern-Sternberg | Professor of Anaesthesia
Britta.Regli-VonUngern@health.wa.gov.au
Lliana Slevin and Aine Sommerfield | Research Coordinators
Lliana.Slevin@health.wa.gov.au | Aine.Sommerfield@health.wa.gov.au
The PCH Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine provides the only tertiary paediatric Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine service in Western Australia.
The anaesthetic research team led by Prof Britta Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg focusses not only on anaesthesia and pain management but also on perioperative outcomes and the improvement of care for our young patients. The team works within a large interdisciplinary network with many local, national and international collaborations. Locally, it collaborates with multiple departments within PCH, The University of Western Australia, the Telethon Kids Institute, Curtin University and other local non-government agencies in Western Australia. Nationally, the team works in close collaboration with all tertiary paediatric anaesthesia departments and internationally with numerous centres overseas, mainly in the US and Europe.
The Anaesthetic Research team is a very active team with up to 20 research studies in progress at any one time. The research is founded around a holistic approach along the perioperative pathway as shown below. Some examples are listed below.
Holistic care: Improving patient outcomes along the perioperative pathway
|
| Preoperative |
Day of surgery/hospital |
Family centred care |
| Risk identification |
| Optimisation |
| Translation |
Stream 1: Optimisation of the Perioperative Journey including Anaesthesia
- 1A: Tonsillectomy, OSA and Risk Stratification
- 1B: Trial of jelly snakes to prevent postoperative nausea and vomiting after ENT surgery
- 1C: A multi-centre randomized non-inferiority trial of chewing gum versus ondansetron to treat postoperative nausea and vomiting in female patients after breast or laparoscopic surgery
- 1D: Oxygen Delivery during Anaesthesia
Stream 2: Lung Physiology during Anaesthesia
- 2A: Effect of different lung recruitment strategies in anaesthetized children on oscillatory mechanics.
- 2B: Forced oscillation measurement of lung recruitment during mechanical ventilation in children undergoing laparoscopic surgery
Stream 3: Pain Management
- 3A: A multi-centre, double-blinded, randomised controlled trial to investigate honey use to reduce pain in children post tonsillectomy
- 3B: A multi-centre, double-blinded randomised placebo-controlled study to investigate Gabapentin use to manage post tonsillectomy pain
Stream 4: Anaesthesia and the Brain
- 4A: TREX - Neurodevelopmental outcome after sevoflurane versus dexmedetomidine/remifentanil anaesthesia in infancy: a randomised controlled trial
- 4B: EEG - An international multicentre study of isoelectric EEG events in infants and young children during anaesthesia for surgery
Stream 5: Future Formulations of Medications Optimised for Children
Consumer Stream
In 2019, we established an Anaesthetic Research Consumer Reference Panel comprising of nine parents who have multiple personal experiences of perioperative care at Perth Children’s Hospital. This group works with us to facilitate:
- Advice and support on research grant applications and plain language summaries
- Links between consumers, the community and researchers
- Advice and expertise on consumer and community issues
- Advocacy on behalf of consumers and the community where appropriate
- Input into the development of strategies to inform the wider community about research associated with the group.