Butterfly staff have a strong commitment to research and quality improvement projects as a means of improving outcomes for newborn babies and their families. We are continually updating our practice by carrying out approved research studies jointly with other departments from The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), and other neonatal units
If you or your baby are eligible to participate in a research study, you will meet one of our research team at the right time during your stay. You do not have to participate in any research study if you don’t want to. The care that you and your baby receive will not be affected in any way if you choose not to take part.
Current research
PROTECT Study
This study is for babies born at 23.6 – 28.6 weeks gestation who have a suspected infection and/or bowel inflammation. Infection and inflammation are common problems in very preterm babies and may contribute to poorer outcomes. This study explores whether Pentoxyfilline a drug which can be used to suppress inflammation, along with standard care may improve outcomes for these babies. It will be given within 6 hours of a suspected infection occurring and be continued for up to 6 days. This study is available in Melbourne’s perinatal centres and can be continued at RCH if the study was commenced at another main hospital.
CHANGE Study
CHANGE is a prospective observational feasibility study enrolling neonates undergoing major non-cardiac surgery. Non-invasive, bedside markers of cerebral blood flow and oxygen delivery will be measured during the first 48 hours after non-cardiac surgery and compared to pre-operative measures; specifically serial transcranial Doppler (TCD) evaluation and continuous near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) monitoring of cerebral regional oxygenation (CrSO2).
WashT
WashT is a randomised controlled trial (RCT) recruiting preterm infants below 28 weeks gestation at birth requiring a packed red blood cell (PRBC) transfusion. We are doing this study to determine whether using washed RBCs, rather than unwashed RBCs, reduces the
incidence of common neonatal morbidities.
NEAR4NEOS
Butterfly ward is a participating site in an international data collection which collects and benchmarks data on all advanced airway events. The data is de-identified and used for quality improvement purposes.
NIMBUS
NIMBUS is a multicentre observational study with the primary objective to determine why neonates develop arterial ischemic stroke and how this impact their development at 2 years old. Term neonates with a radiologically confirmed diagnosis of acute ischaemic stroke on MRI within the first 28 days of life will be eligible for this study.
VENTILATION studies
Many babies needing care on Butterfly ward need help with their breathing. These studies aim to use radiation-free methods of imaging the lung during breathing so we can understand how the sick lung responds to different treatments. The technologies are called Lung Ultrasound and Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT), both are non-invasive. EIT uses a soft fabric belt to measure multiple regional lung characteristics.
Other studies
Butterfly ward supports a number of studies that may have commenced at your baby’s birth hospital, such as the PLUSS, Wash-T and POLAR Trial. If your baby was involved in these studies a member of our research team we will contact you.