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
Generation Victoria (GenV)
The RCH is proud to support GenV, a research project led from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute that aims to help improve long-term health and wellbeing for children and parents.
GenV is a sophisticated research project with a simple goal: a better approach to child and adult health and wellbeing in Victoria. GenV will commence at the RCH from July 2021, joining other hospitals across the state, and will be inviting families to participate over the next two years, no matter their background or location.
GenV is one of the world’s largest birth and parent cohort studies and aims to reduce the burden of common problems including allergies, obesity and mental illness.
Learn more: www.genv.org.au/for-parents.
The Experience Study
Early life experiences play a crucial role in childhood development. The Experience Study aims to explore the early life experiences of babies hospitalised in neonatal intensive care. Learning from the babies themselves and listening to the thoughts and perspectives of their parents and neonatal care team, we hope to discover a richer understanding of a baby’s hospital journey to improve the way we deliver neonatal medical care.
Recruitment for this exciting project commenced in April 2021 and is ongoing.
For further information please contact Dr Natalie Duffy, natalie.duffy@rch.org.au
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.
THRIVE study
The purpose of this study is to see if a new way of delivering oxygen during the insertion of a breathing tube (intubation) can reduce the risk and prevent children from having low oxygen levels until they have the breathing tube safely inserted. This process is called THRIVE (Transnasal Humidified Rapid-Insufflation Ventilatory Exchange). We are doing this study to find out if the THRIVE method will prevent periods of low oxygen or low blood pressure that can occur when a breathing tube is inserted.
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.
LENS Study
The LENS study is a study for infants with seizures which are repeated and difficult to control with standard seizure medications. The baby will either receive our standard care for seizures or have Lacosamide an anti seizure drug added to their treatment. This study will commence late 2021 in Butterfly.
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.
COATI trial
For term babies with respiratory infections or babies needing supplemental oxygen and respiratory support in certain circumstances. The trial is looking at the efficacy and safety of an algorithm for automated control of oxygen versus nurse controlled oxygen delivery.
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.