Tag Archives: Randomized Controlled Trials

High Flow Nasal Cannulae; finally learning about them

Posted on 11 October 2013 by Keith Barrington

The Melbourne group must get fed up of publishing important research, here is another in the PNEJM. Manley BJ, Owen LS, Doyle LW, Andersen CC, Cartwright DW, Pritchard MA, Donath SM, Davis PG: High-flow nasal cannulae in very preterm infants … Continue reading →

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Informed consent in the NICU

Posted on 26 September 2013 by Keith Barrington

I have watched most of the presentations at the OHRP meeting, so you don’t have to. Many of the critics of SUPPORT make the same mistaken assumption, that usual care in the NICU is to individualize oxygen saturation targets, I … Continue reading →

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Prebiotics, to support growth of Probiotics, and how to kill them

Posted on 25 September 2013 by Keith Barrington

Ishizeki S, Sugita M, Takata M, Yaeshima T: Effect of administration of bifidobacteria on intestinal microbiota in low-birth-weight infants and transition of administered bifidobacteria: A comparison between one-species and three-species administration. Anaerobe 2013, 23(0):38-44. In this study the investigators report 3 … Continue reading →

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C’est inSUPPORTable!

Posted on 19 September 2013 by Keith Barrington

A new publication about SUPPORT? Haven’t we heard enough? Well no, this is fascinating, although not entirely unexpected if you think about it. One of the 2 comparisons of the SUPPORT trial involved randomization to be either immediately intubated to receive surfactant, … Continue reading →

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What are the responsibilities of clinical researchers?

Posted on 18 September 2013 by Keith Barrington

One of the presentations at the OHRP hearings of the HHS was by George Annas, a JD who has an MPH (for those outside of north america that means he is a lawyer, but with a masters in public health). … Continue reading →

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Pluto, not just a planet anymore.

Posted on 11 September 2013 by Keith Barrington

Or should that be, not even a planet… One other thing I wanted to mention about the PLUTO trial is the entry criterion. The main entry criterion was the presence of clear lower urinary tract obstruction in a male fetus, … Continue reading →

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Who was Bayes, and what did he know about medical research?

Posted on 11 September 2013 by Keith Barrington

I don’t have much detail to answer the first question: he was an 18th century English mathematician who wrote something about probability, that was published after he died. That publication described something called Bayes’ theorem which is a way of … Continue reading →

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Pre-SUPPORT, what did we really know?

Posted on 7 September 2013 by Keith Barrington

One of the misplaced criticisms that have been made about the SUPPORT trial and the consent forms was that we should have known before the trial that there would be a difference in mortality, and that there would be a … Continue reading →

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Comparative Effectiveness Research: a parable

Posted on 29 August 2013 by Keith Barrington

Two neonatologists work in the same NICU. One of them routinely starts assisted ventilation of babies with volume ventilation, the other starts with pressure ventilation. There is controversy in the literature and in practice among currently active neonatologists; some preliminary … Continue reading →

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Is volume ventilation really better?

Posted on 29 August 2013 by Keith Barrington

A systematic review published in 2011 of the studies comparing pressure to volume ventilation stated that there was ‘reduced death/BPD, duration of ventilation, pneumothoraces, hypocarbia and periventricular leukomalacia/severe intraventricular hemorrhage’ using volume targeted ventilation.’ I think it may be true that volume ventilation … Continue reading →

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