Trauma (traumatic injury) at The Children's Hospital at Westmead

The Centre for Trauma Care, Prevention, Education and Research (CTCPER) is the core centre for trauma services at The Children‟s Hospital at Westmead.

Its mission is to:

• provide high quality services to children and adolescents injured due to traumatic events
• play a leading role in the prevention of injury among children and adolescents
• conduct groundbreaking research in prevention, education and research

The Centre also plays an important role in training health professionals in trauma-related clinical skills and in providing safety information and education to the public. The CTCPR provides the day-to-day case management of patients up to 16 years of age who present with moderate to major trauma. All surgeons provide management of patients from trauma to acute care with consultant involvement in the management of all trauma patients.

Staff

Professor Danny Cass, Director
Dr Andrew Holland, Consultant
Dr S.V.S. Soundappan, Trauma Fellow
Mr Frank Ross, Clinical Nurse Consultant
Ms Kay Foster, Secretary

Research

Group Leader:
Dr. Lawrence Lam
Deputy Director (Scientific)
Telephone : +612 9845 3055

Current research program

Traumatic injury aetiological risk factors

1. The NSW Young Driver Cohort Study: A study on risk factors of car crash injuries among young drivers.
2. Childhood near drowning risk factors study
3. NSW Paediatric Sports Injuries Surveillance study

Traumatic injury management and care

1. The Paediatric Trauma Care Management Study- A Randomised Control Trial

Traumatic injury rehabilitation and outcome

1. Prescribed Exercise and Recovery from Traumatic Head Injury Study
2. Clinical perspective of “Return to activity” after a traumatic head injury study
3. Functional and quality of life outcomes of children who suffered a traumatic injury study

Major achievements

Research into risk factors of distraction to young drivers has successfully identified the number of passengers in the car is a significant potential risk of motor vehicle crash injuries. The results obtained from the study with other subsequent research induce the road and traffic authorities both in New Zealand and Australia to put implement legislation to restricting the number of passengers carried in the vehicle by young driver aged less than 25 years. Recent road statistics indicated a decline in the prevalence of motor vehicle-related crashes and injuries.

Key publications

1. Lam LT (2003) Factors associated with fatal and injurious car crash among learner drivers in New South Wales, Australia. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 35: 333-340.
Significance: The first study in the literature on this particular topic. The study highlighted the risk of car crashes among learner drivers and triggered many subsequent research in the same topic area.

2. Lam LT, Norton R, Woodward M, Connor J, Ameratunga S (2003) Passenger carriage and car crash injury: A comparison between younger and older drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 35:861-867.
Significance: Significance: The first study in the literature on this particular topic. The study highlighted the risk of car crashes among learner drivers and triggered many subsequent research in the same topic area

3. Lam LT, Yang L, Yanyan Zheng, Chong Ruan, Zhenlain Lei (2006) The association between unintentional injury and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder tendency among adolescents in China. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 38: 1176-1182.
Significance: The first study that examined the relationship between ADHD and injury in China.

4. Soundappan S, Holland A, Fahy F, Manglick P, Lam LT, Cass D. (2007) Transfer of paediatric trauma patients to a tertiary paediatric trauma centre- Appropriateness and timeliness. The Journal of Trauma, Injury, Infection and Critical Care. 62: 1229-33.

Significance: The results of the study provided evidence-based policy decision made by the Statewide Trauma Management Committee.

5. Marchant J, Cheng N, Lam LT, Fahy F, Soundappan S, Cass D, Browne GJ. (2008) The role of Basic Life Support in children suffering a immersion in water. Medical Journal of Australia. 188:484-5.
Significance: The publication raised the awareness of the new basic life support techniques recommended by the Royal Life Saving Society and other international life saving bodies. Many post publication press exposures further enhance the message of the importance of acquiring this simple and basic life saving skills. A statewide education campaign is developed to provide training to all life saving trainers of the most up-to-date life support skills.

Research staff

Frank Ross, CNC BSc (App Sci Nursing), MPH
Fiona Fahy, CNC BSc (App Sci Nursing), Master in Nursing
Patricia Maglick Data Manger, BSc, MSc