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Clinical predictors of hypoxic pneumonia in children from the Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea: secondary analysis of two prospective observational studiesPneumonia is the leading cause of death in young children globally and is prevalent in the Papua New Guinea highlands. We investigated clinical predictors of hypoxic pneumonia to inform local treatment guidelines in this resource-limited setting.
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The SPEC score—A quantifiable CT scoring system for primary ciliary dyskinesiaStructural lung changes seen on computed tomography scans in persons with primary ciliary dyskinesia are currently described using cystic fibrosis derived scoring systems. Recent work has shown structural changes and frequencies that are unique to PCD, indicating the need for a unique PCD-derived scoring system.
Research
The Respiratory Microbiome in Paediatric Chronic Wet Cough: What Is Known and Future DirectionsChronic wet cough for longer than 4 weeks is a hallmark of chronic suppurative lung diseases, including protracted bacterial bronchitis, and bronchiectasis in children. Severe lower respiratory infection early in life is a major risk factor of PBB and paediatric bronchiectasis.
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Development of molecular tools for accurate diagnosis and disease surveillance (including vaccine impact)Janessa Lea-Ann Peter Ruth Pickering Kirkham Richmond Thornton BSc PhD PhD MBBS MRCP(UK) FRACP PhD Senior Research Fellow (currently HOT NORTH Early

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Associate Professor Lea-Ann KirkhamCo-Head, Bacterial Respiratory Infectious Disease Group; Microbiology Lead, Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines & Infectious Diseases

Research
Unlocking the immunology of whooping cough vaccines to guide the development of improved vaccines and schedules in AustraliaRuth Peter Thornton Richmond PhD MBBS MRCP(UK) FRACP Co-head, Bacterial Respiratory Infectious Disease Group (BRIDG) Head, Vaccine Trials Group

The Bacterial Respiratory Infectious Disease Group (BRIDG) has a major focus ear and lung disease involving Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae.
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Evaluation of a bacterial therapy for prevention of respiratory infection including influenza and otitis mediaDeborah Lea-Ann Peter Ruth Strickland Kirkham Richmond Thornton PhD PhD MBBS MRCP(UK) FRACP PhD Head, Pregnancy and Early Life Immunology Co-Head,
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among children with pneumonia using a causal Bayesian networkPneumonia remains a leading cause of hospitalization and death among young children worldwide, and the diagnostic challenge of differentiating bacterial from non-bacterial pneumonia is the main driver of antibiotic use for treating pneumonia in children. Causal Bayesian networks (BNs) serve as powerful tools for this problem as they provide clear maps of probabilistic relationships between variables and produce results in an explainable way by incorporating both domain expert knowledge and numerical data.