Student projects available at the Rural Clinical School

Project name: Ventilator assisted preoxygenation at LifeFlight

Location: Toowoomba but can be supported remotely

Project type: Chart audit

Supervisor: Dr Akmez Latona (Consultant in Emergency Medicine and Retrieval Medicine)

Anticipated project duration: 3 Months

Project summary:

Objective:

To review ventilator-associated preoxygenation at LifeFlight over the past 5 years

Data to be recorded will be obtained from air maestro:

•    Search airway registry for ticked boxes ‘’NIV’’ and “preoxygenation”
•    Patient demographics and clinical information. This includes risk factors identified by clinician for patients being deemed as risk of  desaturation
•    SpO2 pre and post NIV as preoxygenative strategy
•    Duration of preoxygenation
•    Any desaturation during intubation
•    NIV settings: mode, respiratory rate, pressure support, PEEP, Fio2
•    GCS, compliant or combative and the use of sedation to allow compliance
•    Any complications of NIV (vomiting, intolerance, aspiration pneumonia)
•    Drugs used to facilitate NIV tolerance/preoxygenation

Note: This project is only suitable for final year medical students

Enquiries: To enquire about any of the available projects, please email rcsrc@uq.edu.au with the project title as the subject line.

Project name: How long before we get it right? Appropriate and inappropriate imaging in Paediatric Acute UTI

Location: Central Queensland (Gladstone, Yeppoon, and Emerald)

Project type: Chart Audits

Supervisor: Assoc/Prof Sunday Pam (Head, Rockhampton Rural Clinical Unit, The University of Queensland)

Anticipated project duration: Minimum three weeks data collection

Project summary:

Assessing the patterns of imaging in acute UTI in children over a 10-year period in CQHHS involving 4 major hospitals. Over 50% of the data has been collected and a students are required who can collect data in Gladstone, Yeppoon, and Emerald.

 Enquiries: To enquire about any of the available projects, please email rcsrc@uq.edu.au with the project title as the subject line.

Project name: Recognition and management of corticosteroid-related toxicity in cancer patients: Audit of current practice

Location: Toowoomba

Project type: Chart audit and Literature review

Supervisor: Dr Harry Gasper (Staff Specialist, Toowoomba Hospital)

Anticipated project duration: 6 months

Project summary: 

Cancer patients may require prolonged periods of corticosteroid use to treat side effects from chemotherapy, symptoms of disease and manage immune-related toxicity. Long-term corticosteroid use is associated with life-changing toxicity including osteoporosis, impaired skin integrity, diabetes and immunosuppression. Recent cases have highlighted a need for a clinical practice AUDIT to assess compliance with internationally accepted standards. Results from this project are expected to inform alterations to practice and development of a clinical pathway to manage and prevent corticosteroid toxicity in this patient group. The project will also include a literature review to identify standards.

Note: Experience in conducting literature reviews is required for this project

Enquiries: To enquire about any of the available projects, please email rcsrc@uq.edu.au with the project title as the subject line.

Project name: Efficacy and safety of Carboplatin combined with Oral or IV Etoposide for treatment of Extensive Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer (ES-SCLC)

Location: Toowoomba 

Project type:  Chart audit and Literature review

Supervisor: Dr Harry Gasper (Staff Specialist, Toowoomba Hospital)

Anticipated project duration: 3 months

Project summary: 

Current standard of care in ES-SCLC is to combine induction chemotherapy with Carboplatin and Etoposide with Atezolizumab. Randomised clinical trials assessing this combination have utilised IV Etoposide. In clinical practice, Oral Etoposide can be substituted, however the evidence is of low quality, based on one randomised trial which was underpowered to prove equivalence. Use of PO etoposide in our centre is high, due to the high prevalence of patients travelling from distances exceeding 100km. This study aims to assess the utility of PO etoposide and examine any differences in survival, survival without progression, patterns of recurrence and safety (measured as objective and implied toxicity and admissions to hospital).

Enquiries: To enquire about any of the available projects, please email rcsrc@uq.edu.au with the project title as the subject line.

Project name: Causes and predictors of mortality in dialysis patients

Location: This project is available to Bundaberg students only

Project type:  Chart audits

Supervisor: Dr Clyson Mutatiri (Director of Renal Medicine, Bundaberg Hospital )

Anticipated project duration: 3 months

Project summary: 

The incidence of treated end-stage kidney disease in Australia is increasing, almost doubling between 1989 and 2018. Unfortunately, dialysis patients today continue to experience high mortality and suboptimal outcomes, with low health-related quality of life and high symptom burden. We aim to conduct a retrospective cohort study to determine the causes and predictors of mortality and rates of morbidity, and explore the relationships between various comorbid conditions and mortality on maintenance dialysis. This will inform prognostic and policy decisions that may guide the choice of interventions which modify directly these co-morbidities to improve overall patient outcomes.

Enquiries: To enquire about any of the available projects, please email rcsrc@uq.edu.au with the project title as the subject line.