Neonatal Health

The Neonatal Health Team, led by Clinical Professor Tobias Strunk and Dr Andrew Currie, forms part of the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, based at Telethon Kids Institute. Dedicated to identifing new ways to diagnose, prevent and treat infections in the most vulnerable patients, the Neonate Team strives to provide newborn babies with the best possible start into life.

Preterm birth is defined as deliveries that occur before 37 weeks of pregnancy. In WA alone, nearly 3000 babies (approximately 1 in 12) are born preterm each year. Based on gestational age at birth, severity of prematurity is classified as:

• moderate to late preterm (32 to 37 weeks)
• very preterm (28 to 32 weeks)
• extremely preterm (less than 28 weeks)

Advancements in perinatal medicine now allows the survival of extremely preterm babies by developing outside of the womb for three to four months in highly sophisticated neonatal intensive care. Unfortunately, these babies are at high risk of infection as their immune system is still developing. Common complications of preterm birth include bloodstream infection (sepsis) and necrotising enterocolitis (an inflammatory condition of the gut) which trigger systemic inflammation and increase the risk immediate illness and long-term disability. Reducing infection and the associated inflammation significantly decreases neurodevelopmental impairment associated with this common complication in infants born too early.

Our infection and inflammation disciplines focus on:

• Deciphering how the newborn immune system works
• Preventing infection and inflammation
• Early diagnosis of infection
• Reducing the use of empiric antibiotics
• Improving disability-free survival

In addition to the immune function, the skin of a premature baby, the first barrier against infections, is also immature. The earlier the baby is born, the more compromised the skin barrier, with extremely preterm babies having exquisitely thin and fragile skin. The Neonate Team are currently leading the COSI 2 Trial, a large, cluster-randomised trial conducted in neonatal intensive care units in Australia and New Zealand that investigates if applying topical coconut oil to the skin can reduce late-onset sepsis in extremely preterm infants.