Preparing a baby or young child for surgery can be stressful for parents and hospital staff.
Often, the child will need to fast before their procedure for safety reasons, which means very young children and babies can be uncomfortable, irritable and generally unhappy ahead of their operation.
Sometimes the hunger can even lead to vomiting, which can cause dangerous dehydration ahead of surgery.
It’s a common problem faced by researchers in Telethon Kids Institute’s Perioperative Medicine Team – many of whom are also anaesthetists at Perth Children’s Hospital.
In collaboration with scientists from The University of Western Australia (UWA), the team – led by Co-program head of Perioperative Care, Professor Britta Regli-von Ungern Sternberg – has developed a unique chewable tablet that gives the child the sensation of having a full stomach, without compromising their fasting regime.
Associate Professor David Sommerfield, from the Perioperative Medicine Team, Perth Children’s Hospital and UWA, said the tablet was pleasant-tasting and designed to reduce pre-operative stress in young children.
“Our product is designed to not interfere with fasting guidelines in children while providing them with a comforting sensation of having consumed solid food,” Associate Professor Sommerfield said.
Allowing fasting patients to eat these chewable tablets will help to relieve hunger and distress. An added advantage of this new product is that it does not have to be consumed with water.
Associate Professor David Sommerfield
Associate Professor Sommerfield will now lead a pre-clinical trial to further develop the fasting tablet.
“The pre-clinical trial will allow us to assess the taste acceptability of the fasting tablets to children and to assess with medical staff the appropriateness of the pre-procedural tablets,” he said.
“In the future, these tablets will be tested in a clinical trial in a real-life setting with children fasting before surgery.”
Natural relief for pain
Telethon Kids Institute’s Perioperative Medicine Team was recognised in 2022 for its outstanding commitment to consumer engagement in its research.
The team’s collaborative and wide-spread consultation for the ‘Bee Pain Free’ study, which evaluated the use of honey as a natural pain management treatment for children who have had their tonsils removed, was awarded runner up in the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance Consumer Engagement Prize.
Professor Britta Regli-von Ungern Sternberg said the trial, which involved 400 children who had a tonsillectomy in WA, was undertaken following feedback from parents that they were keen to have alternatives to strong pain relief medications.
“The burden of pain management was falling on parents, and they were wishing for non-traditional medication,” she said.
“We knew that honey has been a valued medication since ancient Egypt, known for its anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antioxidant properties, and we thought it would be a good topical treatment for children.”
Pictured: Professor Britta Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg, co-head of the Perioperative Medicine Team at Telethon Kids