ANZCA clinical trials 

Professor Philip Peyton was interviewed as a follow up to an ANZCA media release on ABC Radio Ballarat's breakfast program on 19 May ahead of International Clinicals Day on 20 May.

As lead of the ANZCA CTN ROCKet trial Professor Peyton highlighted the contribution of patients in regional hospitals to clinical trials with Grampians Health in Victoria successfully recruiting more than 500 patients.

The interview with host Steve Martin starts at 1:03:10.

Hospital management concerns

ANZCA President Professor Dave Story was quoted in an online article in The Weekend Australian on 17 May about ongoing  pressures in Australian hospitals.

The (paywalled) article "Perilous disconnect between hospital doctors and bosses" reached more than 600,000 readers.

Surgery crisis at children's hospital 

ANZCA President Professor Dave Story was interviewed for a page 2 article in The Australian  (paywalled) on 8 May about a shortage of paediatric anaesthetists at the Children's Hospital at Westmead in Sydney.

Professor Story called for urgent reform of resourcing at the hospital.

Tributes for Professor Rinaldo Bellomo after death at just 67

Rinaldo Bellomo, 67, was a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Monash University, Professor in the Department of Critical Care at the University of Melbourne, an Honorary Fellow at The Florey, and Honorary Professorial Fellow in the Faculty of Medicine at The University of NSW.

He was also an Honorary Professorial Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health in Sydney.

ANZCA President Professor Dave Story, a close friend and colleague, said Professor Bellomo was one of the world's leading intensive care medicine researchers and thinkers.

“As a person, Rinaldo had endless energy and enthusiasm for new ideas and determination to implement sound evidence,” Professor Story told the Herald Sun in a tribute to Professor Bellomo published on 8 May.

2025 ASM Cairns

'Laugh away' anxiety

Professor Paul Myles was interviewed by the Herald Sun  for an exclusive page 3 (paywalled) article on 7 May about his research into nitrous oxide and depression.

Professor Myles said many with treatment-resistant depression suffered sad and debilitating lives because no drug had worked for them.

The study, carried out at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne was partly funded by the ANZCA Foundation.

The study findings were also reported by Nine News bulletins in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne  and 10 News in Sydney and Melbourne. The top rating radio Melbourne breakfast 3AW team interviewed Professor Myles about the research and radio news bulletins on 3AW, 2SM, Smooth FM, 2GB, 2HD (Newcastle), 2CC (Canberra) , 6PR, FIVEAA and Curtin FM also included news segments on the study with a total audience reach of more than two million people.

How this tool is showing doctors how to help women suffering birth trauma

Victorian anaesthetist Dr Priya Rao was interviewed for a Herald Sun article (paywalled) on 5 May previewing her Tuesday presentation on birth trauma.

The article ran in both print and online editions of the Herald Sun and in online editions of the Gold Coast Bulletin, the NT News, the Daily Telegraph, the Cairns Post, the Hobart Mercury, the Courier Mail, the Townsville Bulletin and the Geelong Advertiser. 

The article reached an audience of more than 800,000 people.

One in five kids suffering with pain

Visiting Canadian guest Professor Allen Finley featured in a Cairns Sunday Mail (paywalled) page 5 article today "One in five kids suffering with pain". 

Professor Finley's presentations on childhood pain on Friday and Saturday highlighted the significant  gaps in global health systems for treating childhood pain.

The article by Herald Sun medical editor Robyn Riley was also syndicated in print and online to the Sunday Tasmanian, the Sunday Herald Sun and The Toowoomba Chronicle. It also ran in online articles in the Gold Coast Bulletin, the Townsville Bulletin, the Courier Mail, the NT News, Adelaide Now, the Daily Telegraph and the Geelong Advertiser. 

The articles reached a combined audience of nearly one million people across print and online.  

Cairns' force awakens

Dr Vesselin Petkov, Cairns anaesthetist, featured in a Cairns Post article (paywalled)  on 3 May with anaesthetic technician colleagues Sophiya Ogrodzinski and Martin Ogrodzinski previewing their ASM light sabre workshop.

The article was syndicated in print and online editions of the Herald Sun and Hobart Mercury and syndicated online to the Daily Telegraph, the Townsville Bulletin, the Geelong Advertiser, Adelaide Now, the NT News, and the Gold Coast Bulletin reaching an audience of nearly 400,000  people.   

FPM Dean interviewed in ABC Cairns studio

Dr Dilip Kapur was interviewed in a live broadcast by ABC Radio Queensland Northern ‘Drive’ presenter Adam Stephen in the ABC’s Cairns studio on Friday 2 May. The 10-minute interview (starts at 30 minutes in) focused on the FPM Symposium and chronic pain management.  

Top-notch conference 

ASM scientific co-convenors Dr Danielle Volling-Geoghegan and Dr Daniel Foster were interviewed by the Cairns News for a page 3 article on 2 May about the meeting.

Is ‘chatty’ Dolores AI the answer to chronic pain?

FPM Symposium presenter Dr Nicole Andrews was interviewed by Herald Sun medical editor Robyn Riley about her chatbot research.

The "Dolores" chatbot developed by Australian researchers including Dr Andrews involved 60 Australian patients who tested the chatbot’s ability to accurately guide them to manage their pain. 

The article ran online in the Herald Sun (paywalled) and other News Limited publications on 1 May: The Courier Mail, the Hobart Mercury, Adelaide Now, the Cairns Post, the Gold Coast Bulletin, Townsville Bulletin, the NT News and the Daily Telegraph reaching an audience of more than 350,000 people. 

It also ran in the print edition of the Geelong Advertiser.

Presenter Dr Nicole Andrews was also interviewed by 3AW Radio's top rating Breakfast program about the chatbot on 1 May.

A/Prof Mick Vagg joins call for The BMJ to retract a clinical practice guideline

More than 30 pain medicine societies are calling on The BMJ to retract a clinical practice guideline that advises against interventional procedures for chronic spine pain.

The guideline, part of the BMJ Rapid Recommendations series, recommends that procedures such as epidural injections of anaesthetic or steroids should not be offered to adults with chronic axial or radicular spine pain that is not associated with cancer or inflammatory arthropathy, outside of clinical trials.

It was based on a network meta-analysis, published in the same journal, which evaluated 81 trials covering nearly 8000 patients.

Associate Professor Michael Vagg told AusDoc (paywalled) on 24 April that he supported the calls to retract the guideline.