Dr Carolyn Cottier1, Ms Florencia Montes1, Mr Andrew Geyl1
1Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick,Sydney, Australia
Biography:
Carolyn is a paediatrician who works in Developmental Paediatrics and as the Director of the Hearing Support Service at Sydney Children’s Hospital (SCH). She works closely with the Audiology team at SCH and enjoys participating in research that directly benefits the patient and their family.
Abstract
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanning of the inner ear structures and brain is recommended as part of the medical investigation into the aetiology of confirmed hearing loss in infants. Results from scanning provide important information for counselling and management.
At Sydney Children’s Hospital (SCH), it is preferred to perform MRI under “feed and wrap” technique as the first option, and to resort to general anaesthesia (GA) only if unsuccessful. This acknowledges that sedation and anaesthesia have additional risks and costs. Multiple factors have been considered to affect success rate, including the age of baby, the physical environment and the appointment time.
To explore these and additional factors, we conducted a retrospective review of our processes and success rate and identified many areas for improvement. One aspect identified was that parents were unprepared for and anxious about their MRI appointment. To address this, we created a video as a social story with the aim of preparing any family of a baby undergoing MRI under feed and wrap at SCH.
As part of the evaluation of this resource we conducted a survey with our families of babies with congenital hearing loss, looking at impact on decision making, preparation for the appointment and outcomes. The preliminary results of this QI research will be discussed during this presentation.