Previous Projects

Dry mouth associated with fasting, stress, anxiety and pharmacological agents has been identified to be the most common perioperative complaint.
This is amenable to therapies including saliva substitutes, saliva stimulants and intravenous sialogues.
BIGDRY is a randomized controlled trial of two interventions to manage dry mouth in preoperative elective surgical patients.
Recruitment and data analysis complete. At stage of write-up

Preoperative anaemia is common in surgery, with a prevalence between 10 and 50 %, and is an independent risk factor for morbidity and mortality.
The main objective of ALICE is to estimate the prevalence of preoperative anaemia and subtypes (anaemia caused by deficiency in iron, vitamin B12 and/or folate, and renal or chronic disease) in patients undergoing major surgery
A secondary objective is the assessment of the association of preoperative anaemia and subtypes with in-hospital morbidity and mortality accounting for other predictive factors (e.g. age, surgical discipline)
Data collection completed; 370 patients recruited across NZ.
Currently in analysis stage

Tri-national observational cohort study based in Britain, Australia and New Zealand, supported by the Association of Anaesthetists Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI) and Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA). This was undertaken as part of the 2nd Sprint National Anaesthesia Project.
Successful recruitment of 1200 patients across 8 centres in New Zealand. Preliminary findings have been presented at the ANZCA research workshop.
https://www.niaa-hsrc.org.uk/SNAP-2-Publications

Prospective, multi-centre survey examining the anaesthetic consent process at 11 anaesthetic departments across New Zealand
Performed as part of an international collaboration between investigators in the United Kingdom, Lithuania, and New Zealand