Newcastle doctors win prestigious award for taking the pain out of bluebottle stings

A team of Newcastle doctors has won a prestigious award and $10,000 for their research into the treatment of bluebottle stings. 

The team is led by John Hunter Hospital Emergency Physician, Dr Conrad Loten, and Calvary Mater Newcastle and Menzies School of Health Research, Clinical Toxicologist Dr Geoff Isbister.

Dr Loten and Dr Isbister, and their colleagues, statistician Barrie Stokes, marine biologist Dr Jamie Seymour, and Drs David Worsley and Simon Jiang have been awarded the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA)/Wyeth Research Award for 2006.

Each year, the MJA/Wyeth Award is awarded to researchers who have been judged to have contributed the best research article to The Medical Journal of Australia during the previous year. 

As the official journal of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) the MJA is Australia's leading peer reviewed journal of medical practice and clinical research.

Dr Loten said he and his colleagues compared the effectiveness of hot water immersion versus ice packs for treating bluebottle stings.

“Treatment with hot water immersion proved far more effective in relieving the pain of bluebottle stings,” Dr Loten said.

“So much so, that we stopped the trial half way through.”

AMA President Dr Mukesh Haikerwal congratulated the team on their research, which reached worldwide prominence when it was featured in the New York Times recently.

“Your research addressed a perennial problem for beach going Australians in the summer months – thousands of bluebottle stings,” Dr Haikerwal said.

“It clearly shows that meaningful advances do not necessarily require high technology - just a good idea and a will to see it through.”

Dr Loten and Dr Isbister accepted the award at the 2007 AMA National Conference in Melbourne earlier this afternoon.

“We are delighted to accept this award and we’re looking forward to using the $10,000 donated by Wyeth Australia to conduct further research into the study of toxins and their effects on humans,” Dr Loten said.

“We also acknowledge the support of a Margaret Mitchell Grant which provided funding for the study.”

Contact: Gemma Smith

Phone: 4921 4501 or 0402 793 426