Information for Clinicians

The Feasibility Study

We conducted a feasibility study before starting the main trial. A feasibility study is used to help us to understand the acceptability to parents and clinicians of the proposed trial. It will help us to design a project that is as parent and patient centred as possible.

The project included doctors and clinicians looking after babies with oesophageal atresia, families of such babies and others who are involved in their care to explore what is important to them and whether they would be willing to take part in a trial. This was done through questionnaires and focus groups with medical and nursing practitioners.

The study explored trial feasibility and acceptability, design aspects and additional clinical questions, such as equipoise of clinicians, willingness of clinicians to approach parents and practitioner training needs.

About 20 parents with infants born with oesophageal atresia, as well as around 50 practitioners were involved. Overall, our findings suggest the trial is acceptable to parents and practitioners, with recommendations for changes to the protocol, information materials and site training package.

Symptomatic reflux treatment pathway

The TOAST Trial

As the feasibility study is now complete, and the main trial is being set up ready to recruit. As part of this some hospitals are being contacted to see if they would like to take part.

In this randomised controlled trial, babies with oesophageal atresia are allocated at random to either being given acid suppressing medicine or not. They are then followed up for 2 years, to see if they develop a stricture and require any further treatments.

If you have any questions about the study, you can contact the TOAST study team at the University of Oxford by emailing toast@npeu.ox.ac.uk.