ANZCTR search results

This study aims to investigate the diagnostic test accuracy of Cxbladder for diagnosis of bladder cancer in patients presenting with macroscopic or microscopic haematuria. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged between 18 years or over and are to undergo an investigative cystoscopy for recent macroscopic or microscopic haematuria (presence of red blood cells in the urine) and do not have a prior history of urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. Study details All participants of this study will provide urine samples just prior to undergoing cystoscopy. These samples will be analysed using Cxbladder diagnostic test and results compared with pathology results from samples collected during cystoscopy. These findings will not be used in treatment decisions but will help establish if Cxbladder test can be used in diagnosis of bladder cancer.

The aim is to determine whether Cxbladder is as accurate as cystoscopy current technologies in determining freedom from, or recurrence of cancer in the group of patients having undergone Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) immunotherapy or Mitomycin C intravesical chemotherapy for transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. This study aims to investigate the diagnostic test accuracy of Cxbladder for predicting recurrence of cancer in the group of patients having undergone Bacillus Calmette-Guerin immunotherapy or Mitomycin C intravesical chemotherapy for transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder.. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged between 18 and 85 years undergoing Bacillus Calmette-Guerin therapy or Mitomycin C therapy for bladder cancer or DMSO/heparin therapy for painful bladder syndrome at Concord Hospital. Study details All participants of this study will provide urine samples before they commence treatment and then at 1, 2, 3 and 6 months and one additional timepoint 1-3 years following completion of treatment. These samples will be analysed using Cxbladder diagnostic test and results then compared with currently used cystoscopy exam results. These findings will not be used in treatment decisions but will help establish if Cxbladder test can be used to predict cancer recurrence in patients undergoing this type of treatment.

Ageing Australians represent a growing proportion of the total population and retirement villages are becoming an increasingly popular residential option for older adults. Although initiatives designed to increase activity among residents are widely available in these settings, their uptake is limited and their sustainability unknown. There is an urgent need to identify effective, sustainable strategies that can serve to increase physical activity, reduce sitting, and improve mental health. We will examine whether a 16-week programme using well-established motivational techniques, will result in sustainable increases in walking, reduced sitting time and improved mental health in older adults (minimum 60 years old) residing in retirement villages in Western Australia. The program will use motivational strategies for which the research team is particularly expert and has successfully used in previously funded research. To make the intervention relevant to the target population, we have also conducted extensive interviews with residents and managers in retirement villages in preparation for this proposal. The results of these interviews have been used to adapt the program to the needs of the target group. It is expected that participants who are allocated to the treatment with trained walk ambassadors and who have received motivation training will show greater (sustained) increases in walking, reductions in sitting and larger improvements in mental health than the other conditions Residents allocated to the experimental with ambassadors group to one group will take part in a combination of 16 weeks of group-led and individual walks facilitated by motivationally trained resident ambassadors. Residents will also be taught motivation skills they can use to help them change and sustain a physically active lifestyle in the longer-term without the help of the resident ambassadors. The experimental walkers only group will also be taught motivation skills but will not have resident ambassadors. Participants in the control with ambassadors group will also be encouraged to engage in group and individual walks, but their resident ambassadors will not be trained in motivational techniques. The final group will not have ambassadors assigned to them. Changes in walking and sitting behaviour, and as a consequence, changes in mental health, will be examined. The effects of the surrounding physical environment (e.g., perceived safety, safety from traffic and proximity to amenities) will also be explored. This is a motivation-enhancing programme which has the potential to eventually be rolled out across various types of accommodation for older adults.

This study aims to identify the prevalence of hypoglycaemia during extended OGTTs and associations with biochemical parameters relevant to glucose metabolism. In particular, this study will explore the role of glucagon and the incretins GLP-1 and GIP in reactive hypoglycaemia during OGTTs.

Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are known to be at higher risk of developing pressure injuries than other patient populations due to their illnesses and the types of therapies (medications, devices and technologies) used to treat their life-threatening event. More medical devices are used in critically ill patients because of the life-saving treatments needed and, thus, there are often high rates of medical device-related pressure injuries. Medical device-related pressure injuries are suspected when an injury has the same shape or outline as the device. Stomach tubes for feeding patients, and breathing tubes for mechanically assisted breathing, are the two most common devices used in ICUs. Together they cause the most medical device-related pressure injuries in the intensive care. Critically ill patients in the ICU with medical devices are nearly four times more likely to develop a pressure injury of any kind. There has been some research into ways to reduce medical device-related pressure injuries but none of these suggested methods have been tested in large patient groups. Hence, the aim of this project is to test the effectiveness of different ways of securing these devices, the use of a thin dressing under the device, regular assessment of your skin beneath the device, and regular repositioning of the device. The combination of these preventative methods in an intensive care environment has not been tested. This study will examine whether ICU patients with NGT or ETT who receive the intervention demonstrate less medical device related PI compared with patients who receive standard care practices.

This is a study of decision making and bias, as it relates to care in the intensive care unit. Participants are ICU staff, they will be recruited at handover after a night shift to give a fatigued group (end of night shift) and a non-fatigued group (start of day shift). Participants will be allocated to one of two questionnaires (A&B) which are identical in terms of the hypothetical clinical scenarios, but differ in terms of the social status of the hypothetical patient. For example, a case might describe a patient who has been involved in an MVA with severe injuries necessitating ICU support, but in Questionnaire A the patient would be a policeman chasing a violent criminal and in B the patient IS the violent criminal. Participants will be asked to rate the "risk" of the scenario on a 10 point likert scale, then rate their degree of agreement with an aggressive treatment strategy and a limited treatment strategy We hypothesize that participants risk assessment and treatment strategies will significantly differ between the groups. We also hypothesize that these differences will be exaggerated when participants are fatigued.

Exercise training leads to clinical improvements in blood glucose control in individuals with T2DM. This improvement in blood glucose control occurs because of improvements in post-meal glucose spikes (reducing time spent in hyperglycaemia by 129 min per day) and not in improvements in fasting glucose. Acute (single observation) studies reveal that exercise performed during the post-meal period (>30 min after meal ingestion) results in significant improvements in the post-meal glucose response compared to exercise performed fasted (or pre-meal consumption), at the same time as minimising the risk of hypoglycaemia. Moreover, exercise has consistently been shown to alter circadian rhythms in humans and within this body of research, the evidence shows that morning and evening exercise differentially regulate the autonomic nervous system. What is currently not known is (i) the impact of exercise-timing (morning versus evening) on daily glucose control and longer-term glucose control in individuals with T2DM; (ii) the potential mechanisms which may explain the improvements observed in glucose control with exercise training. Therefore, the overarching aim of this proposed research is to determine the impact of exercise-timing (morning versus evening) on blood glucose control in individuals enrolled into a 12-week evidence-based combined exercise training program. The secondary aim of this study is to explore the underlying mechanisms associated with the improvements in blood glucose control control. This research builds on previous work from which demonstrates: (i) reduced post-meal glucose and insulin responses when exercise is performed after meal ingestion; (ii) increased glucose responses when exercise is performed in the fasted state before breakfast; (iii) exercise training improves autonomic function in individuals with T2DM. We hypothesise that: 1. Both morning and evening training programs will lead to significant improvements in blood glucose control which will be attributable to improvements in post-meal glucose levels; 2. Morning exercise will improve blood glucose control and post-meal glucose responses to a greater extent than evening exercise, and this will be associated with improvements in autonomic function. The International Diabetes Federation has stated that, "Postmeal hyperglycaemia is harmful and should be addressed". The project proposed herein will directly address this issue by furthering our understanding of the role of exercise training in improving the post-meal glucose responses and longer-term blood glucose control control.

The current project aims to assess the impact of a combined treatment, comprising an existing online alcohol support program – OnTrack (www.ontrack.org.au), together with emails and newsletters focusing on nutrition and healthy lifestyle "OnTrack to Cutting Down and Feeling Good" emailed newsletters. Approximately150 male and female participants, aged over 18 years and drinking more than 14 standard drinks per week will be recruited in to the OnTrack online alcohol program. They will be randomised into three groups and assessed on their drinking behaviour, physical activity, and diet at the start of the study and then again after participating in OnTrack Alcohol and receiving the emailed "OnTrack to Cutting Down and Feeling Good" newsletters.

This study will investigate the effectiveness of durvalumab in combination with standard chemotherapy for mesothelioma. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 years or above, have had a diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma that is not amenable to curative surgical resection. Study details All participants in the study will receive standard first-line chemotherapy for mesothelioma and the new treatment, durvalumab, intravenously on day 1 of each 3 week cycle for a maximum number of 18 cycles. Participants will be followed-up for a minimum of 12 months to determine progression free survival and tumour response rate. Durvalumab is an antibody (a type of human protein) that works by blocking a body substance called PD-L1. Blocking PD-L1 helps the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells. Research has shown that durvalumab can slow tumour growth and shrink tumours in some people with cancer. We plan to enrol 54 participants in this study from hospitals and clinics throughout Australia. Durvalumab is currently an experimental treatment. This means that it is not yet approved for the treatment of mesothelioma, or any other condition, in Australia, or in other countries.

The randomised controlled trial aims to evaluate the impact of a three-part television documentary on men. The documentary was designed to improve men's wellbeing by reducing their conformity to traditional masculine norms (e.g., being stoic, ‘toughing it out’, coping alone) that have been shown to be associated with reduced likelihood of help seeking and poor mental health outcomes. Before viewing the documentary adult male participants will complete a baseline regarding participants’ demographics, intentions to seek help, masculinity, gender role conflict, social support, resilience, psychological distress, suicidality and well-being . They will be then randomly allocated to either view the study documentary (intervention) or view an unrelated documentary (control) and emailed a web link to the documentary so that they can watch it at home. Immediately after viewing they will be asked a few questions about their impression of the documentary, also online (Time 2). Four weeks after viewing the documentary they will again be asked to complete an online questionnaire via email (Time 3). This final questionnaire will repeat the baseline measures and will also ask for some qualitative feedback regarding the documentary. The study hypothesizes that participants who watch the documentary will show increases in their intentions to seek help, whilst also demonstrating reductions in negative attitudes related to masculinity, suicidal thoughts and psychological distress, and increases in their use of social support, resilience, and well-being when compared to participants who watch an alternative documentary.