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The purpose of the current study is to investigate the capacity of two interventions (perfectionism and self-compassion) to support students’ mental health, including reduction in depression, anxiety, identity and body image issues.

Since 2007, we have conducted several studies assessing preoperative anaemia in different settings including elective surgery. We noted that there was an inherent delay in the management of preoperative anaemia with most of these patients proceeding with the planned surgery without having their iron deficiency anaemia addressed. Despite the improvement in preoperative management, it has been found that there are a significant, although unknown number of patients who have postoperative iron deficiency anaemia. Furthermore, there is lack of data regarding prevalence of postoperative iron deficiency anaemia or amount of blood transfusions in patients who undergo elective surgery. Hence the importance of this trial to study all of these factors in Tasmanian patients attending the Launceston General Hospital in order to provide a pragmatic solution to this problem of postoperative anaemia. This study is aiming to recruit patients with iron defciency anaemia and to then randomise them between administration of a single intravenous iron carboxymaltose and standard care. Participants will be followed up by the research assistant from the time of recruitment/randomisation until 3 months post-operatively. This allows for the completion of a questionnaire regarding their wellbeing at the time, outcome of trial medications, and blood tests as required. In summary, this study is dealing with an important problem, post-operative anaemia after surgery patients, an issue that to date has not been addressed by our health system, and which is usually significantly increased in this group of patients. This trial is focusing on treating postoperative anaemia adequately to minimize risk factors of anaemia and to avoid blood transfusion and hence its subsequent complications/hazards. Another possible benefit of this trial is that it will help to relieve the current shortage of blood supply from the Red Cross. We also aim to minimize the patient’s stay in hospital and improve their quality of life. Iron infusion would be performed in the LGH utilising the currently available facilities. The newly available iron infusion (15 min) is part of standard therapy and is routinely performed in this area without adding extra load to the system.

Patients with a diagnosis of chronic vulvovaginal candidiasis will be identified through the vulval dermatology clinic at Royal North Shore Hospital. Those who fulfill all inclusion criteria and no exclusion criteria will be invited to take part in the study. Once informed consent has been obtained, a visual analogue scale (VAS) of the patient’s CVVC will be performed, as well as a low vaginal swab and baseline blood tests (full blood count, electrolytes/urea/creatinine, liver function tests). Patients will also be asked to complete a Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire. If the blood tests return within normal limits, the patient may commence the study. Patients will be randomized into one of two groups: Group A will take one 50mg fluconazole capsule daily, and Group B will take one 150mg capsule weekly with placebo capsules on the other days. Patients will return after 6 weeks and the VAS and DLQI will be repeated. After another 6 weeks, the VAS, DLQI and the blood tests will be repeated. Those who have had significant improvement may continue in the open-label extension and be treated with one 50mg tablet twice per week. Those who have not improved will undergo further investigation within the vulval dermatology clinic. At each visit, patients will be asked about any potential side-effects or adverse events.

Pulse oximetry is commonly used in the clinical setting to titrate oxygen therapy to a target oxygen saturation range in order to avoid the risks of hypoxaemia and hyperoxaemia. The purpose of this study is to investigate the level of agreement between pulse oximeter measured oxygen saturations and arterial blood gas measured oxygen saturations (the gold standard for oxygen saturation measurement) in Australian and New Zealand hospitals.

The objective of this project is to conduct the first randomised controlled trial of a combined Internet and SMS intervention for perinatal wellbeing in both mothers and fathers. Two hundred primiparous mother-father couples will be recruited. The study aims to: 1.Compare the effectiveness on indices of wellbeing of two online programs for first-time parents: a) Babycare - access to information and tips on early childcare in the areas of feeding, soothing, sleep and getting prepared. The Babycare program is supported by SMSs at 2, 4, 7 and 10 weeks to encourage continued use of the program; b) Wellbeing - includes all content from Babycare plus additional modules specifically targeting wellbeing in the areas of self-care, relationships, interacting with baby and changing roles. Wellbeing also includes a Scrapbook section where parents are encouraged to upload photos that remind them of positive aspects of parenting and of achievements. The Wellbeing program is also supported by SMSs at 2, 4, 7 and 10 weeks. 2. Assess the cost-effectiveness of each intervention. It is hypothesised that: 1. Participants receiving the Wellbeing program will show greater program use and improved confidence in childcare at 3 and 6 months than those in Babycare. 2. Levels of distress, quality of life, relationship satisfaction and cost-effectiveness will be greater for Wellbeing than Babycare.

The aims of this project are: (1) compare the effects of two exercise interventions (High Intensity Interval Training [HIIT] and 10,000 steps) combined with usual care smoking cessation support, on the cessation rates of female smokers wishing to quit; (2) assess the effects of HIIT and 10,000 steps for weight management during quit attempts; and (3) assess whether improvements in fitness, vitality and intrinsic motivation are mediators of the relationship between HITT and smoking cessation. We hypothesise that HIIT will provide higher smoking cessation rates than 10,000 steps.

Overnight polysomnography (PSG) is the gold standard for diagnosing sleeprelated breathing disorders such as obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). The monitoring of work of breathing during sleep is paramount to help differentiate between different types of sleep disordered breathing, which direct the cause and hence management for sleep disordered breathing in children. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Australasian Sleep Association deems the definitive measure of work of breathing as changes in oesophageal pressure (Poes) during sleep, which is measured using a catheter (thin flexible tube) inserted into the oesophagus. Measuring the diaphragm muscle (our main breathing muscle)'s electrical activity (EMGdi) is another way of accurately assessing work of breathing during sleep. Simultaneous recording of Poes and EMGdi offers different and complementary information about the function of our diaphragm. Currently TGA approved devices in Australia can only measure Poes or EMGdi using two separate oesophageal catheters. More recently, an oesophageal ballon multipair electrode catheter designed by Yinghui Medical has been used overseas in infants and adults to measure Poes and EMGdi simultaneously using one catheter.It has been used during normal breathing awake, during sleep, and during exercise. Its size is similar to a feeding tube used in children. It is well tolerated without any significant adverse events reported. It has not being custom made for use in children previously. Our pilot study's aim is to investigate the tolerability, safety, and feasibilty of using this oesophageal balloon catheter with multipair electrodes designed by Yinghui Medical in infants and children to assess their work of breathing during sleep. All children (<18 y.o) referred by their sleep physician to Sydney Children's Hospital's Sleep Lab is eligible for this study, unless they already have nasogastric or nasojejunal tube insitu for feeding. The catheter will be inserted by the research doctor with the help of an experienced nurse and play therapist, as part of routine sleep study set up. Any adverse events associated with the catheter (safety), how many children and the number of hours the children were able to tolerate having the catheter in situ (tolerability), and whether meaningful Poes and EMGdi were able to be recorded (feasibility) will be assessed.

To determine if injection of local anaesthesia into the area surrounding the pelvic nerves (superior hypogastric nerve block, or SHNB) is useful in reducing pain in patients who have undergone uterine artery embolisation (UAE). Patients will receive an injection into the retroperitoneal space (which contains the nerves supplying the pelvic organs) immediately before the UAE. It may contain either local anaesthetic or a placebo (normal saline). After the procedure the amount of pain relief needed by the patient and any associated side effects (e.g. nausea, vomiting) will be recorded throughout the patient's stay. At outpatient follow up in 6 weeks, overall satisfaction with both the UAE and the pain relief obtained will be recorded.

Paediatric patients undergoing elective or emergency surgery, or who have been admitted to the Neonatal/Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (NICU/PICU), often require mechanical ventilation. During the perioperative period, these patients are at risk of several types of lung injury, including atelectasis (collapse of lung tissue), pneumonia (disease marked by inflammation of the lungs), pneumothorax (presence of air within the pleural cavity leading to lung collapse), Acute Lung Injury (ALI) and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Anaesthetic management can contribute to these injuries, exacerbate any underlying lung conditions or even improve outcomes, depending on the specific situation. Moreover, several studies have shown that pulmonary complications, more specifically respiratory failure requiring ventilation, are associated with high morbidity and mortality along with increased health-related costs and greater length of hospital stay. Ventilation mode (volume, pressure or dual), modality (controlled, assisted, support ventilation) and respiratory parameters (e.g. tidal volume and respiratory rate) are the most important factors of mechanical ventilation. An important aspect of ventilation strategies is to optimise respiratory mechanics. A critical part of this process is knowing the normal range of respiratory mechanics during ventilation. This allows clinicians to define ventilation such that the respiratory mechanics can be maintained at a level expected for that particular patient and therefore protect against over- or under ventilation and thus minimise potential harm. While the normal ranges of a variety of respiratory outcomes during mechanical ventilation have been assessed in adults, there are no normal reference ranges of values available for the paediatric population. This precludes the formulation of clear evidence-based ventilation guidelines in children. Measurable mechanical and physiological parameters such as pulmonary compliance (ease of expansion of the lungs and thorax), respiratory resistance (resistance to flow of gases during ventilation), tidal volume (volume of air moved in and out during quiet/normal breathing) can be used to effectively monitor the effect of changes in mechanical ventilation and limit the risk of Ventilator-Induced Lung Injury VILI. Furthermore, the lack of precise data on these essential parameters as well as the implications relating to the lack of this important data, have been highlighted by experts from the recent American Thoracic Society workshop on the evaluation of respiratory mechanics and function in patients being cared for in paediatric and neonatal ICU settings (personal communication from Dr Carmichael-Peterson, Chair of the American Thoracic Society Task Force for the measurement of respiratory function in the ICU). Better ventilation strategies are also of particular importance in children with cardiac and/or respiratory co-morbidities undergoing anaesthesia as well as children with prolonged surgeries impacting on respiratory function, e.g. pneumoperitoneum, extensive abdominal surgery. This study aims at measuring lung function outcomes in children aged between 1 and 15 years old who are undergoing surgery under general anaesthesia and require mechanical ventilation. We hypothesise that by measuring the respiratory resistance and pulmonary compliance of children undergoing surgery before and after anaesthesia induction, we will be able to develop robust prediction equations and nomograms that define the values of physiological parameters to be programmed in mechanical ventilators for optimal lung function in anaesthetised children having surgery.

This project aims to evaluate the efficacy of a manualised psychological treatment for adults with Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD). SAD has only recently been accepted as legitimately occurring during adulthood in the DSM-5. As such, no evidence-based treatments have yet been trialed to address this debilitating condition. We hypothesise that adult subjects diagnosed with SAD who receive 8 sessions of specialized psychological treatment will report lower levels of anxiety, greater symptom improvements, and less impairments in their day-to-day life after treatment, compared to a a group who do not receive the treatment for 8 weeks. Project outcomes will indicate whether this treatment program is useful in reducing symptoms and distress caused by separation anxiety disorder.