ANZCTR search results

This study is aiming to investigate whether UV indicating bands are acceptable to users and encourages sun protection. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are aged 15-18 years old and are attending the Schoolies event on the Gold Coast November, 2019. Study details All participants will complete a baseline survey and use their UV band. Throughout the 1-week Schoolies period, participants will use the UV band at their discretion. After 1-week participants will partake in a 15 minute online survey about their experience using the UV band, any sunburn experienced and sun exposure behaviours during the event. It is hoped this research will show participants are satisfied with UV bands and it improves sun protection strategies and reduces sunburn incidence.

This study is aiming to validate UV cameras as a tool to measure sunscreen thickness and adequate sunscreen application. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are aged 18 years of age or older, and work mostly indoors. Participants are excluded if they are allergic to sunscreen. Study details Participants will be asked to have a photo of their face and each arm taken using a UV camera after having sunscreen applied to their face and arms by the study researchers. The researchers will supply the sunscreen. It is hoped this research will help to validate the use of UV cameras to assess sunscreen coverage.

The purpose of this study to test cryotherapy (cold therapy) for preventing chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) in patients receiving taxane chemotherapy for treatment of cancer. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are aged 18 or over and are receiving taxane therapy for breast or gynaecological cancer Study details All participants in this study will continue receiving their chemotherapy as per the standard protocol. Two groups will be formed by random chance. One group will receive cryotherapy delivered by Ice Replacement pads (IRP) wrapped around both hands and feet. These pads will be changed every 30 minutes from 15 minutes before chemotherapy until 15 minutes after chemotherapy. The other group will have their chemotherapy without any cryotherapy. All participants will answer questionnaires about their quality of life and any side-effects at the beginning of the study, at the end of chemotherapy and 6 months after completion of chemotherapy. It is hoped this research will improve patient quality of life by demonstrating cryotherapy helps reduce CIPN, which is a potentially debilitating side effect of chemotherapy.

Elevated fasting plasma insulin and triglyceride levels are known to increase the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes. Although the measure of fasting plasma triglyceride and insulin levels may represent a cumulative effect of the dietary habits and disease, it does not allow the understanding of the contribution of individual foods/meals to CVD risk. Therefore, the development of a postprandial measure that includes both triglycerides and insulin is warranted to understand the effect of food/meals on the development of chronic diseases. A standardised meal is used as a comparator for three isocaloric test meals of varying macronutrient composition.

Recent research has revealed concerning rates of anxiety, depression, sleep disorders and other mental health issues among university students. For these students, successful engagement in student life and learning activities can be significantly disrupted by fluctuations in thinking, concentration and mood, leading to low academic performance and difficulties in building social connections with their peers. Furthermore, chronic stress can lead to the disturbances in immune, neuroendocrine and neurotrophin systems. Walnuts contain several neuro-protective compounds like vitamin E, folate, melatonin, antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids and some studies have shown their beneficial effects on mental health in humans. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate whether daily walnut consumption can lower stress related biomarkers and improve mental health and general well-being in university students. We hypothesize that daily consumption of walnuts by university students may relieve stress-related mood disturbances and improve their general well-being during stressful periods of study. This will be the first study to investigate the effects of walnuts on mental health and biochemical markers in young adults attending university. If walnuts have a positive effect, they could be recommended as a nutritional healthy supplement to alleviate stress related mood disturbances and improve quality of life in young adults attending university. Participants will be randomly divided into two groups. One group will be required to consume 56g of walnuts per day for 16 weeks and the other group will be asked to maintain a nut-free diet during the same period. Changes in mood, sleeping habits, quality of life, and psychological well-being will be clinically assessed in each participant at baseline, during examination preparation and after examinations (overall, 3 assessments). All participants will also be asked to provide small blood and saliva samples, which will be used to measure changes in stress biomarkers over the 16-week period.

This study will aim to measure the incidence of urethral strictures that develop after external beam radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are an adult with prostate cancer who is undergoing radiotherapy treatment at Icon Cancer Centre Toowoomba QLD, Australia. Study details All participants will need to do is attend an assessment session 6 weeks following the end of radiation therapy treatment and then every 6 months for 5 years. This assessment will involve surveys and a urine flow test that is performed in the clinic. This flow test involves urinating into a flow meter to measure urine flow. It is non-invasive and only takes five to ten minutes to complete. It is hoped that the results from this study will help guide future radiotherapy treatment regimes and aid in the early detection of urethral strictures post-radiotherapy. Thus, leading to a reduction in invasive procedures and decreased overall morbidity. It will also fill the gap in the literature as there are currently no prospective trials on this topic.

All patients booked for elective TKR surgery under the care of the investigating surgeon who meet the inclusion criteria will be invited to participate and informed consent will be obtained. Prior to surgery, all patients will complete standradr pre-operative testing and questionniares as is usual practice. A pre-operative pain score (average over 7 days prior to surgery) and pre-operative opioid use will be recorded in the patients electronic file. TKR surgery will be carried out according to standard protocol. Prior to wound closure, additional treatment will be given with the Avanos Coolief Cooled Radiofrequency System. This involves the use of a radiofrequency generator that transmits a small current of radiofrequency energy through an insulated electrode that is placed within the tissues. Due to the friction of charged molecules, heating occurs and thermally deactivates the nerves responsible for sending pain signals to the brain. Radiofrequency energy is delivered through water-cooled electrodes, enabling more energy to be safely delivered to the target areas. This lower intensity technique makes the risk of permanent or irreversible damage to the tissues very unlikely. The application of the Coolief Cooled Radiofrequency System will add 5-10 minutes to the surgery time. Wounds will be closed in the standard fashion and standard post-operative care will be given. Standard post-operative care involves initially daily (and subsequently weekly) follow-up about pain levels and opioid intake until the 6 week post-operative mark.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common childhood physical disability, and among the most costly health conditions in Australia. Consistent with the prevailing trend for poorer health outcomes for Indigenous Australians, significantly more children from Indigenous communities have CP, usually with poorer functional skills. The current state of evidence allows reliable prediction of infants at risk of CP from 13 weeks, however children in remote Indigenous communities typically don’t seek diagnosis until far later, and also face significant barriers to accessing support and intervention. This means we are missing a significant window of opportunity for treatment when infants’ neuroplasticity is optimal. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of an early intervention program for Indigenous infants at high risk of CP. This is a randomised single blind controlled trial of 86 high risk infants (inclusion criteria: absent fidgety General Movements at 12-18 weeks, or abnormal score on the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Evaluation at 18 weeks-2 years). Infants are randomised into a community-based parent-delivered 'best practice' intervention (30 weeks of enriched environment (based on the Learning Games curriculum, demonstrated effective in over 16 RCTs); goal-directed training; and parent education, including nutrition, parenting and health) versus standard care (based on the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness). The intervention will be conducted through an Indigenous Allied Health Worker model, based on the highly effective lay health worker model, to ensure long-term sustainability. Primary infant outcomes will be measured post intervention and at 2 years corrected age using the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales and Bailey Scales of Infant Development; and primary caregiver outcomes on the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale. It is hypothesised that children receiving the intervention will have improved motor and cognitive outcomes, and caregivers to have improved mental health. This program presents a feasible, transposable and scalable model which, if shown to be effective, has the potential to reduce the burden of disability in remote Indigenous communities of Australia.

Prolonged mechanical ventilation has been associated with significant respiratory muscle weakness that remains detectable 7 days post successful weaning. This weakness has been associated with difficulty weaning from mechanical ventilation. Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT) is a novel physiotherapy technique that addresses respiratory muscle weakness. IMT uses progressive resistance to achieve a strengthening effect for respiratory muscles. Several high quality RCTs and a recent systematic review demonstrate IMT increases Maximal Inspiratory Pressure (MIP) in patients following prolonged mechanical ventilation. Furthermore a case series utilising threshold-based IMT have demonstrated safety and feasibility in ventilator dependent ICU patient. The resistance of this device is limited to 9 - 41cmH20, creating a ceiling and floor effect. Electronic inspiratory muscle training devices offer a greater magnitude of inspiratory resistance and may be more effective in providing precise assessments and training loads. However electronic inspiratory muscle training has received less attention in the literature, with only one pilot study indicating it could be feasible in ICU patients (Tonella et al 2017). While some European centres are already using electronic IMT and planning randomised trials using this technology (Hoffman et al 2018), the feasibility of this approach in ICU patients is yet to be established. Before establishing efficacy of the electronic inspiratory muscle training device for mechanically ventilated patients, safety/feasibility of the intervention must be established. Therefore we are aiming to conduct a dual centre feasibility study with an aim to recruit 20 patients at both Princess Alexandra Hospital (Brisbane, Queensland) and Canberra Hospital. Eligible participants will be mechanically ventilated for greater than 5 days or have failed a spontaneous breathing trial. Furthermore participants will be required to have sufficient alertness to follow commands in order to participate with training whilst ventilated. Outcomes will evaluate both feasibility and safety of the intervention. We expect the electronic inspiratory muscle training device will be feasible to use in clinical practice.

Children with disruptive behaviour problems represent a heterogeneous group whose difficulties arise from multiple developmental pathways, leading to differential treatment response to traditional evidence-based behavioural interventions. The challenge of treatment non-response is also often compounded by limited accessibility of traditional evidence-based interventions in community settings. The current trial aims to evaluate the acceptability and efficacy of an evidence-based behavioural intervention called Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) that is matched to the individual needs of young children with disruptive behaviour problems, delivered in a public school setting. It is hypothesised that families receiving matched intervention will show greater improvement in outcomes of interest at post-intervention and 3-month follow-up than those assigned to non-matched intervention, as well as better engagement with treatment. Our secondary aim is to evaluate whether teaching staff and classroom peers of target students who receive school-based PCIT show a reduction in stress levels and improved wellbeing between pre- and post-intervention, assessed via a stress and wellbeing screening occurring at the beginning and end of the academic year.