ANZCTR search results

Many people with lung and heart conditions have persistent breathlessness, even when they are receiving the best possible medical care for their condition. Breathlessness Intervention Services have been shown to reduce people’s distress and improve their confidence to manage breathlessness in the UK and Canada but so far these services have not been studied or made available in South Australia. This study will evaluate the feasibility and outcomes of a home-based brief intervention for people with chronic breathlessness due to lung or heart conditions, involving 2-4 visits and 3-4 telephone contacts for assessment and therapy by nurse and physiotherapist using non-drug, evidence-based symptom management therapies that fit the patient’s needs.

The fibrotic interstitial lung diseases (fILD) is a group of debilitating chronic lung conditions that are characterised by scarring of lung tissue, dyspnoea on exertion and significant physical impairment. Exercise training is recommended for people with fILD in improving breathlessness and exercise tolerance. However, despite the best efforts of patients and clinicians, many of those who participate are not attaining its benefits. The current exercise training strategies of moderate intensity continuous training may not be well suited to fILD. High intensity interval training, short bouts of high-intensity exercise regularly interspersed with periods of rest or light exercise may be an alternate exercise training option for people with fILD. People with fILD will be recruited and randomly allocated to receive either the traditional PR model of moderate intensity continuous training or high intensity interval training. The aim of this study is to determine to whether high intensity interval training is better than the current method of continuous exercise training at moderate intensity in improving exercise tolerance, breathlessness and quality of life in people with fILD.

A randomized controlled trial is designed to assess the impact of Azithromycin in reducing infectious morbidity from emergency cesarean sections at Redlands Hospital. The population undergoing emergency cesarean sections will be the focus of the research project. Adding Azithromycin to the pre-operative antibiotic regime (of Intravenous Cefazolin and topical Iodine Vaginal Cleansing) is hypothesized to be more effective at reducing post-caesarean section infection rates than the current standard pre-operative antibiotic regime alone.

The aim of this study is to test a new way of delivering a diet and lifestyle intervention through technology. Participants in this study will be instructed to start consuming a Mediterranean diet, and to increase their daily step count, for 12 weeks. Instructions on how to do this will be provided via a researcher-designed website and a virtual health coach. The virtual health coach will be accessible through an instant messaging service called Slack. A fitness band will be used to monitor daily step count. We believe that a 12-week Mediterranean diet lifestyle intervention can be delivered and monitored successfully through a website with virtual assistant technology and wireless wearables.

There is little research regarding the efficacy of CPR in obese patients. Using a simulation model we have previously demonstrated that the adequacy of chest compressions in morbidly obese mannequins is compromised, predominantly in the domains of achieving adequate compression depth and allowing sufficient time for chest wall recoil during CPR. The Bariboard(TM) is a device that purports to aid in the redistribution of forces applied to the anterior chest wall in order to improve the adequacy of chest compression. There have been no empirical trials using this device. Aim of Study: The primary aim of this study will be to explore whether the adequacy of chest compressions can be improved using a mechanical device (Bariboard(TM)) to better distribute the mechanical forces applied to the anterior thorax during CPR. Primary outcome: * To measure the efficacy of chest compressions using a previously described model of morbid obesity with and without a mechanical device that raises the thoracic cage. This will use the digital mannequins to record the quality and adequacy of chest compressions over a period of 2 minutes of uninterrupted CPR. Effective CPR will be defined as a composite measure of adequate depth of compression, adequate time for recoil at an adequate rate for >90% of compressions delivered. Secondary outcomes: * Adequacy of each component of CPR (namely rate, depth of compressions and adequate recoil). * Time taken for participants to fatigue when performing CPR on a morbidly obese mannequin. It is known that the maximum amount of time a member of staff can perform effective CPR is 2 minutes in a normal scenario. * Participant discomfort/pain experienced during CPR. * The association between staffs' perceived effectiveness and the recorded adequacy of chest compressions.

This study is a randomised controlled trial involving 50 patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease (aged 50-85), that aims to investigate the efficacy of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS), a gentle non-invasive brain stimulation technique, in reducing symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Patient and carer experience with the tACS treatment will also be examined. Participants will be randomised to either active or placebo tACS, and will receive 20 treatment sessions over four-weeks. Clinical symptoms, cognition and quality of life will be assessed pre-treatment, at the end of the treatment course, and at 6 week and 3 month follow-ups. At the conclusion of the study, participants who initially received placebo tACS will be given the option of receiving active treatment.

The two primary aims of this project are to 1. Understand the anxiety experiences of children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and their parents, and 2. Determine whether the Fear-Less Triple-P Online Workshop is a viable and effective treatment option for anxiety in the child CF population. All children aged 6-14 with CF and their parents will be invited to participate. The project will involve 1. Pre- and post-intervention survey measures investigating anxiety, depression, procedural anxiety, health-related quality of life, fear of disease progression, and pre-measures for the Fear-Less program; 2. A six-module online parenting workshop on Fear-Less Triple-P; and 3. Follow-up surveys and measures at 3, 6 and 9 months. It is anticipated that the surveys and pre-measures will reveal significant challenges for both the children with CF and their parents, potentially affecting their treatment adherence and quality of life. It is also anticipated that the online Fear-Less Triple-P workshop will provide a viable, sustainable, and effective intervention option for anxiety among children with CF.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a severe mental illness that affects 1-2% of the Australian population (Crino, Slade, & Andrews, 2005). There is currently no cure for OCD and current interventions are not effective to relieve symptoms in many people. The disorder is characterised by marked symptom heterogeneity that map onto distinct alterations in fronto-striatal brain networks activity (Harrison et al., 2013). While specific OCD symptoms are likely to correlate more strongly with a given pathway, a diagnosis of OCD is associated with changes in all major fronto-striatal networks. Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) are gaining acceptance as safe and potentially effective treatments for patients with OCD by altering network dysfunction. With current treatment approaches, the choice of which frontal brain regions to be stimulated by TMS is largely decided using trial-and-error. These shortfalls limit the efficacy and reliability of proposed TMS interventions. A way to bypass the arbitrary choice of the frontal cortical region to target using TMS is to stimulate all frontal regions encompassing the three main fronto-striatal pathways affected in OCD. Thus, simultaneous stimulation of the three cortical regions, each belonging to a main fronto-striatal pathway, should result in reduced response variability and better efficacy of TMS in alleviating the severity of OCD symptoms. The proposed study combines behavioural analyses, neuroimaging, and TMS to test this hypothesis.

The primary aim of the Barwon Joint Replacement Registry is to monitor patients following joint replacement surgery that occurs at University Hospital Geelong and St John of God Hospital Geelong. All patients undergoing joint replacement are routinely seen in pre-operative clinics as part of surgical planning. An Orthopaedic Coordinator will discuss the Registry with eligible patients and assist them, as required, to complete the relevant pre-operative assessment forms. Post-operative follow-up procedures vary between Barwon Health and SJOG. At Barwon Health, study participants will be assessed in-person at University Hospital Geelong (UHG) 3-6 months following the operation. Participants will then be assessed via mail-out at 1 year, 5 years and 8 years post-op and then biennially thereafter. Participants with complications or suspected complications identified via mail-out will be invited to the UHG for in-person review. At SJOG, study participants will be assessed via mail-out at 12 months following the operation. Patients will also undergo clinical review with their surgeon at intervals decided by the surgeon, which is not considered part of the current study.

Unhealthy pregnancy lifestyle behaviours and excessive gestational weight gain are associated with negative pregnancy-related and long-term health outcomes for both mothers and infants. The present study is an evaluation of a mHealth (mobile health) intervention called txt4two, an evidence based strategy for promoting healthy nutrition, physical activity and gestational weight gain in pregnancy through the use of interactive mobile phone text messages, video messages and an information website. Participation in this evaluation study will be offered to pregnant women with BMI’s >25 and own a mobile phone. The primary aim of this study is to assess whether participants receiving the txt4two program in combination with routine dietetic care have better fruit and vegetable intake and diet quality, physical activity levels, and appropriate gestational weight gain than participants who receive routine dietetic care alone. Surveys measuring these health parameters will be collected at participant registration to the study (first booking into hospital), and again at 36 weeks gestation.