ANZCTR search results

The aim of the study is to assess the tolerability and efficacy of a herbal powder preparation for gastrointestinal disturbances. Gastrointestinal problems in the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract can manifest as frequent reflux or irritable bowel symptoms. The Nutrition Care Gut Relief Formula contains a mixture of herbs and nutrients which have been shown to be beneficial for the gastrointestinal system. In this interventional pre-post single-arm dose-response study of 16 weeks duration we aim to investigate the tolerability and the effectiveness of the Nutrition Care Gut Relief Formula on gastrointestinal disturbances in Australian adults.

The misuse of opioids is a major public health issue, and one aspect of concern is the prescribing of opioids after surgery creating new users. Alfred Health's Analgesic Stewardship Committee identified clinician education as a key priority to improve opioid and analgesic prescribing across the organisation. This study will evaluate the impact of a one-off pharmacist-led face-to-face analgesic education session on rates of opioid prescribing at discharge from surgical units. Eight of sixteen surgical units will be randomised to receive the education intervention, with the other eight serving as a control group; all opioid-naive patients discharged from all surgical units in the three months before and three months after the intervention will be included for analysis. Discharge summaries and prescriptions will be reviewed to determine opioid prescribing at discharge. We hypothesise that the intervention will demonstrate a modest reduction in the prescribing of regular opioids to opioid-naive patients on discharge from surgical units.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of ActiPhen,™ a kiwi fruit powder extract, on gastrointestinal tract function (including bowel movements, abdominal pain, intestinal permeability) in healthy adults over 6 weeks. It is hypothesised ActiPhen™ will enhance gastrointestinal tract function (including bowel movements, abdominal pain, intestinal permeability) and increase quality of life compared to placebo.

Informed consent is an not only an essential part of preparing a patient for surgery, but also a legal requirement. Surgeons typically explain the condition, procedure, risks and benefits and expected recovery of the intended treatment. This didactic method of information delivery can often miss out important components, and patients may not retain much knowledge from these discussions. Audio-video presentations have already been shown to be a promising medium to aid patient understanding and increase satisfaction during the consent process. This project will investigate the role of video media in providing a better informed consent process for patients undergoing emergency appendicectomy, as compared with standard face-­to-­face verbal consent between doctor and patient. Patients who require this operation will be invited to participate in the study. When enrolled, participants will be randomised to receive either the intervention (video media) or standard method of consent first. A short knowledge test and consumer satisfaction questionnaire will be completed, and then the process repeated for the opposite consent method. At the conclusion, the participant's preference between video media or standard face-to-face consent will be recorded.

This study is proposed to run alongside the approved Riluzole in Spinal Cord Injury Study (RISCIS) at Prince of Wales and Royal North Shore Hospitals. RISCIS is a randomized, prospective trial in acute cervical spinal cord injury. The outcome data that will be collected for this study will be good quality and detailed. Running RISCIS represents a unique opportunity to also collect ancillary observational data on possible predictors of general outcomes in acute spinal cord injury as well as the type and frequency of complications. This data will allow the investigators to generate reliable and accurate information on quality of care of acute spinal cord injury at both participating hospitals. This can be compared with international bench-marks and also allow comparison between the Spinal Units at the two hospitals. As a result, it is hoped that care can be optimized at each site in light of the new information and also that standardization of care across both Spinal Units can be established according to best practice guidelines. This study will be purely observational and will not require additional investigations or clinical assessments than used in standard clinical care.

This is a Phase 1 trial to be conducted in a single center in Australia to evaluate the safety and tolerability of CBL-514 Injection on convexity or fullness of abdominal subcutaneous fat.

We are assessing the feasibility of using a smartphone app to monitor patients activity and participation. We will ask patients to install a smartphone app on their phone. Patients will install our app on their phone at least 7 days pre-op. The app will report step and GPS data and allow participants to respond to a questionnaire, data will be reported anonymously to a secure cloud database. They will then undergo surgery. We will follow them up for 6 months. before asking them a satisfaction questionnaire and deleting the app from their phone

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) has been proven to be an efficacious treatment for borderline personality disorder (BPD) (Linehan, 1993; McMain et al., 2009). However, generalisability of this outcome within adolescents and young adults with co-morbid substance abuse and mental health concerns within a residential care setting in Australia has not been investigated. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of a Modified Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Group Program embedded within a residential program in treating adolescents and young adults aged 16 to 24 years, experiencing substance misuse over time compared to a control group that did not receive the DBT Group Program. The secondary aim is to identify the factors that predict who is most likely to benefit from such treatment, particularly in terms of improved vocational outcomes (employment and education). Additionally, the cost-effectiveness of this modified DBT program will be evaluated. Finally, client and therapist satisfaction will also be explored through the study. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the DBT program in treating young people with co-morbid substance abuse and mental health concerns – one of the most difficult cohorts to treat – is an important first step in improving mental health care for this population. This research will advance the knowledge in the field by providing evidence for the importance of continuously improving service and quality person-centred care, taking into account factors that could contribute to positive treatment outcomes. This project will be conducted at Triple Care Farm (TCF, Mission Australia in partnership with the University of Wollongong (UOW).

The food and fluid provided during the post-exercise period plays an essential role in recovery and adaptation processes. There has been a considerable amount of research investigating the ideal quantity and quality of nutrients (e.g., carbohydrate, protein, electrolytes and water) for optimising the key recovery processes (i.e., repair, healing, growth, glycogen re-synthesis and rehydration) individually. This has lead to the development of recovery nutrition guidelines and recommendations, as well as commercially available recovery supplements. Considering dairy milk has similar nutritional properties to recovery nutrition guidelines and recommendations, there is emerging evidence suggestion dairy milk has the potential to optimise recovery from prolonged exercise. Therefore, the aim of this study is to compare the effects of dairy milk to other sports recovery beverages, on aspects of recovery.

Despite increasing use of low calorie sweeteners (LCS) in western diets, and an association between regular, heavy consumption of LCS containing beverages and an increased risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), it has only been recently established by our group that LCS supplementation impairs glycaemic control in healthy subjects ACTRN12615000866505. This occurs via augmented intestinal glucose uptake and is likely to involve negative changes in gut microbiota that impair host control of glycaemia. Patients with T2DM are intuitively likely to be at higher risk of these changes due to higher consumption of LCS, defective control of intestinal sweet taste sensors, and augmented glucose uptake, but whether this is the case, and the degree of increased risk, is yet to be determined.