ANZCTR search results

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of electronic feedback, online and telephone support for reducing multiple health risk behaviours among TAFE students at 6-months follow-up. Design: A cluster randomised trial at 32 TAFE campuses in the Hunter and North Coast of New South Wales. Methods: TAFE campuses will be matched in pairs with one campus randomly allocated to the intervention and the other to the control condition. Eligible students will be enrolled in a class that runs for at least 12 months; aged 16 years or older; not meet Australian health guidelines for at least one smoking, fruit, vegetable, alcohol or physical activity health risk behaviour; and not attend any other TAFE campus. Online and telephone support condition: At 16 intervention campuses, electronic feedback and effective online programs (e.g. QuitCoach, Healthy Eating Quiz, THRIVE, 10,000 Steps) and telephone services (e.g. NSW Quitline, Get Healthy Information and Coaching Service, ADIS) that target health risk behaviours will be offered to TAFE students during class via the baseline computer tablet. Control condition: The 16 TAFE campuses in the control condition will not receive any intervention. Measures: Primary outcome measures will assess: 1) tobacco smoking; 2) serves of fruit consumed daily; 3) serves of vegetables consumed daily; 4) standard drinks of alcohol per week and 5) metabolic equivalent minutes of physical activity per week.

To review the performance in management of acute appendicitis in a metropolitan health network in Melbourne, Australia, in the past five years, focusing on the cohort of patients managed conservatively, the management decisions and follow up results

One of the important goals of resuscitation of the extremely preterm infant is protection of the lung. Inflation of the surfactant deficient lung results in lung injury. One consequence of this is chronic lung disease (bronchopulmonary dysplasia, BPD). Lung protective strategies commencing with the first breath after birth are important to prevent or minimise lung injury that leads to BPD. Currently room temperature, dry gases are standard care for resuscitation, and these are potentially damaging to the airway. Warming and humidification of inspired gases during resuscitation may protect the lung. This trial will examine if there are differences in plasma levels of biomarkers of lung injury in extremely preterm babies who receive room temperature dry or warm humidified gases during resuscitation. Levels of angiopoietin 1 and 2, the ratio of angiopoietin1/angiopoietin 2, and levels Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products (RAGE) will be measured in cord blood and at 12 hours, 24 hours and 48 hours after birth. Angiopoietin and RAGE are proteins important to the growth and development of lung alveoli and blood vessels.

he aim of this project is to investigate patient and design-specific parameters on the efficacy of phase-step optics contact lenses and phase plates, as a solution for presbyopia. Presbyopia is an age related condition, usually initially affecting people over the age of 45, impacting the ability of the eye to focus sharply at near distances. The knowledge obtained will allow the construction of a matrix of predictors of performance to guide and optimise lens design and visual performance. Our primary hypothesis is that clinical testing will allow for measurements of varied phase-step contact lenses and phase plate designs in eyes of varied parameters. This will allow for correlations and validation with the theoretical data obtained from ray tracing analysis and in vitro physical model eye measurements.

The heart can be stimulated to change its size and shape. The heart changing size and shape is a normal adaptation; however, in certain cases this adaptation can become harmful. Change in heart structure predicts heart events (eg. congestive heart failure, abnormal heart beats). Heart size and shape varies considerably between people; it is currently unknown what accounts for most of this variability. Previous studies suggest a genetic contribution; however, no studies have yet identified the specific changes in a person’s genetic makeup which explain why one person has a bigger heart than another. This study aims to identify rare variants in specific genes that are related to abnormal changes in heart structure. This study will do so by tracking changes in heart structure related to endurance exercise training as well as normal aging. Endurance athletes with the greatest change in heart structure will have select genes compared to endurance athletes with the least change in heart structure after 2 years of training. Additionally these gene profiles will be compared to non-endurance athletes who have the greatest and least change in heart structure over a 2-year period. In this way investigators can identify which gene variants are related to highly adaptive versus less adaptive hearts. Identifying gene variants related to heart size may help identify individuals at risk of abnormalities in which the heart enlarges too much. Identifying at-risk individuals allows doctors to identify people who may benefit from advice or treatments that may prevent problems from developing.

Short title EnRICH Protocol number and date X16-0447 dated 29/03/2017 This study aims to assemble a patient cohort to describe the natural history of and patterns of care for lung cancer; identify current gaps in evidence and practice for clinical quality improvement. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are aged 18 or over and have a diagnosis of lung cancer and are attending a defined clinical site for diagnosis or treatment. Study details All participants will provide demographic information, and their medical records will be used to build a profile of the participant’s cancer, including clinical and outcome information. Participants will also provide around 3 blood samples for research taken at the time of routine collection (e.g. prior to commencement of treatment, post-treatment). Biopsied tumour samples will be used to screen for biomarkers and molecular signals of disease. This research will assemble a patient cohort for identifying current gaps in evidence and practice, creating a platform for researchers across the translational research spectrum to develop and initiate studies to address these gaps.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained heart rhythm problem that increases the chance of stroke and heart failure and currently represents a growing socioeconomic burden in our ageing population. Amongst the established risk factors of age, hypertension and diabetes, exercise is increasingly recognised as a powerful modulator of AF risk. Low and moderate intensity exercise is an important therapy in the prevention and treatment of AF but, at the other end of the spectrum, intense endurance exercise has been associated with a 5-fold increase in AF risk. The reasons for this excess are not known but may relate to the profound atrial remodelling that occurs with endurance athletic training. The rate at which AF occurs in retired elite endurance athletes will be compared with non-athletes who are matched for health status, age and gender. We will assess the extent to which exercise-induced changes in heart shape, function and electrical properties represent a short-term or permanent process. This will be assessed by comparing three groups: (1) young athletes adapting to elite training, (2) middle-aged athletes during end of career detraining, and (3) retired athletes with more than 10 years of competition at national or international level. A group of athletes with arrhythmias will also provide a meaningful comparison group to determine which characteristics are shared amongst groups. To study the changes in heart structure and function we will use the latest echocardiographic and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging techniques. The study is being conducted by a team of researchers at St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, the South Australian Health and Medical Institute and a research team in Belgium led by A/Professor Andre La Gerche.

Intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) has been widely used as a means to prevent venous thromboembolism in hospitalised patients. Whether IPC should be considered different from thromboembolic deterrent stockings and is not contraindicated in patients with peripheral-limb vascular insufficiency is uncertain. This study assesses whether (1) IPC can improve peripheral-limb muscle tissue oxygenation (StO2), and (2) a sequential-compressions mode is better than a single-compartment compression in improving StO2. Twenty volunteers will be randomised to have their left or right arm treated with a sequential or single-compartment IPC for 10 minutes, using the contralateral arm without IPC as an intra-participant control. After a 5-min wash-out period, the procedure is repeated on the same arm using the alternative mode of IPC. StO2 on the hand thenar muscle is monitored every 2-min for 10-min using a near infra-red spectroscopy tissue oxygen saturation monitor.

This study aims to assess the usability of a breathing platform for relaxation. Healthy participants will be used and required to fill in questionnaires during and at the completion of the study based on the ease of use of the system.

Soluble fibre is a source of plasma short chain fatty acids (SCFA), which are known to have antiinflammatory properties. This study will investigate the plasma short chain fatty acid (SCFA) yield over 10 hours following consumption of two different oligosaccharide blends in healthy adult males and females. This information will be used in the design of future clinical intervention trials.