ANZCTR search results

High dose steroids can raise blood glucose levels. These can cause infections, prolong hospital stay and even rarely result in death. Little is known about the best way to manage patients with ‘steroid diabetes’. We will study various approaches to manage high glucose levels in patients treated with steroids in hospital. We will use minimally invasive continuous glucose monitoring, a contemporary technology, to compare and evaluate in detail two different treatment schedules. One intervention will combine longer acting and mealtime insulin (conventional regimen), and the other will combine liraglutide, a newer non-insulin injection, together with longer acting insulin. The results of this study will provide important objective pilot data on management of patients with ‘steroid diabetes’ in hospital.

The rationale of the study is to evaluate the benefits of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for reducing PTSD in journalists. This study compares the relative effectiveness of (a) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy provided by therapists via telemedicine to journalists compared to the same components which journalists read in manuals provided to them.

Competency in a range of movement skills (e.g. kicking, running, throwing) provides the foundation for an active lifestyle and developing leadership skills is important for children of all ages. It may also serve as a protective factor against the decline in physical activity typically observed during adolescence. Our proposed project will evaluate the impact of the Peer Leadership Program for Grade 6 students and on the movement skill competency and physical activity levels of students in Kindergarten, Grade 1 and 2. Our aim is to recruit two primary schools with 40-60 Grade 6 students, approximately 180 Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2 students. Schools who agree to participate will be allocated to receive the Peer Leadership program in Term 1, week 10, 2015 or Term 3, week 1, 2015. Members of the research team will deliver the 3-hour Peer Leadership Program during school sport time, which will provide Grade 6 students with the skills to run physical activity sessions during timetabled physical education, lunch and recess for kindergarten, Grade 1 and 2 students. The study will be evaluated over a 10-week period and students in BOTH groups will complete evaluation measures at baseline (before the program begins) and 10-weeks (post program).

This study aims to investigate the side effects, safety, and effectiveness of stereotactic hypofractionated body radiosurgery for oligometastatic renal cell tumours. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 years or above and have histologically or cytologically confirmed renal cell carcinoma and 1 to 3 extracranial metastases (with no prior systemic targeted therapy) or 4 to 6 extracranial metastases in patients currently on systemic targeted therapy AND no more than 1 to 3 progressing metastases. Study details Stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) is a new form of cancer treatment involving high precision radiotherapy. SABR treatment appears to be effective in controlling cancer in other sites elsewhere in the body, including the lung, spine, liver and kidney. We aim to test the ability of this new technique to control cancers that have spread beyond the kidney to other organs or to the bones. This study will involve discussing your medical history and progress of your renal cell tumour with the doctor. A whole body bone scan and CT scan of the chest, abdomen and pelvis will be performed to confirm the location and number of secondary deposits of the tumour prior to treatment and at follow up visits. In addition to the bone and CT scans, an additional scan called a diffusion and perfusion MRI will be used before treatment and 3 months after treatment to investigate the changes in cancer blood flow before and after treatment. Up to three sessions of SABR treatment will be performed, depending on the location of your secondary cancer deposits. As part of the study, blood samples will be taken before and after treatment at 5 timepoints over a period of approximately 3-4 months. Questionnaires looking at quality of life and pain will be completed before treatment, and at each follow up visit. Follow up visits will be performed at approximately 1 month, and every 3 months until 2 years after the radiotherapy treatment. This is the first step of the research, and is a ‘pilot’ study. If the technique is shown to be both feasible and tolerable for this pilot study of 30 patients, we would then look at expanding this study.

Update This study aims to assess if dexamethasone influences the development of symptoms, if any during stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) to brain metastases. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 years or above, have 1-5 brain metastases with at least one lesion planned for SRT, and not on dexamethasone for at least 7 days prior to SRT. Study details: There are no clear guidelines on who would benefit from prophylactic (ie. as a precaution before any symptoms develop) dexamethasone during SRT to brain metastases. Some clinicians may choose to prescribe prophylactic dexamethasone to prevent or minimize any local swelling during radiotherapy. Others may not, as not all patients will develop symptoms. To evaluate this, we are randomising patients to having 4 mg oral dexamethasone (on days of SRT and 1 day after) or placebo. We are also studying the effect of treatment on patient’s quality of life. It is hypothesised that patients in the placebo arm may develop symptoms following SRT. The results of the study will guide clinicians whether prophylactic dexamethasone is beneficial in a selected group of patients having stereotactic radiation for brain metastases.

This study aims to evaluate the effects of an individually-tailored web-based parenting program on parenting behaviours associated with adolescent depression and anxiety disorders. The program is designed to provide parents with (1) personalised feedback about their current parenting, including what they are doing well and areas that they can improve in order to reduce their teenager’s risk of depression and anxiety, and (2) specific modules of the web-based parenting intervention recommended based on their survey responses to support them in making changes to identified areas for improvement in their parenting. We aim to find out whether this program can help improve parenting behaviours associated with adolescent depression and anxiety, and in turn reduce risk of depression and anxiety in teenagers.

Insulin therapy for people with Type 1 Diabetes has the risk of hypoglycaemia when insulin administration is in excess of their requirements. This hypoglycaemia is a major contributor in the failure to achieve glycaemic targets in Type 1 Diabetes. The Investigational Device is a non-invasive device designed to detect warning signs of hypoglycaemia. The device consists of a wrist band connected by a flexible wire to a ring. Parameters monitored by this device include wrist and finger tremor and temperature. The study aims to collect overnight exploratory data regarding the relationship of the above parameters to hypoglycaemia. Having a device that has the potential to provide an early warning of impending hypoglycaemia may have a positive impact upon the wellbeing of the person with Type 1 Diabetes.

Psychological injury is a common outcome following a motor vehicle crash (MVC) and the claims process can result in further deterioration of mental, social and physical health. The provision of brief psychological or healthy lifestyle interventions soon after people who have experienced an MVC and who engage in the compensation scheme should improve wellbeing by reducing risks of psychological and physical distress. Improved wellbeing should also result in reduced scheme costs, for instance, by preventing the development of severe psychological injury and enhancing return to normal daily functioning. This Project will investigate the efficacy, using a randomised control trial design, of two email-delivered interventions designed to improve and maintain physical health and strengthen mental health. It is hypothesised that participants receiving one of the two brief interventions will exhibit less psychological distress compared to control particpants 6 months after the road accident.

Healthcare associated infections (HAI) are a major cause of avoidable costs, morbidity and deaths among hospital patients. In Australia 200,000 cases of HAI arise each year and 1.9 million hospital bed days are diverted to treat them. Reducing important HAI requires multiple evidence-based approaches. This study will evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of improving environmental cleaning, using an evidence-based bundle, to reduce HAI.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of two herbal formulations in reducing menopausal symptoms in otherwise healthy women. Participants will be enrolled in the study between September 2014 and October 2015 and provided treatment for 3 months. All participants are provided with the treatment pack – which includes the product (active intervention 1, active intervention 2 or placebo), a daily symptom diary and a pre-prepared QML pathology form for safety profiling and hormone assessment. Participants take the medication daily and complete the symptom diary daily for 1 week/month. At month 1 and month 2, a telephone interview is conducted to confirm compliance and complete the QOL questionnaires. At month 3, participants repeat the blood test at a QML collection centre and they return to the clinic for final assessment. There will be regular communication with all participants during the study. There will be supervision of the trial by a qualified Medical Practitioner / Endocrinologist, A/Prof Warrick Inder who will monitor any adverse events associated with the trial.