ANZCTR search results

Vitamin D is essential for human well-being. Skin conversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol to previtamin D3 by UVB radiation from sun exposure remain the most abundant source of vitamin D for most humans. Available evidence suggests that relatively high proportions of people in many different countries, including in Australia and New Zealand, have low vitamin D status. However exposure to the sun causes skin cancer and it is therefore critical to develop a better understanding about possible balance between the risks and benefits of sun exposure. In particular, it is important to know how much sun exposure is needed to optimize vitamin D in different groups of people. The aim of the study is to measure the magnitude of effect of natural sun exposure three days a week for three weeks on the vitamin D level of fair-skinned indoor workers. This study will be a two-arm randomized controlled trial. Fair-skinned indoor workers aged 18 to 60 years will be randomized into two groups – control and intervention. Participants in the intervention group will be exposed to natural sunlight three days a week for three weeks while those in the control group will go about their business as usual. Blood samples will be collected from the participants pre- and post-intervention to study their levels of vitamin D. A follow up blood sample will be collected from all participants four weeks after the intervention to determine any wash-out effect. The participants’ incidental sun exposure will be monitored through UV monitors. Questionnaires will be administered to gather demographic, sun exposure and sun protection behavior as well as outdoor activity in the weekends during the intervention period. It is anticipated that this study will offer us a better understanding about the extent of effect sunlight has on vitamin D levels of people with fair skin.

The study will compare a non contact infrared thermometer (temple) with a conventional thermometer used on the neonatal unit and evaluate levels of agreement. The use of the non-contact thermometer will ensure minimal disturbance to infants. All Infants admitted to the special care nursery will be able to participate in the study. Temperature recordings will be recoded at each care time. Each infant will be enrolled for the period of time it takes to obtain temple and axilla temperature. We hyponthesize that the non-contact thermometer will be in agreement with the reference thermometer therefore enabling its use in this population.

This intervention seeks to measure the efficacy of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training with first year nursing students. Participants will be recruited and randomly assigned to the control or intervention group. The intervention group will receive MHFA training. It is hypothesised that the MHFA training will increase the mental health literacy of the nursing students within the intervention group. The control group will be waitlisted and be eligible to complete the MHFA training post trial.

Patients recovering from surgical procedures generally require pharmacotherapy to assist in post-operative pain management. Corticosteroids are anti-inflammatory agents often administered in their injectable form by podiatric surgeons during pre-operative analgesia in order to assist in reducing post-operative inflammation and pain associated with foot surgery. Despite their wide anecdotal application in podiatric practice, there are few studies supporting the use of injectable corticosteroids for this purpose, and no guidelines presently exist in regards to appropriate drug or dosage selection. A prospective, single-blind randomized controlled-trial will be conducted to demonstrate and compare the efficacy of short-acting dexamethasone sodium phosphate versus intermediate-acting triamcinolone acetonide in participants undergoing a surgical procedure to correct hallux valgus, facilitated through The University of Western Australia Podiatric Surgery Clinic. This study aims to investigate and compare the efficacy of the two different corticosteroids in post-operative pain management, assessed over a 14-day period through 4 end points: Brief Pain Inventory short form, time to post-operative analgesic medication, post-operative analgesic consumption and proportion of participants within each group that received post-operative analgesic medication. We hypothesized that injectable triamcinolone acetonide is more effective in reducing post-operative pain than dexamethasone sodium phosphate, following hallux valgus surgery.

This study aims to prospectively evaluate the palliative benefit of a split course of pelvic radiotherapy in patients with prostate cancer whose disease is no longer responding to hormone therapy. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are a male aged 18 years or above who has been diagnosed with castrate resistant prostate cancer, and are able to commence radiotherapy within 6 weeks of trial registration. Study details All participants in this study will undergo split-course pelvic radiotherapy, which consists of 10 treatment sessions over 2 weeks, followed by a planned 1 week treatment break, followed by a further 12 treatment sessions administered over 2.5 weeks. Participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire at 6 months post treatment to assess bowel and bladder related quality of life. They will also be monitored for up to 3 years in order to evaluate acute and late side effects of treatment, local symptom response rate, rates of catheter removal, blood transfusions, trans-urethral prostate resections, and overall survival.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia, occurring in 1-2% of the population. Many patients remain asymptomatic, likely leading to an underestimation of the true prevalence of AF. Of particular importance is the similar risk of stroke and adverse health outcomes in the asymptomatic cohort. Catheter ablation has emerged as an effective treatment for symptomatic AF. However, the risk to benefit ratio of an ablation procedure in asymptomatic AF is less established. (i) Examine whether the restoration of sinus rhythm by cardioversion in asymptomatic patients improves exercise capacity to a similar degree as patients with symptomatic AF. (ii) Compare baseline and post-exercise parameters of the prothrombotic state between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients both before after cardioversion (1) We hypothesize that exercise capacity will be similarly impaired in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients and improve following restoration of sinus rhythm following cardioversion. (2) We further hypothesise that: a. acute exercise will elevate the prothrombotic state in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients and; b. inflammation and endothelial dysfunction will be observed in both patient cohorts and similarly improved following the return of sinus rhythm.

The aim of this study is to measure the impact of the coordination of leg muscles on walking parameters in people following stroke. A quantitative observational study will be carried out. Thirty stroke survivors will be recruited from past or present patients referred for physiotherapy after stroke at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Thirty healthy control participants will also be recruited from spouses of the stroke survivors or from the community. Inclusion criteria for the Stroke participants includes a history of stroke for 6 months or more; aged between 18-85 year olds; able to walk independently prior to the stroke; muscle strength equal or stronger than 4/5 on manual muscle test for the hip flexors and extensors, knee flexors and extensors, and the ankle plantarflexors and dorsiflexors; and able to walk unaided over 10 metres at a speed equal or greater than 0.6m/s (which is the minimal speed for community ambulation). The inclusion criteria for the Healthy control participants includes no history of stroke; age between 18-85 year olds;, able to walk unaided over 10 meters at a speed greater than 1.2m/s; and no weakness in the hip, knee and ankle muscles. Each participant will attend a 2 hour measurement session over 1-2 visits at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. The measurement session will involve clinical tests of walking speed and capacity (10 metre walk test and six minute walk test respectively); ; a clinical test of lower limb coordination (Lower Extremity Motor Coordination Test - LEMOCOT) and a laboratory measure of lower limb coordination (raw acceleration of hip flexion/extension, knee flexion/extension and ankle plantarflexion/dorsiflexion using an Actigraph GT3X accelerometer). In addition, standard clinical measures will be used to measure the impairments of contracture, spasticity and sensory loss in the stroke participants.The relationship between walking (speed and capacity) and coordination (total scores of LEMOCOT; the amplitude and jerk of lower limb movement) will be analysed and compared between groups. Their usual physiotherapy intervention and rehab program will not be influenced by participating in this project.

Speech pathology students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who are at-risk of failure or have failed clinical placements are often identified with communication difficulties. This is an exploratory study that aims to investigate the effectiveness of an intensive pronunciation program on overall speech intelligibility and acceptability of students’ communication skills. It involves comprehensive assessments and an intensive 3-week intervention program focussing on speech sound articulation and prosody. This phase I pilot study will use a single-case experimental design. Treatment outcomes will be measured.

This pilot study assesses the feasablity and safety of inhaled methoxyflurane in ambulatory plastic surgery procedures as an alternative to intravenous sedation.

Working memory (WM) training programs have received considerable empirical attention in recent years. Evidence for the efficacy of these programs in improving WM capacity is mixed (Gibson et al., 2011; Gibson, Gondoli, Johnson, Steeger, & Morrissey, 2012; Rapport, Orban, Kofler, & Friedman, 2013; Shipstead, Hicks, & Engle, 2012). Current literature has explored whether WM training may be used to improve symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD, for a review of treatment effiacy see Chacko, Feirsen, et al., 2013; Rapport et al., 2013), and academic performance (for review of efficacy see Titz & Karbach, 2014). Although findings suggest some positive impact of training, the strength and clinical significance of the effect is uncertain. In light of the differing results, the need to explore the mechanisms through which WM training impacts outcomes has been highlighted (Jaeggi, Buschkuehl, Jonides, & Shah, 2012). Indeed, supporters (e.g., Gathercole, Dunning, & Holmes, 2012) and critics (e.g., Shipstead et al., 2012) of WM training alike acknowledge that further understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underpinning WM training is needed. We sought to close this important gap in the literature by exploring potential mechanisms through which WM training may improve academic skills, specifically, reading comprehension and mathematics.