ANZCTR search results

Pulse oximetry is commonly used in the clinical setting to titrate oxygen therapy to a target oxygen saturation range in order to avoid the risks of hypoxaemia and hyperoxaemia. The purpose of this study is to investigate the level of agreement between pulse oximeter measured oxygen saturations and arterial blood gas measured oxygen saturations (the gold standard for oxygen saturation measurement) in Australian and New Zealand hospitals.

The objective of this project is to conduct the first randomised controlled trial of a combined Internet and SMS intervention for perinatal wellbeing in both mothers and fathers. Two hundred primiparous mother-father couples will be recruited. The study aims to: 1.Compare the effectiveness on indices of wellbeing of two online programs for first-time parents: a) Babycare - access to information and tips on early childcare in the areas of feeding, soothing, sleep and getting prepared. The Babycare program is supported by SMSs at 2, 4, 7 and 10 weeks to encourage continued use of the program; b) Wellbeing - includes all content from Babycare plus additional modules specifically targeting wellbeing in the areas of self-care, relationships, interacting with baby and changing roles. Wellbeing also includes a Scrapbook section where parents are encouraged to upload photos that remind them of positive aspects of parenting and of achievements. The Wellbeing program is also supported by SMSs at 2, 4, 7 and 10 weeks. 2. Assess the cost-effectiveness of each intervention. It is hypothesised that: 1. Participants receiving the Wellbeing program will show greater program use and improved confidence in childcare at 3 and 6 months than those in Babycare. 2. Levels of distress, quality of life, relationship satisfaction and cost-effectiveness will be greater for Wellbeing than Babycare.

The aims of this project are: (1) compare the effects of two exercise interventions (High Intensity Interval Training [HIIT] and 10,000 steps) combined with usual care smoking cessation support, on the cessation rates of female smokers wishing to quit; (2) assess the effects of HIIT and 10,000 steps for weight management during quit attempts; and (3) assess whether improvements in fitness, vitality and intrinsic motivation are mediators of the relationship between HITT and smoking cessation. We hypothesise that HIIT will provide higher smoking cessation rates than 10,000 steps.

Overnight polysomnography (PSG) is the gold standard for diagnosing sleeprelated breathing disorders such as obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). The monitoring of work of breathing during sleep is paramount to help differentiate between different types of sleep disordered breathing, which direct the cause and hence management for sleep disordered breathing in children. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Australasian Sleep Association deems the definitive measure of work of breathing as changes in oesophageal pressure (Poes) during sleep, which is measured using a catheter (thin flexible tube) inserted into the oesophagus. Measuring the diaphragm muscle (our main breathing muscle)'s electrical activity (EMGdi) is another way of accurately assessing work of breathing during sleep. Simultaneous recording of Poes and EMGdi offers different and complementary information about the function of our diaphragm. Currently TGA approved devices in Australia can only measure Poes or EMGdi using two separate oesophageal catheters. More recently, an oesophageal ballon multipair electrode catheter designed by Yinghui Medical has been used overseas in infants and adults to measure Poes and EMGdi simultaneously using one catheter.It has been used during normal breathing awake, during sleep, and during exercise. Its size is similar to a feeding tube used in children. It is well tolerated without any significant adverse events reported. It has not being custom made for use in children previously. Our pilot study's aim is to investigate the tolerability, safety, and feasibilty of using this oesophageal balloon catheter with multipair electrodes designed by Yinghui Medical in infants and children to assess their work of breathing during sleep. All children (<18 y.o) referred by their sleep physician to Sydney Children's Hospital's Sleep Lab is eligible for this study, unless they already have nasogastric or nasojejunal tube insitu for feeding. The catheter will be inserted by the research doctor with the help of an experienced nurse and play therapist, as part of routine sleep study set up. Any adverse events associated with the catheter (safety), how many children and the number of hours the children were able to tolerate having the catheter in situ (tolerability), and whether meaningful Poes and EMGdi were able to be recorded (feasibility) will be assessed.

To determine if injection of local anaesthesia into the area surrounding the pelvic nerves (superior hypogastric nerve block, or SHNB) is useful in reducing pain in patients who have undergone uterine artery embolisation (UAE). Patients will receive an injection into the retroperitoneal space (which contains the nerves supplying the pelvic organs) immediately before the UAE. It may contain either local anaesthetic or a placebo (normal saline). After the procedure the amount of pain relief needed by the patient and any associated side effects (e.g. nausea, vomiting) will be recorded throughout the patient's stay. At outpatient follow up in 6 weeks, overall satisfaction with both the UAE and the pain relief obtained will be recorded.

Paediatric patients undergoing elective or emergency surgery, or who have been admitted to the Neonatal/Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (NICU/PICU), often require mechanical ventilation. During the perioperative period, these patients are at risk of several types of lung injury, including atelectasis (collapse of lung tissue), pneumonia (disease marked by inflammation of the lungs), pneumothorax (presence of air within the pleural cavity leading to lung collapse), Acute Lung Injury (ALI) and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Anaesthetic management can contribute to these injuries, exacerbate any underlying lung conditions or even improve outcomes, depending on the specific situation. Moreover, several studies have shown that pulmonary complications, more specifically respiratory failure requiring ventilation, are associated with high morbidity and mortality along with increased health-related costs and greater length of hospital stay. Ventilation mode (volume, pressure or dual), modality (controlled, assisted, support ventilation) and respiratory parameters (e.g. tidal volume and respiratory rate) are the most important factors of mechanical ventilation. An important aspect of ventilation strategies is to optimise respiratory mechanics. A critical part of this process is knowing the normal range of respiratory mechanics during ventilation. This allows clinicians to define ventilation such that the respiratory mechanics can be maintained at a level expected for that particular patient and therefore protect against over- or under ventilation and thus minimise potential harm. While the normal ranges of a variety of respiratory outcomes during mechanical ventilation have been assessed in adults, there are no normal reference ranges of values available for the paediatric population. This precludes the formulation of clear evidence-based ventilation guidelines in children. Measurable mechanical and physiological parameters such as pulmonary compliance (ease of expansion of the lungs and thorax), respiratory resistance (resistance to flow of gases during ventilation), tidal volume (volume of air moved in and out during quiet/normal breathing) can be used to effectively monitor the effect of changes in mechanical ventilation and limit the risk of Ventilator-Induced Lung Injury VILI. Furthermore, the lack of precise data on these essential parameters as well as the implications relating to the lack of this important data, have been highlighted by experts from the recent American Thoracic Society workshop on the evaluation of respiratory mechanics and function in patients being cared for in paediatric and neonatal ICU settings (personal communication from Dr Carmichael-Peterson, Chair of the American Thoracic Society Task Force for the measurement of respiratory function in the ICU). Better ventilation strategies are also of particular importance in children with cardiac and/or respiratory co-morbidities undergoing anaesthesia as well as children with prolonged surgeries impacting on respiratory function, e.g. pneumoperitoneum, extensive abdominal surgery. This study aims at measuring lung function outcomes in children aged between 1 and 15 years old who are undergoing surgery under general anaesthesia and require mechanical ventilation. We hypothesise that by measuring the respiratory resistance and pulmonary compliance of children undergoing surgery before and after anaesthesia induction, we will be able to develop robust prediction equations and nomograms that define the values of physiological parameters to be programmed in mechanical ventilators for optimal lung function in anaesthetised children having surgery.

This project aims to evaluate the efficacy of a manualised psychological treatment for adults with Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD). SAD has only recently been accepted as legitimately occurring during adulthood in the DSM-5. As such, no evidence-based treatments have yet been trialed to address this debilitating condition. We hypothesise that adult subjects diagnosed with SAD who receive 8 sessions of specialized psychological treatment will report lower levels of anxiety, greater symptom improvements, and less impairments in their day-to-day life after treatment, compared to a a group who do not receive the treatment for 8 weeks. Project outcomes will indicate whether this treatment program is useful in reducing symptoms and distress caused by separation anxiety disorder.

A pilot study of maternal and neonatal outcomes of pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes, including significant maternal hypoglycaemia and lack of neonatal hypoglycaemia: the main hypothesis is that these will not differ when receiving treatment aimed at achieving ‘very tight’ blood glucose targets, compared with treatment aimed at achieving ‘tight’ blood glucose targets

This study will evaluate the safety and effect of a new treatment known as TargomiRs in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 years or above, and have a confirmed diagnosis of MPM or NSCLC, with evidence of Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in tumour tissue. Study details: All participants in this study will receive treatment with a new targeted therapy known as TargomiRs. Treatment will be administered by injection into the vein (i.e. intravenously) at a frequency of once or twice weekly until it is clear that you are not benefitting from the treatment. Initially a low dose will be administered to participants. If this dose is tolerated, then it will be increased in the next group of patients and so on until the maximum tolerated dose is determined. All participants will be regularly monitored for safety and toxicity of the treatment for 24 hours after each treatment in the first 2 weeks and 3 hours after treatment from week 3 onwards. They will also be required to complete QoL questionnaires each treatment and have PET scans and lung function tests approximately once every 8 weeks in order to evaluate treatment effect and quality of life. It is hoped that the treatment offered will cause the diseased tissues to respond in a way that will block uncontrolled tumour growth resulting in tumour control and give patients a longer life.

This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of an online resource to promote sexual well-being for both cancer patients and their partners. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 years or above, and either you or your partner has had a cancer diagnosis. You will also need to be at least 6 months past your primary treatment. Study details: Participants in this study will be randomly (by chance) allocated to one of three groups. Participants in the Rekindle and Rekindle Plus groups will use the online resource. This involves first completing some screening questions, and then working through some self-led exercises tailored to participant needs and sexual concerns. Participants in the Rekindle Plus group will also receive three telephone support calls delivered by a qualified, trained provider to encourage their ongoing participation and engagement with the intervention. The duration of the intervention period is approximately 10 weeks. Participants in the third group will receive a program which is designed to replicate usual care, within the design and formatting of the Rekindle website. We will monitor completion of the prescribed intervention in order to determine which mode of Rekindle is the most feasible.