ANZCTR search results

The proposed project seeks to examine the acceptability, efficacy and feasibility of low-intensity CBT-based self-management program, the SCI Pain Course, in reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression and disability among adults with spinal cord injuries. The SCI Pain Course is based on the already established and efficacious Pain Course but has undergone minor modification to make it optimally suitable for people with SCI.

The aim of this study is to measure the medium to long term effects on lung function, exercise capacity and quality of life of a new combination of interventions for people with COPD. The interventions are manual therapy and exercise. The rationale behind the study is that manual therapy delivers short-term improvements in respiratory mechanics which delays the onset of exercise-induced breathlessness. This permits an increase in exercise performance and ultimately exercise capacity. As exercise capacity is an indicator of mortality in COPD, any increase represents an improvement in the long-term prognosis of the disease.

Premature infants often need to receive additional oxygen treatment. Usually this is because they have a lung condition called chronic lung disease. To ensure that the right amount of oxygen is given to them, we routinely use a sensor (or probe) that tells us the oxygen level in the baby’s blood. This is the oxygen meter (pulse oximeter); that is a devices that measures the level of oxygen in the body. This sensor does not cause any harm or discomfort to the baby. Our team of doctors and nurses use a test that we call “overnight oximetry study” or simply “ a download”. The test involves using the measurements from the oxygen meter to tell them if the baby still needs oxygen treatment. There are some standard settings (in detail, the “averaging time” of the pulse oximeter) that most hospital put on their oxygen meters. To date, there has been no study to tell us which “averaging time” is best suited for this purpose. The aim of our study is investigate which averaging time(s) is(/are) most effective for the “overnight oximetry study” in premature babies when doctors use them to check when the babies are ready to stop oxygen treatment.

The overall purpose is to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a study to find out whether ventilated adult patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) who receive a bundle of early rehabilitation strategies will have improved functional and cognitive capacity when they are discharged from both the ICU and hospital compared to a group receiving standard care

It is postulated that impairments in circulatory function are central to the association between hypertension and declining cognition and mood. Regular long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCn-3PUFA) supplementation has the potential to enhance cerebral arterial function which may in turn enhance mood and cognition. This project aims to evaluate benefits of supplementing the diet with LCn-3PUFA on cerebrovascular function, mood and cognitive performance in hypertensive adults with low habitual intake of LCn-3PUFA. Sixty dementia-free adults aged 40-65 years with elevated blood pressure (BP) (130-160 mmHg systolic and 85-100 mmHg diastolic) at screening will undertake a 20-wk randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel design omega-3 supplementation trial at the University of Newcastle. Eligible volunteers will undergo further baseline assessment of systemic artery compliance (AC) (pulse wave analysis), cerebral AC (pulsatility index), cerebrovascular responsiveness (CVR) to hypercapnic and cognitive stimuli (assessed by transcranial Doppler ultrasound), cognitive performance and mood. Participants will then be randomised to consume 4 capsules delivering 2g LCn-3PUFA or placebo daily for 20 wk before returning for reassessment. We expect that LCn-3PUFA supplementation will improve cerebrovascular perfusion and thereby enhance mood and cognition. Findings will advocate the use of LCn-3PUFA in hypertension management.

Men having sex with men attending Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC) who volunteer will be randomised to usual care OR the availability of additional HIV and syphilis serology tests whenever they choose, for up to one year. They can have these at MSHC or at Melbourne Pathology. The primary outcome is the frequency of HIV testing and participants will be followed for one year. Controls will have the usual access to HIV and syphilis testing at clinical consultations. In the second year controls will be able to have tests without consulations only at MSHC.

This project will explore the feasibility and treatment effectiveness of nicotine replacement therapy and motivational interventions for smokers who have a history of homelessness. It will evaluate the impact of treatment location on participation, retention and smoking cessation rates. The trial design involves a treatment period of 12 weeks, with a further 9 months follow-up. Trial patient will be broken into two groups: (1) Thirty (30) trial participants who smoke and live in a housing facility for homeless people will receive motivationally-based counselling interventions and will commence on 21mg x 24 hour transdermal nicotine patch plus one of the forms of oral nicotine replacement therapy of the participant's choice. The dose of nicotine patch will be titrated up to a maximum of 42mg in response to withdrawal and relapse. Treatment will be delivered within the residential facility. (2) Thirty (30) trial participants attending a hospital-based opioid treatment program at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, who smoke and have a history of homelessness, will receive motivational counselling interventions to help them to stop smoking. Treatment will be delivered within this outpatient facility.

The ductus arteriosus DA is a blood vessel that connecting the two major vessels exiting the heart. It is a normal structure that is present in every baby before birth and closes very soon after birth in healthy term babies. In babies born prematurely before 32 weeks gestation, the DA can continue to remain open (or patent –PDA). The continual presence of the PDA in preterm infants may cause ongoing breathing difficulties, feeding problems or blood pressure issues. The doctors looking after your baby will generally want to give medication to close the PDA. The standard treatment is to use a medication called ibuprofen given as an intravenous injection. Recently, doctors is Australia have become aware of reports from other centres overseas that suggest paracetamol (a common medication for fever and pain) may be as effective as intravenous ibuprofen to help close the PDA. However, these reports currently do not provide sufficient scientific proof yet to guide doctors here to use to paracetamol routinely to treat PDAs. Therefore we propose to conduct a research study to compare whether oral paracetamol is as effective as intravenous ibuprofen in treating PDAs.

The purpose of this study is to collect information on the ability of the Vivosight OCT system to distinguish basal cell carcinomas that require surgical treatment from those that would respond to non- invasive therapy based on lesion depth. In the future this might allow the clinician to select the appropriate treatment course without requiring a biopsy to determine how deep the lesion is, preventing possible recurrence in the cases where the lesion is deeper than anticipated. Who is it for? All patients with pink patches suspicious for superficial BCC will be recruited into the study at their first visit. Study details During the patient’s first visit, a clinical photograph, and dermoscopy photograph of the lesions will be taken. The OCT scan will also be taken, which is a non-invasive, optical imaging technique, lasting less than 1 minute. A skin biopsy will then be taken to confirm the diagnosis. With the results from the skin biopsy, patients will be advised on treatment option. If patient has a superficial BCC, the treatment will be topical and these patients will be followed up in 6 months. If patients do not have superficial BCC, they will be advised on appropriate treatment option, but will not be required to have 6 months follow up. At 6 months, all superficial BCC cases will be followed up with clinical photograph, dermoscopy photograph of the treated lesion. The OCT scan and skin biopsy will be taken again to determine the clearance of the treated BCC. Based on the skin biopsy results, further treatment advice will be given. This will not be part of the protocol and is based on best clinical practice.

Comparing two treatment approaches, Imagery Rescripting (ImRs) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), for adults with PTSD related to childhood based trauma. ImRs is where the individual imagines a different ending to the trauma memory, so that the person can change the meaning of the event. EMDR uses a sequence of eye movements to help an individual to reprocess thoughts and feelings associated with trauma experiences. This purpose of this research is to compare the effectiveness of these two approaches and to test if the element of the treatments that facilitate change is the same for both approaches.