ANZCTR search results

Pharmacists and pharmacy staff frequently deal with customers who have limited ability to understand information about their medicines and health care. This project aims to adjust the services and counselling provided by pharmacists and pharmacy staff to accommodate the needs of people with low levels of health literacy without necessarily detecting health literacy issues. The hypothesis for the study is that Australian pharmacists lack the ability to effectively communication with consumers who have health literacy issues, and are unaware of particular communication techniques to overcome health literacy barriers when interacting with consumers

This experimental study will examine the effectiveness of increasing motivation and self-control to reduce alcohol consumption among undergraduate students..It is proposed that motivation and self-control are two psychological factors that can influence alcohol consumption. Adopting theoretical perspectives from the Pham and Taylor’s (1999) model on mental simulations and the strength model of self-control (Baumeister et al., 1998), people who are motivated via a process mental simulation manipulation and have self-control practice on a Stroop task will be more likely to reduce their alcohol consumption.The aim of this research is to test the hypothesis that individuals who receive motivation and self-control manipulations will have higher reduction in alcohol consumption than a control group comprising individuals that did not receive manipulation. Also, we hypothesise that combined experimental manipulations of motivation and self-control is more effective than either of the motivation and self-control manipulations alone in reducing alcohol consumption

This project aims to encourage healthy eating behaviours in people with mental illness who are residing in a Community Rehabilition Care centre. We will investigate the impact of healthy eating and daily fish oil supplementation on participants' mental and cardiometabolic health over 6 months.

open label single arm self-controlled trial of the affect of 15 days of abacavir on platelet function in healthy HIV positive volounteers

Radiofrequency ablation is a commonly utilized tool in arthroscopic orthopaedic surgery primarily in joints such as shoulders and knees. It allows accurate debridement of soft tissues and control of bleeding. Use of radiofrequency ablation wands produces heat either directly or as a by-product. Studies have shown that if these temperatures exceed a certain threshold, (commonly known to be 45 degrees Celcius), the risk of injury to surrounding tissues within the joint is increases. We will be comparing two types of radiofrequency ablation systems that are very widely used today in arthroscopic surgery. One system, such as the Striker SERFAS Energy probe, uses radiofrequency energy to generate heat at the tip of the instrument. This heat is used to ablate or remove unwanted or damaged tissues and may also be used to coagulate vessels to control bleeding. The other system, such as that used in the Arthrocare RF wands, uses 'coblation' technology. This technology differs in that it uses radiofrequency energy to produce a controlled non-heat driven process where it excites electrodes within the surrounding saline solution to create a charged plasma gas that breaks up molecular bonds within tissue. Heat in this system, is produced as a by-product, and as claimed by its manufacturers, at much lower temperatures. In this study we will be comparing the temperatures established in arthroscopic surgery to determine the risk of injury to surrounding tissues using both these two systems. We will be recruiting 80 patients undergoing arthroscopic knee or shoulder surgery for a variety of conditions. The patients will be randomised to the ablation system and temperatures will be continuously monitored and recorded using an independent digital temperature probe. The probe will be placed in the same location within the joint in all patients through a small key-hole incision. The duration of surgery will also be recorded. Many variable can affect the fluid temperatures and these incluced, baseline infused fluid temperature, flow rate, and number of ports. We will not be regulating these variables in order to create a more natural clinical scenario which will in turn produce results that are more relevant to the common orthopaedic surgeon. Results will be analysed to determine the average and maximum temperatures reached in both systems, and in different types of surgeries (e.g. rotator cuff repair, sub-acromial decompression and acromioplasty, and stabilisation in shoulders, and ACL reconstruction in knees). Statistical analyses will be used to determine if there are any statistically significant differences in results using the two types of ablation systems and whether in fact using the Arthrocare charged plasma 'coblation' process will produce lower and potentially safer temperatures.

The primary objective of this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled research study is to determine the safety of topical allopurinol (20mg of allopurinol in SoloSite Wound Gel, Smith and Nephew for 15 minutes) compared with a placebo treatment (SoloSite Wound Gel, Smith and Nephew) for study participants with venous leg ulcers, with a good outcome measured by the lack of adverse effects at the completion of the study (i.e., one week after administration of topical allopurinol).

The aim of this study is to develop a new clinical tool to assist in the design of foot orthoses. This tool will be tested on both feet of each study participant by two different investigators and the results obtained will be compared. We will also be comparing the use of this tool to an established clinical test, the manual supination resistance test. At the end of the study, information on participant satisfaction will be collected.

This study is observing the natural course of hot flash symptoms in men receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in the form of luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) analogues for histologically confirmed hormone-naive prostate cancer. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are a male with histologically confirmed and hormone-naive prostate cancer and have commenced on ADT in the form of LHRH analogues for the first time. Trial details In this study, you will be observed for a total period of 3 years. You will be required to complete a validated questionnaire called the Hot Flash Score. This will need to be completed at 1, 2, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months following commencement of ADT. Thereafter, you will be required to complete the Hot Flash Score questionnaire every 6 months until the completion of the study at 3 years. All other treatment and investigations will be carried out according to standard care – that is, no additional pathology tests will be undertaken compared to men who would otherwise not be enrolled in this study.

This is a single-centre, controlled, study using induced blood stage malaria (IBSM) challange inoculum to characterize the effectiveness of Piperaquine against early blood stage Plasmodium falciparum infection. The study will be conducted in up to 3 cohorts (n= 8 in each) using different oral doses of Piperaquine.

The insertion of an arterial catheter is a common intervention in the intensive care unit, allowing continuous haemodynamic monitoring as well as easy access for blood samples and blood gas analysis. Arterial catheterisation is recognised as being a safe procedure, with major complications such as arterial occlusion occurring in less than 1% of cases. Partial or complete dislodgement of arterial catheters, with the attendant risks of re-insertion such as infection and trauma remains an ongoing problem in the intensive care unit. Much effort has been made to improve the standard of securement, with studies focussing on alternative methods of fixation. The study will compare the rate of failure of arterial catheters secured with cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive (tissue glue) with those secured with traditional bordered polyurethane dressings. Dislodgement and subsequent failure of arterial lines is a relatively common problem in the intensive care unit, with associated costs for replacement in terms of staff time, equipment and consumables used and patient comfort. Arterial catheters will be randomised to receive either fixation with cyanoacrylate adhesive or traditional dressings. The primary outcome is the rate of failure of arterial catheters. The secondary outcome is skin reactions or injuries secondary to the fixation method used. The study population will be adult patients admitted to the SCGH ICU. The number of patients for this study will be calculated from the previous audit on arterial catheter failure rates. Inclusion criteria will be arterial catheters inserted in the radial artery. Exclusion criteria will be arterial catheters inserted into an artery other than the radial. Failure is defined as the inability to obtain an arterial waveform and subsequent pressure reading via the catheter, the inability to aspirate blood from the catheter or overt physical dislodgement of the catheter from the artery.