ANZCTR search results

A nasogastric tube (NGT) may be inserted into the nostril and passed down through the pharynx (throat) to the stomach to feed patients who are unable to swallow or are unable to eat and drink adequate amounts. If a patient starts or continues eating with a NGT in place, clinical experience suggests the presence of a NGT within the pharynx may in fact interfere with swallowing and hinder a patient’s return to oral intake. Changes in swallowing due to NGT presence have been shown in young volunteers, but not investigated in older individuals. With increasing age we get changes to the normal swallow. As a large proportion of patients requiring NGT feeding are elderly it is important to understand what impact, if any, a NGT might have on an ageing swallow. The aims for this study were to determine what effects, if any, fine-bore and/or wide-bore NGTs have on: (1) airway penetration-aspiration, (2) pharyngeal residue, and (3) duration of pharyngeal transit in older healthy adults.

Sedentary behaviours have become a predominant feature of most adults waking hours. Specifically, prolonged sitting time is now understood to have adverse effects on glycaemic control and other health parameters, adversely impacting on those with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D). Physical activity, including structured resistance exercise, is recommended for the treatment and management of T2D. Resistance activities utilise the larger muscle groups, potentially providing a greater stimulus for glucose uptake; however, many people with T2D may be unable or insufficiently motivated to meet these recommendations. Encouraging recent evidence shows that walking breaks throughout the day are an effective strategy to offset the deleterious effects of prolonged uninterrupted sitting in older, overweight adults. However, these experimental findings are yet to be verified in those with T2D – who could derive the greatest benefit. This study will examine the acute effects of a single bout of prolonged sitting on postprandial blood glucose, insulin and lipids with and without intermittent bouts of light-intensity walking or simple resistance activities in adults with T2D. Twenty four inactive and injury free participants aged between 35-75 years with diagnosed T2D (longer than 3 months) who are either diet or Metformin controlled will be recruited. Participants will visit the lab on 5 separate occasions. First, they will attend a 120 minute screening and medical exam, then a 60 minute familiarisation session one week prior to the commencement of the experimental trial. During screening, participants will complete a standard Glycated Haemoglobin (HbA1c) test to verify diabetes status (>=6.5%, but <=9%) and will be assessed on their suitability and safety to participate in the study. Familiarisation will ensure they are comfortable with the equipment and exercises, and suitable technique and movement consistency are achieved. The energy expenditure of the two activity breaks will also be measured a this visit. Participants will then complete three experimental conditions in a random order (each 8 hours duration with an initial 1 hour steady-state period) separated by a minimum 6 day washout period. The experimental conditions are: (A) Uninterrupted sitting (control condition): Participants will sit quietly in a lounge chair for 8 hours, with breakfast and lunch provided during this period; (B) Sitting + light-intensity walking breaks: Following baseline measurements and after sitting quietly for 1 hour (steady state) and allowing for consumption of the breakfast meal (20 minutes), participants will complete a 3 min bout of light-intensity walking on the treadmill (level, firm surface, slow pace – 3.2 km.hr-1). They will then return to the seated position. This procedure will be repeated on a further 11 occasions every 30 min (except where a lunch meal is consumed) for a total of 36 min of light-intensity activity; (C) Sitting + simple resistance activities: Identical procedure to condition B, however, participants will complete a 3 min bout of simple resistance activities. The activities will be allocated into nine 20 second segments, alternating between body weight half-squats, calf raises and brief gluteal contractions in-between single leg knee raises. This interchange between movements will provide rest for the corresponding muscle groups between each activity segment. To ensure appropriate standardisation, participants will complete each activity in a controlled manner within their range of motion (knee/hip 45 to 90° for half-squats/knee raises). Exercise tempo and correct ‘form’ will be achieved by participants mimicking a pre-prepared video recording, with which they have been previously familiarised. Fasting and postprandial blood samples (glucose/lipids, insulin/C-peptide, incretins, catecholamines and full blood examination) will be measured half-hourly throughout each trial, while blood pressure will be collected at each hour time point. Perceived fatigue will be assessed every 2 hours. With high volumes of sitting becoming a growing concern, there are potentially important and practical benefits of breaking up sitting time with brief bouts of light intensity activities. This research will provide insights into whether breaking up sitting time with light intensity walking and simple resistance activities has the potential for health benefits in those with T2D. The results of this study have potential to provide more detailed, practical and potentially prescriptive information to help shape clinical and public health approaches in T2D.

The cardiovascular system is made up of the heart, blood vessels and blood, and is responsible for the delivery of nutrients and removal of waste from the body. Blood flow is primarily regulated by the very small blood vessels. Examination of the skin blood vessels using laser Doppler flowmetry is an easy method that provides an index of global microvasculature function. Statins are a class of drug that reduce cardiovascular events and mortality. In addition to lowering cholesterol levels, statins demonstrate a number of other effects that protect the heart. After a heart attack, statins improve patient outcomes by improving the function of the large and small blood vessels. Rosuvastatin is more potent and effective than other statins. However, no studies have investigated the effect of Rosuvastatin on the very small skin blood vessels in patients who have had a minor heart attack. This pilot study aims to evaluate the effect of 1-week low- vs. high-dose Rosuvastatin therapy on very small blood vessel function in patients who present with a minor heart attack compared to a healthy population. We hypothesise that 1-week high-dose Rosuvastatin in minor heart attack patients and healthy controls does not improve the function of the very small blood vessels when compared to 1-week low-dose Rosuvastatin.

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.