ANZCTR search results

Insulin pumps are increasingly being used to deliver insulin for people with type 1 diabetes. The two main components of insulin pump delivery are firstly "bolus" insulin, used with meals or to correct high glucose levels, and secondly "basal" insulin which provides the background insulin requirements of the individual. The rate of basal insulin delivered can be adjusted with the pump, and this may vary according to the time of day, stress, illness or exercise. Information regarding changes in the basal insulin infusion rate to best match an individual's insulin requirement is essential to guide clinical decision-making. The purpose of this study is to determine the time to reach steady state circulating insulin levels after a clinically-relevant increase and also a clinically-relevant reduction in basal insulin infusion rates delivered by insulin pumps to adults with type 1 diabetes.

As the population ages there is an increasing number of elderly patients presenting to hospital with fractured hips. A large proportion of these patients receive blood transfusions, a treatment that is associated a significant cost and potential harm. Most of these patients being transfused have an iron deficiency anaemia. We plan to examine the benefit of giving intravenous iron to these patients to see if we can reduce the number needing a blood transfusion and improve nadir haemoglobin and ultimately reduce length of stay and 6 month mortality

Pain is inadequately treated in many of the surgical procedures. Postoperative pain is the main reason for the prolonged convalescence after laparoscopic (key hole) gall bladder surgery. Severe postoperative pain after gall bladder surgery can cause significant long standing pain, if not adequately treated initially. Postoperative pain has been traditionally treated with opioids, non steroidal anti-inflammatory agents and paracetamol. Opioids are associated with significant side effects and constant search for an alternative agent with similar potency and minimal side effects has been on for a very long time. Pregabalin and Gabapentin have recently elicited a lot of interest as being useful drugs for postoperative pain relief. Pregabalin has got a lot of pharmacokinetic advantages over Gabapentin as being more potent and more bioavailable with very minimal side effects. When combined with drugs like celecoxib, which are the safer versions of anti-inflammatory drugs as of current evidence, Pregabalin is likely to exhibit synergistic effect. This project evaluates the efficacy of Pregabalin, Celecoxib and their combination to treat postoperative pain in patients undergoing laparoscopic gall bladder surgery. This will be a randomized, double blind study. Selected participants will be given pregabalin, celecoxib or their combination or their placebo before and after surgery. They will be given standard general anaesthesia according to protocol. Their pain scores after surgery, demand for pain killers, anxiety levels, satisfaction with pain relief and other side effects will be recorded by a nurse. Statistical analysis will be made with the above observations to evaluate the efficacy of the study drugs. If this research yields positive result, it can add on to the evidence for using a different group of drugs for relief of acute postoperative pain as opposed to conventional pain relief with opioids. Also, the same group of drugs may be trialled in future for minimising the occurrence of chronic pain after surgery.

To study the relationship between periodontal disease and rheumatoid arthritis and determine whether periodontal treatment reduces the clinical and biochemical symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. Hypothesis: Reduction of periodontal inflammation in patients with chronic rheumatoid arthritis will reduce the clinical symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis Aim: Determine, in a prospective study, whether periodontal treatment has any bearing on clinical parameters of existing chronic rheumatoid arthritis.

The trial aims to assess the potential benefit of consuming beetroot juice as part of a normal diet with regard to lowering blood pressure in normotensive, free-living individuals.

We wish to investigate whether patients with unilateral sciatica whom take chronic opioid therapy, patients with unilateral sciatica whom do not take opioid therapy and pain-free participants have different sensitivities to hot and cold temperature sensations.

The purpose of the study is to determine the clinical outcomes and effectiveness of two randomly allocated treatments used to manage acute anterior shoulder dislocations: six weeks of external rotation bracing versus early arthroscopic shoulder stabilisation intervention. It is hypothesised that the arthroscopic shoulder stabilisation surgery may lead to better patient outcomes compared with the external rotation bracing on the basis that evidence for external rotation bracing is still emerging and (although promising) has not yet been established with as much rigor as arthroscopic shoulder stabilisation surgery. However, in the absence of substantial differences in patient outcomes, external rotation bracing may be demonstrated to be more cost-effective than surgery. Outcomes from this study will inform clinical decision making about management for young people with shoulder dislocation. This study will not only impact clinical practice for this high demand patient group in Queensland, but nationally and internationally due to widespread uncertainty to the effectiveness (and cost-effectiveness) of the (cheaper and more conservative) external rotation bracing in comparison to arthroscopic shoulder stabilisation surgery amongst young patients (16-30 years) who have dislocated their shoulder for the first time.

We aim to conduct a mixed methods evaluation of the impact on patients of a 6 week mindfulness and Essence based lifestyle program with community living adults with disability congruent with stage 2 (Hoehn and Yahr staging) Parkinson’s Disease. Quantitative study aims. To determine whether: 1. Participation in a 6 week mindfulness and Essence based lifestyle program improves PD disease related function in patients with disability consistent with stage 2 Parkinson’s disease? 2. In these patients, does the Essence program influence patient a) health beliefs; b) mental and emotional health; c) health locus of control? Qualitative study aims. To better understand: 3. What are the experiences of patients with PD attending the mindfulness based intervention? 4. Beliefs about disease management before and after the program? 5. How attitudes towards their health efficacy evolve over the course of the program? 6. What aspects of the program were most valuable and meaningful? 7. How people engaged with the program?

An observational post-market, open label, multicenter study designed to assess the clinical utility of the WEB Aneurysm Embolization System. The proposed clinical study is a non-randomized, multi-center, prospective confirmatory study to assess the safety and efficacy of the WEB Aneurysm Embolization System.

This project investigates the feasibility of a larger Randomised Controlled Trial into a web-based self-help program for suicidal thoughts.