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This study aims to compare the efficacy of two different creams for the management of radiation-induced skin reactions in patients with cancer. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged over 18 and are scheduled to undergo radical radiotherapy for lung cancer, breast cancer or head and neck cancer at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. You will not be eligible if you have any pre-existing skin conditions or have any known allergies towards any ingredient of either of the creams. Trial details Participants in this trial will be randomly (by chance) allocated to one of two treatment groups. Participants in one group will apply a natural oil-based emulsion containing allantoin to their skin twice a day or more as needed depending on the occurrence of radiation-induced skin reactions. Participants in the other group will use an aqueous (water-based) cream instead. Participants will not know which cream they are using until the end of the trial. Participants will be assessed prior to radiotherapy, weekly during radiotherapy, and four weeks after the completion of radiotherapy, in order to determine the effects of both creams in reducing radiation-induced skin reactions, improving pain, itching and quality of life.

There are reasons to believe that medical grade-honey applied directly to skin may be an effective treatment for rosacea. In this study 10 adults with rosacea will apply honey to their face for 30-60 minutes twice daily for 2 weeks. After two weeks the rosacea will be assessed to look at changes in severity. Participants will also be asked about their experience of using honey. This trial will provide useful information on the practicalities of topical honey as a treatment for rosacea. It will also give an initial signal as to whether honey may be effective.

Critically ill patients may be temporarily placed on extracorporeal memebrane oxygenation (ECMO) machines to allow the heart and lungs to rest while the disease is treated with drugs. ECMO, together with severe illness, affects the way drugs work. This research aims to understand the combined effects of the ECMO circuit and severe illness on drug treatment. The results will allow us to develop guidelines to assist doctors in administering the right dose of the right drug at the right time to patients on ECMO.

The provision of education, counselling and support directed at enhancing patient self-care skills is an important aspect in the longterm management of chronic heart failure (CHF). This study builds upon CIA Cameron's PhD program of research that identified factors that predicted CHF self-care [1-3]. The proposed study will evaluate a unique screening tool that complements the existing nursing assessment, helping to identify an individual’s level of CHF self-care ability according to three domains: physical, emotional and cognitive functioning, and patient clinical characteristics. The implementation of this screening tool will guide health care professionals in determining if the patient is at low, medium or high risk of inadequate CHF self-care, thereby permitting sophisticated monitoring and serving as a basis for developing individualised plans of care, including educational and behavioural strategies directed at promoting self-care. In this manner, tailoring education and follow-up strategies to individual need and ability may further enhance the clinical status of patients, ensuring that these vulnerable patients remain in their community for longer periods. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical application of the CHF self-care assessment tool. The research will be conducted at the Eastern Health sites that conduct a CHF management program (Box Hill, Maroondah and Angliss hospitals). Recruitment to the study will be conducted over a 16 month period. A research associate from Eastern Health’s Cardiology Research Department will recruit approximately 240 patients from the three CHF management programs within Eastern Health.

This study is a pilot study as part of the development of Bite Back, an online positive psychology intervention for young people. The Study seeks to understand the effectiveness and useability of Bite Back in a group of young people aged 12 to 18 years from both a community sample and a high school sample. In the community sample, participants are encouraged to use the program at their leisure, while in the schools sample, the website is used in a structured format with the aid of a workbook. Participants are randomly allocated to either the experimental condition (Bite Back) or the control condition (neutral websites). It is hypothesised that the experimental conditions will demonstrate increased wellbeing at the end of the trial period in comparison to the control condition.

This project is part of a research program to develop and evaluate an Internet-based education and treatment program for people with chronic pain. This project examines the efficacy and acceptability of a treatment program to enhance management of pain, anxiety, depression and disability amongst people with chronic pain, when augmented with daily SMS prompts reminder participants to practice self-management skills. We expect that participants will experience improvements across the measures and will rate the SMS prompts as acceptable and helpful.

Functional mobility is generally considered a major contributor to maintaining quality of life at any age. Degenerative changes and lower levels of physical activity that often occur with ageing, contribute to impaired function and mobility and increase the risk of falling and loss of independence for older adults. This study will investigate the benefits of the Home Activity Monitoring Program (HAMP) on functional fitness in home dwelling older adults and also report on the incidence of falls in this group.

The primary purpose of the clinical trial is to determine whether taking a 100 mg capsule of coenzyme Q10 daily for a period of two months can alleviate the excessive fatigue of Post Polio Syndrome or Late Effects of Polio. This will be tested in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at the Griffith Clinical Trials Unit. Fatigue will be assessed by two fatigue questionnaires to be filled out by the participants before the start of the trial (baseline) and after the two-month period of taking capsules. Coenzyme Q10 blood levels will also be determined to confirm compliance and to validate the findings. Statistical analysis of the questionnaires will be undertaken by a biostatistician.

After lung transplantation, all patients receive medications, called immunosuppressives. These drugs suppress the immune system and prevent the body from rejecting the transplanted lung(s), but this also makes them susceptible to infections. CMV is a virus known to cause infection after transplantation and affects over 40% of patients and may influence the on-going success of their new lung(s). To reduce the damage that CMV can cause in newly transplanted lungs, all patients undergoing lung transplantation take medications, called anti-virals (Valganciclovir), for approximately the first five months following the transplant operation. Valganciclovir is approved in Australia for use to reduce CMV infection after lung transplantation. However, CMV infection can occur after the anti-viral drugs are stopped. The purpose of this project is to see whether a blood test (QuantiFERON-CMV assay) that assesses whether you can mount an immune response against CMV, can predict which patients are at risk of ongoing CMV infection, and therefore would benefit from taking the anti-viral medication (Valganciclovir) for a longer period.

Wounds that fail to heal may cause distress to patients and impact negatively on the physical, social, economic aspects of their life. Wound complications also add to the cost of health care, with clinical comsumables responsible for a large proportion of health care budget. NPWT is based on a therapy on a closed sealed system that produces negative pressure to wound surface. The wound is covered or packed with an open-cell foam or gauze dressings and sealed with an occlusive drape. Intermittent or continuous suction is maintained by connecting suction tubes from the wound dressing to a vacuum pump and liquid waste colelctor. NPWT is growing in use as a prophylactic approach to prevent wound complications especially SSI, yet evidence of its benefits is lacking.