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Muscle damage can result from snake bite which is irreversible and there is no specific treatment for except antivenom. Redbellied black snake bite provides a unique opportunity to study antivenom use in muscle damage in snake bite because this snake occurs across large population areas of NSW and Queensland. The study will determine if antivenom is effective and safe in red bellied black snake bite and whether it is therefore useful for other important snakes that cause muscle damage worldwide.

The ANSWER Cricoid Trial is a randomised controlled study to determine whether the use of cricoid pressure is effective in prevention of aspiration during emergency intubations.

This study will compare solution induced corneal staining rates between three PHMB-based solutions at 2 hours hours and 8 hours, when used with balafilcon A and senofilcon A contact lenses. The hypothesis is there will no difference in solution induced corneal staining rates between the three solutions

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a new intervention called Dignity Therapy in patients with advanced cancer and patients receiving palliative care. Effects on sense of dignity, distress and quality of life will be investigated. Who is it for? You can join this study if: (a) you have a diagnosis of advanced cancer with life expectancy of 12 months or less, (b) you have no significant cognitive impairment, (c) you are at least 18 years of age, and (d) have at least basic fluency in English language. Trial Details: Dignity Therapy aims to strengthen a person’s sense of worth, meaning and purpose by allowing people to create a lasting legacy document for their loved ones. A legacy document can include information about a person’s life that they see as important or meaningful, personal history that they would want others to know about, words of wisdom and life lessons, personal values, hopes and dreams for their loved ones, words of advice and things that need to be said or repeated to their loved ones. A legacy document is created when an audio recording of this discussion is transcribed and given back to participants to make any necessary changes. Additions to legacy documents can also be made at this time. A final legacy document is given back to participants in paper form and a digital copy is also included on an archival CD. Although initial evaluations of Dignity Therapy in Western Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom have yielded positive results for both participants and their families, further research is required before conclusions can be made about effectiveness of Dignity Therapy. This study also aims to evaluate a similar intervention called Life Review. This intervention also involves discussion about past life experiences, important achievements, personal values and hopes and dreams for loved ones. However, Life Review is different to Dignity Therapy in that it does not involve creation of a legacy document. This discussion also needs to be recorded in order to make sure that the two interventions were delivered in an identical way. Direct comparison of these two interventions has never been done before. This will allow for specific conclusions to be made about their effectiveness in helping patients with advanced illnesses and their families. Participants in this trial will be randomly (by chance) assigned to one of three groups. One group will receive Dignity Therapy, second group will undergo Life Review and third group will receive standard care for 1 week and then undergo Dignity Therapy. Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires before and after treatment to assess their sense of dignity, distress and quality of life.

The purpose of the study is to see whether a salty meal (equivalent to about 3/4 teaspoon of table salt, the same amount found in a ham sandwich or a meal of bacon and eggs) causes levels of sodium (salt) in the blood to rise. We want to know this because high salt meals may have adverse effects on blood vessel function.

The study will investigate the efficacy, dose-reponse relationship and acceptability of aged garlic extract for reducing blood pressure in treated but uncontrolled hypertensive general practice patients.

A prospective study of 36,000 subjects will be undertaken to assess the impact of a chronic disease management services encompassing population analytics and telephone health coaching on health service utilisation and costs. Identification and predictive models based on health fund administrative data will be used to identify subjects with selected chronic conditions (congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, diabetes, low back pain, coronary obstructive pulmonary disease) who have high likelihood of future health utilisation and costs in the subsequent twelve months. These subjects will be randomly assigned to either receive active outreach including outbound phone calls to encourage program participation or to receive only basic information about the program. Health coaching will be delivered over the phone, by specially trained and qualified nurses and tailored to the individual’s need. It aims to empower subjects through goal setting and support.

The focus of this study is to examine whether addressing social anxiety disorder (SAD) symptoms which are directly related to residential substance use treatment improves engagement and retention in individuals with comorbid SAD and substance abuse. It is hypothesised that those individuals who receive psychological treatment for SAD symptoms are more likely to enter residential treatment, and more likely to stay in treatment for at least a 3 month period when compared to the control group.

The purpose of this study is to find out if the Encode implant restoration system allows for faster and simpler treatment compared to traditional implant restoration systems. the Encode system uses computerised scanning of the dental impression and does not require the use of impression copings.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in Australia. Increased blood pressure (hypertension) and hyper-activation, or clumping, of platelets are two of the major risk factors for CVD. Blood pressure increases with hardening and narrowing of the blood vessels. Platelets, small cells in the blood, normally form clumps to stop bleeding. In some conditions, however, this clumping action may lead to narrowing and hardening of the blood vessels and affects vascular function. Aspirin is the ‘gold standard’ medication to prevent platelet aggregation, but regular aspirin use can cause damage to the lining of the stomach, resulting in bleeding. Previous research has found that chilli, a commonly used spice, can help prevent platelet aggregation. The aim of this intervention study is to compare the effects of a single dose of aspirin/chilli and their regular intake, on platelet aggregation and various measures of vascular function.