ANZCTR search results

This study aims to document sensitivity and specificity when the ECGs of young athletes are interpreted by clinicians (excluding sports cardiologists) compared with interpretation by expert sports cardiologists. It also aims to assess the effectiveness of the ECG criteria tool in improving this sensitivity and specificity.

This study aims to evaluate a tele-health mediated nurse led intervention to increase oral cancer therapy adherence amongst people with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML). Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 years or more and have a confirmed diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). You should be currently taking or about to commence treatment with the drug, Imatinib. Trial details Participants in this trial will be randomly (by chance) allocated to one of two groups. Participants in one group will receive a nurse-led intervention using internet and mobile telephone reminder systems to help them remember to take their medicine and cope with medicine side effects. Participants in the other group will not receive this intervention. Information obtained from this trial will help to see if the intervention is suitable, whether the measures we are using to see if medicine uptake improves are working, and help us to work out the time required to accrue numbers of patients to a subsequent larger study using the same, or improved version of the intervention.

Long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids, Docosahexanoic Acid (DHA) and Eicosapentanoic Acid (EPA), are associated with reducing the risk of a range of chronic diseases, as well as inflammation. They are also linked to improved outcomes as adjunctive therapies in some cancers and arthritis, in addition to promoting growth and development. The National Health and Medical Research Council recommendation for males and females is outlined in Figure 1. Suggested Dietary Targets represent the amount recommended for the prevention of chronic disease, i.e. cardiovascular disease and is equivalent to the 90th percentile of intake of the Australian/New Zealand population. Unless people consume oily fish at least twice per week or take omega-3 fish oil capsules, meeting this recommendation is difficult. Fortifying foods with fish oil is a means of improving intakes of EPA/DHA, but existing encapsulation technologies prevent significant doses being incorporated into foods. Higher doses using the current technology produces unsatisfactory flavour profiles and instability in the product. This project aims to improve on this with a trialling a new technology.

It is known that the symptoms of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), such as pain, weakness and swelling, occur after intense exercise, mainly after unaccustomed eccentric exercise. Eccentric exercise is the type that occurs when a muscle tenses whilst it is lengthening e.g., when you are lowering a dumbbell after completing a biceps curl. DOMS leads to impaired performance for athletes and untrained individuals. There are no effective means of treating DOMS other than perhaps to avoid it in the first instance. Research investigating the effect of low level laser therapy (LLLT) on muscle injury from exercises that cause fatigue, suggests that LLLT may be useful for treating DOMS. This study will analyse if LLLT, used before and after eccentric exercise, is able to prevent or minimize the symptoms associated with DOMS, as well as evaluate indicators of muscle damage that can be assessed in a range of ways including blood sample and muscle biopsy and what it will permit to visualize the muscle recovery after the eccentric exercise and laser therapy.

Approximately 450,000 people undergo surgery for various reasons in New Zealand. Most of these people are given general anaesthesia for their procedure. We use a range of monitoring to assess vital signs and other safety factors. One of the monitoring systems we use is the Bi-spectral Index (BIS), which uses electroencephalogram (EEG) waves to determine the depth (how deeply anaesthetised) patients are during their procedure. These monitoring systems are widely available nationally and internationally, however, the optimal depth at which anaesthetics should be given is unknown. Recent observational studies have shown a 20% increase in mortality in patients undergoing major surgery who receive relatively deep anaesthesia. We plan to perform a large scale randomized trial investigating the difference between two clinically standard depth ranges, which are commonly referred to “light” and “deep” anaesthesia, to definitively answer the question of whether anaesthetic depth alters surgical outcome. In particular we will look at death rate at one year and also whether there are differences in other complications of surgery and anaesthesia, including wound infection, cardiovascular and neurological complications, pain and awareness

This study will prospectively follow group of up to 100 patients who undergo ACL reconstruction under the age of 17 years with the use of a live donor allograft.

A randomised controlled trial will be conducted on patients undergoing endodontic treatment in the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne. Two medicaments, placed inside the root canals of teeth, will be compared: Calcipulpe (calcium hydroxide paste) and Odontocide (calcium hydroxide and ibuprofen paste). Following treatment, patients will be required to record pain scores on a Visual Analogue Scale corresponding to specified times prior to and following treatment. If the amount of pain following treatment is severe enough, requiring the patient to take oral analgesics (rescue analgesia), then details regarding further drug administration will be recorded by the patient.

This study aims to assess the effect of nicotinamide (vitamin B3) on nonmelanoma skin cancer incidence in renal transplant recipients. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 years or more and have had a renal transplant more than 12 months ago. You should be experiencing current immune suppression and have a past history of at least two confirmed nonmelanoma skin cancers within the past 12 months. Trial details Participants in this trial will be randomly (by chance) allocated to one of two groups. Participants in one group will take two 500mg nicotinamide (vitamin B3) tablets daily for 6 months, whilst those in the other group will take two placebo (inactive) tablets daily instead. Participants will not know which group they are in until the end of the trial. Participants will be regularly assessed over the treatment period to determine the efficacy of nicotinamide in preventing nonmelanoma skin cancers and the safety of this treatment in renal transplant recipients.

To compare the effects of PARO and participation in a reading group on social engagement, communication and quality of life (QOL) in people living with moderate to severe dementia in a residential care setting. Furthermore, to examine the associations between changes in social engagement, communication and QOL resulting from PARO and changes in participants’ emotional state

Despite the development of anaesthesia management guidelines, perioperative respiratory adverse events (PRAE) remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality during paediatric anaesthesia, causing more than three quarters of critical incidents and nearly one third of all perioperative cardiac arrests. In a previous large cohort study in over 9000 children, we identified several risk factors (current or recent upper respiratory tract infection, wheezing >3 times in the last 12 months, eczema, nocturnal dry cough, a family history of asthma, eczema, rhinitis or passive smoking) which can help in every day clinical practice to identify the children at a particularly high risk for PRAE. Additionally, we demonstrated in an audit of children with a recent URTI, that inhaled salbutamol reduced the incidence of perioperative bronchospasm (5% vs. 11%, p=0.027) and persistent coughing (5.5% vs. 11.5%, p=0.0314) in the perioperative period. The role of pre-treatment with reliever medications for other PRAE risk factors (such as asthma, present/past eczema) is unknown. We therefore propose a double blinded randomised controlled trial of the use of inhaled salbutamol in children with two or more known risk factors for PRAE on the incidence of PRAE. We will randomise 470 children (6-16 years) to receive either inhaled salbutamol or an inhaled placebo prior to the administration of anaesthesia. We will also assess lung function before and 15 minutes after the administration of salbutamol or placebo. Furthermore, we will monitor and record all respiratory complications (laryngospasm, bronchospasm, severe and persistent coughing, airway obstruction, oxygen desaturation (<95%) and postoperative stridor). We hypothesise that children receiving salbutamol will experience significantly less PRAE when compared with children who did not receive salbutamol preoperatively. This study may help to reduce the health costs associated with respiratory complications (e.g. unplanned hospital admissions, prolonged hospital stay, additional treatment) and may help us to avoid unexpected admissions to the intensive care unit. Additionally, our findings may lead to a reduction in waiting list times and aid us in deciding the best time for the child’s surgery. Finally, this study may increase the availability of preventative strategies that may reduce the numbers of children who have their surgery cancelled due to respiratory issues. Cancellation of surgery has an adverse economic impact for hospitals, causes enormous emotional and financial burdens on the child and his/her family who have made many arrangements to attend hospital. Reducing the number of cancellations will ease the distress experienced by children and their parents when surgery does not go ahead as planned, which will have add on effects for child/parent satisfaction regarding their hospital experience.