ANZCTR search results

This study will compare the effects of common "lifestyle" factors of sleep loss and alcohol on driving simulator performance in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea and healthy subjects and evaluate the effectiveness of continuous positive air-way pressure treatment in improving driving simulator performance

Melatonin is a hormone produced naturally in the pineal gland at the base of the brain. It is important in regulating sleep. Usually melatonin levels in the body are high overnight and drop during the day to maintain the sleep-wake cycle. However, in critically ill patients there is evidence to suggest the normal secretion of melatonin is lost or diminished. This may contribute to sleep disruption in critically ill patients. This study will be conducted as a randomised double blind placebo controlled trial. Sixty patients with a tracheostomy in the intensive care unit (ICU) with poor sleep will be recruited. Participants will receive temazepam, a sleep medication, plus either placebo or melatonin at night for 7 nights. Hours of sleep during the day and the night will be documented through nursing observation and actigraphy (a wrist-watch which records wrist movements and translates it into sleep periods). Quality of sleep will be assessed with the use of the Richards Campbell Sleep Questionnaire. The study will help determine if there is a role for the addition of melatonin to usual sedative-hypnotic medication for the management of sleep disruption in ICU patients.

This study intends to find out if low dose CT scan may be feasible in Queensland to identify early lung cancers in people at highest risk of lung cancer.

This study will assess the frequency of emergence of oseltamivir resistant viruses, and their virological characteristics, in patients treated with standard and double dose oseltamivir for influenza caused by A/H1N1 2009 (‘swine flu’) and other human influenza viruses. Patients with clinical symptoms indicative of influenza, who present within 48 hours of the onset of fever during confirmed influenza activity in the community, will be randomised to receive immediate treatment with oseltamivir at a standard age appropriate dose or a double dose, twice daily for 5 days. Patients will have baseline virus samples taken for typing and oseltamivir sensitivity and also on day 5 of treatment.

Reconstructive pelvic floor surgery to treat vaginal prolapse problems can often require the use of a supportive mesh or biomaterial, and currently we use a synthetic, non-absorbable polypropylene mesh. However, synthetic mesh use can be associated with complications, such as mesh erosion. The currently used synthetic meshes have reported rates of erosion (protrusion of mesh material through vaginal skin or bladder) of 9-13%, while studies show virtually no reports of erosion with use of biologic meshes. Mesh erosion can require further surgery to remove the protruding mesh. bioMD, (a company who produces biologic meshes or patches) has a new biomaterial that is appropriate for pelvic floor reconstruction. The new biomaterial will be used instead of the currently used synthetic mesh. It has been called a biomaterial as it is made from treated tissue sourced from around the heart of a cow (the pericardium). This biomaterial will be used to provide support for the pelvic floor. The aim of this study is therefore to first test the new biomaterial in 20 patients who require the use of such a biomaterial during prolapse surgery. This testing will enable us to identify that this biomaterial is effective at treating vaginal prolapse, and allow us to assess any associated complications with its use.

To evaluate the clinical performance and subjective responses of commercially available Focus (registered trademark) 1-2 Week, Focus (registered trademark) Monthly and FreshLook (registered trademark) Handling Tint lenses in a sample of East Asian population when the lenses are worn on a daily wear, daily disposal schedule.

The trial hypothesis is that a policy of no prophylactic platelet transfusion is as safe as (or non-inferior to) a policy of prophylactic transfusion, based on a threshold peripheral blood platelet count of less than 10 x 10e9/L.

The study will determine the efficacy of an 8 week (x 6 session) face-to-face education and skill development program targeting the self-management of nutrition, physical activity and healthy weight management for cancer survivors who have finished active cancer treatment, and their partners/caregivers.

This project is part of a research program examining the efficacy of Internet based education and treatment programs for people with social phobia and other commmon mental disorders. This project compares the effectiveness of simple written motivational strategies at encouraging people with social phobia to complete the 8 lessons in the Program. We expect that people who receive the motivational exercises (in addition to weekly reminder emails) will complete more lessons and report greater benefit from the program than participants who do not receive access to the motivational strategies, but do receive email reminders.

This study aims to evaluate the impact of a brief intervention delivered by community nurses in routine practice on the change in clients’ lifestyle risk factors.The trial will use a quasi experimental design involving four generalist community nursing sites in NSW Australia. Sites will be randomly allocated to ‘early intervention’ group or ‘late intervention’ (comparison) group. ‘Early intervention’ sites will be provided with training and support for nurses in identifying and offering brief lifestyle intervention for clients during routine consultations. ‘Late intervention’ sites’ will provide usual care and be offered the study intervention following the final data collection point. A total of 720 eligible generalist community nursing clients will be recruited at the time of referral from both early and late intervention sites. Data collection consists of 1) telephone surveys with clients at baseline, three months and six months to examine change in SNAP risk factors and readiness change 2) nurse survey at baseline, six and 12 months to examine changes in SNAP risk factor confidence, attitudes and practices 3) semi-structured interviews/focus with nurses, managers and clients in ‘early intervention’ sites to explore the feasibility, acceptability and sustainability of the intervention. The study will provide evidence about the effectiveness and feasibility of brief lifestyle interventions delivered by generalist community nurses as part of routine practice. This will inform future community nursing practice and Primary health care (PHC) policy.