ANZCTR search results

This project aims to determine the effect of exercise intensity on brain recovery biomarkers in stroke survivors who have or have had mobility impairments after stroke and healthy age and sex-matched controls. We will measure post-exercise changes in the following biomarkers: salivary biomarkers of stress and inflammation cortico-excitability using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

This study aims to understand the optimal ways to implement lung cancer CT screening in Australian, and specifically to research the best ways to recruit and undertake lung cancer screening in at risk people from a range of geographic and socioeconomic communities Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged between 50 and 80 years old, and have risk factors for developing lung cancer Study details All participants who meet the eligibility criteria in this study will have a low dose CT chest scan and complete a questionnaire about possible risk factors. Participants will be followed-up post-scan annually for 10 years to assess risk of developing lung cancer and quality of life. It is hoped that this research project will help identify how to optimally invite people at risk for lung cancer screening.

We are conducting a clinical trial to determine if cushioned shoe insoles are an effective treatment for big toe joint osteoarthritis. The participants will wear their allocated insoles at all times when wearing shoes for a 12 week period. The two different groups in this study are: 1. Cushioned insoles 2. Placebo insoles We will evaluate the effectiveness of the different insoles on pain and physical function at 12 weeks. Primary and secondary outcomes will be collected via online survey at baseline and 12 weeks. Our hypothesis is that flat cushioned shoe insoles will result in a greater improvement in pain and physical function for individuals suffering with first MTP OA.

This study aims to identify the optimal way to implement fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy in patients who have a genetic variant of the DPYD gene, the ability to test for UGT1A1 prior to irinotecan chemotherapy, and cost effectiveness of a large-scale roll out of this screening program. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 or over, and have solid organ malignancy requiring fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy. You may be eligible for additional for UGT1A1 genotyping if you require irinotecan chemotherapy Study details All participants who meet the eligibility criteria in this study will undergo pharmacogenomic (PGx) genotyping to identify DPYD and UGT1A1 variants prior to commencing Fluoropyrimidine (FP) and Irinotecan (IRI)(where applicable) chemotherapies. Genotyping is conducted from a blood sample collected from patients prior to commencing chemotherapy, and relevant adjustments to chemotherapy dosing is made in accordance with international dosing guidelines. Participants will be followed for 60 days to assess for acute chemotherapy induced toxicity, and beyond completion of chemotherapy regimen to assess cost-effectiveness and feasibility of the screening program. No additional tests will be required from patients beyond standard of care. It is hoped that this research project will determine the feasibility of DPYD genetic testing for cancer patients which may assist with providing personalised treatment options for these patients.

Tryptophan, an essential amino acid, acts as a precursor to Melatonin and can influence its synthesis and function. Tryptophan is transported across the blood brain barrier by the same transporters as other large neutral amino acids (LNAA) and has to compete with them to cross the barrier, for its availability. Alpha lactalbumin (ALAC), a whey protein, is a good source of tryptophan and has previously been found to increase the TRP:LNAA ratio up to 130%. This study aims to investigate the dose response effect of ALAC on TRP:LNAA ratio to identify the optimal timing and dosage of supplementation. Participants will be administered 4 different doses in a double blind, counterbalanced, crossover trial. Outcome measures include measuring TRP:LNAA ratio at various time-points, plasma melatonin levels and palatability and preference of the different supplement doses. This study outcome will set precedence for further research using to improve sleep outcomes.

All babies with a diagnosis of HIE who require retrieval for therapeutic hypothermia will be approached by NETS WA and randomised to either servo-controlled cooling or current standard care (cold packs). The primary outcome will be baby temperature in range (33.0 – 34.0 degrees Celcius) on arrival at the receiving unit. Secondary outcomes will look at time to achieving therapeutic temperature, duration of time spent out of range, degrees of temperature fluctuation and safety. We aim to recruit 52 babies in 18-months to assess feasibility, efficacy and safety.

Dementia Australia and Deakin University propose to pilot an artificially intelligent Avatar conversational agent called ‘Talk with Ted’ as a learning tool for aged-care staff capacity development. This project aims to contribute to the aged-care sector’s caregiving workforce capability and capacity by implementing evidence-based learning that leads to scalable and translatable solutions and improvements in service delivery, promotes the adoption of technology, and ultimately leads to an improvement in the quality of care experienced by those living with dementia. The project aims to address the following questions: a) Does Ted promote caregivers’ understanding of the impact of positive communication on a person living with dementia? b) Does interaction with Ted influence caregivers’ communication with a person living with dementia? c) What are caregivers’ perceptions of the feasibility of use of Ted in the residential aged care setting? d) What are caregivers’ perceptions of the feasibility of the implementation process? Findings from this study will inform implementation and methodology, including sample size calculations, for a definitive effectiveness study in the future.

AFLUENT is a pragmatic, investigator initiated, open label, randomised, pilot clinical trial that will be undertaken within the Cardiology department at Royal Perth Hospital. This trial will compare an intervention of “early” routine influenza vaccination of patients diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction within one week of the event, to “standard care”, where patients will be advised to seek their influenza vaccination in the community at their own discretion with guidance from their primary care physician. As per guideline recommendations, it is specifically recommended that “high risk” cardiac patients such as those within this study population receive their influenza vaccination in the community prior to the onset of “flu season”. However, enrolment of trial patients into AFLUENT will occur all year round, regardless of whether it is “flu season” or not. It is anticipated that patients within the “standard care” group may delay their vaccination or not receive it at all. Thus, the trial is testing a strategy of routine early administration to all patients in the intervention group, with currently recommended strategy whereby patients are encouraged to access vaccination in the community but often do not. The likely failure of many control patients to seek vaccination plus the inevitable delay in doing so are fundamental to the design of this trial.

This study will ask families who have experienced the unexpected death of a child in PICU about their experience of and their thoughts about bereavement care. The aim of PICU care is to help children to survive serious illnesses and injuries, but unfortunately not all children survive. For those who die unexpectedly, the experience for their family can be very traumatic. These families may struggle to understand what happened in the last moments of their child’s life, and why the efforts of doctors and nurses to save them were not successful. This may make it harder for these families to process their grief in a healthy way and may contribute to conditions such as post-traumatic stress, complicated grief, and problems in the way the family functions. The best way to support families after the unexpected death of a child is currently not well understood, with most research and resources focusing on expected deaths such as cancer. In the case of expected deaths, there is usually time to plan and partner with families, and there are specialist services such as palliative care available to provide support. The experience of families who lose a child unexpectedly can be quite different, and so a different approach is needed. This study will use focus groups and family interviews to ask close relatives of children who have died an unexpected death in PICU about the bereavement care they received, the gaps in care, their perceived bereavement care needs, and their recommendations for PICU bereavement care. The results will be used to design an experimental PICU bereavement service to be implemented as the intervention in Phase Two of the FOOTPRINTS project.

NSW Health smoking cessation policy is evidence-based, yet poorly implemented. We are funded to roll out a TRANSLATE (TRAining in evideNce-baSed ImpLementATion for hEalth) (TRANSLATE- cessation (Tc) implementation intervention in randomly selected hospital wards of three LHDs as part of a quality assurance activity. Random selection aims to distribute limited resources in a fair manner and provides an opportunity to examine the efficacy of the Stop Smoking Start Living (S3L) bundle in intervention (Tc + S3L) versus control wards. The qualitative experience of patients from high-risk populations (HRPs) in intervention wards will be examined. HRPs include women who smoke during pregnancy, people with mental illness, people with diagnoses of drug and alcohol abuse/dependence and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Sub-studies include: 1. Effect of Tc on health care professional behaviour. 2. Effect of Tc and S3L on patient smoking behaviour. 3. Qualitative experience of HRPs with the S3L treatments.