ANZCTR search results

Tramadol is increasingly used as an analgesic in newborn infants who require surgery. It is hypothesised that tramadol use promotes decreased exposure to other analgesic agents like morphine, some of which depress respiration. By measuring the effect of tramadol or placebo on duration of mechanical ventilation, we can determine whether or not using tramadol has a significant sparing effect for the use of opioid analgesic agents.

This study is a randomised study that will investigate the safety and effacy of stoss therapy (high dose weekly vitamin D supplementation for 4 weeks) compared to daily vitamin D for 3 months. The hypothesis is that stoss vitamin D therapy is a safe and effective treatment for vitamin D deficency. If proven safe and effective, stoss therapy would have significant advantages where therapy is shortened, thus improving compliance and ultimate recovery from Vitamin D deficiency.

This proposal will provide solutions to a very significant practical clinical question in paediatric brain injury rehabilitation: Can stimulant medication improve disorders of attention and concentration, and other problems including regulation of behaviour and emotions, in children with traumatic brain injury (TBI), and thus facilitate rehabilitation? Few studies have investigated the usefulness of stimulant medication in children with TBI. It is well recognised that there is marked individual variation in response to stimulant medication. Positive effects from stimulants in this population (such as improved attention and concentration and better emotional and behavioural regulation) will allow children to benefit more from rehabilitation interventions, make rehabilitation professionals’ jobs easier and result in more cost-effective rehabilitation. N-of-1 trials (a type of drug trial in which the effect of the drug is examined within each individual patient rather than between groups of patients) will be used to examine the efficacy of stimulants in individual patients with Traumatic Brain Injury, so that the doctor, patient and family can make an objective assessment about the usefulness of this treatment for the patient. The hypotheses we plan to test are: (1) Stimulant therapy with methylphenidate (MPH) or dexamphetamine compared to placebo will significantly improve attention and concentration, and executive dysfunction including disorders of behavioural and emotional regulation, in children with TBI. (2) n-of-1 trials are feasible in paediatric rehabilitation practice for children with TBI. Objectives: A) To determine the efficacy of stimulants in alleviating these symptoms in children with traumatic brain injury. B) To evaluate the feasibility of n-of-1 trials as a means of conducting clinical trials in paediatric rehabilitation.

The study seeks to compare the stability and visual outcomes of patients recieiving 2 commonly used brands of toric intraocular lens implant (TIOL) used to correct corneal based astigmatism at the time of cataract surgery. Accuracy of implantation as well as post operative stability and effectivity of astigmatic correction will be assessed.

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of paracetamol for treating pain relief in people with advanced cancer who are currently taking opioids. Who is it for? You can join this study if you have advanced cancer with chronic cancer-related pain and you are currently taking opioids to control the pain. Trial details Participants will either start treatment with paracetamol in addition to regular opioids or they will start treatment with a non-active compound (*placebo) plus regular opioids. Participants will then cross-over to receive either placebo (if they started by tak! ing paracetamol) or to receive paracetamol (if they started by taking a placebo). Participants will undergo 3 pairs of 3 day treatments (cycles), making a total of 18 days. The drugs being used are paracetamol 500 mg, and placebo, orally, two capsules three times daily. Participants complete a daily diary recording pain scores, side effects, which treatment they prefer, and their estimate of which drug they are taking at the time. The study aims to determine the efficacy of paracetamol in alleviating pain in patients with advanced cancer who are taking routine opioids. It will also allow an evaluation of the study techniques (n-of-1 trial design which is when one patient is randomised from one treatment and then to another to allow comparison) and development of appropriate statistical techniques for the analysis of trial data, and where appropriate, provide a means of adjusting for illness progression.

We will provide a motor and psychosocial intervention to preschool in 6 schools in WA and compare their performance with 6 control schools.

The purpose of this study is to determine if having a pharmacist take a medication history and/or prescribe patients regular medications on admission to hospital for surgery reduces the number of medication omissions.

Capsule endoscopy has the potential to be used as a fast and minimally invasive tool for the triage of patients presenting to hospital with bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal tract. This study aims to determine the utility of capsule endoscopy in this setting by comparing its success in finding a diagnosis for the bleeding when compared to findings made at gastroscopy.

This proposal will provide solutions to a very significant practical clinical question in paediatric brain injury rehabilitation: Can stimulant medication improve disorders of attention and concentration, and other problems including regulation of behaviour and emotions, in children with traumatic brain injury (TBI), and thus facilitate rehabilitation? Few studies have investigated the usefulness of stimulant medication in children with TBI. It is well recognised that there is marked individual variation in response to stimulant medication. Positive effects from stimulants in this population (such as improved attention and concentration and better emotional and behavioural regulation) will allow children to benefit more from rehabilitation interventions and result in more cost-effective rehabilitation. N-of-1 trials (a type of drug trial in which the effect of the drug is examined within each individual patient rather than between groups of patients) will be used to examine the efficacy of stimulants in individual patients with Traumatic Brain Injury, so that the doctor, patient and family can make an objective assessment about the usefulness of this treatment for the patient. We will conduct n-of-1 trials of stimulants compared to placebo to test their efficacy for these symptoms in 42 children from 2 Australian states, preceded by an initial pilot in 10 children from Queensland. For responders, using treatment supported by the best possible evidence will facilitate patients recovery from TBI, make rehabilitation more cost-effective and greatly improve academic and life prospects and QOL for patients and families. AIMS The hypotheses we plan to test are: (1) Stimulant therapy with methylphenidate (MPH) or dexamphetamine compared to placebo will significantly improve attention and concentration, and executive dysfunction including disorders of behavioural and emotional regulation, in children with TBI. (2) n-of-1 trials are feasible in paediatric rehabilitation practice for children with TBI.

The objectives of the current study is to conduct three studies to assess the effects of single doses of Melissa officinalis (Lemon balm), delivered in different food and drink products, on cognitive function, mood and cortisol. The products will vary across the three studies and will include Beverages (Study 1), Dairy products (Study 2), and food Bars (Study 3). This will be a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study design involving a cohort of 20 healthy young adult volunteers in each study. On each study day participants will undergo a baseline (pre-treatment) assessment of cognitive performance, mood and cortisol reactivity. They will undergo similar assessment 1 hour and 3 hours after treatment administration. The procedure will be repeated at weekly intervals until all doses are complete. Each study will allow comprehensive conclusions regarding dose-dependent effects of Lemon balm (delivered in different foods) on: - Mood including: Alertness, Calmness, Contentment - Cognitive function including: Attention, Working memory, Secondary memory, and Executive function. - Physiological index of stress: Salivary cortisol