ANZCTR search results

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a complex heart rhythm disease. We have shown the utility of a multi-disciplinary approach for patients with AF, but applicability in real world settings with poor health literacy and unmet social needs is unknown. We hypothesize that a precision health platform can deliver integrated care in AF successfully. Therefore, we test a precision health model of care focusing on patient empowerment and self-management by promoting critical health literacy and personalised medicine utilizing a Precision Health Platform (Precision AF App). This novel approach moves away from a resource intensive multi-disciplinary approach and emphasizes health behaviour change to achieve the comprehensive AF management.

Diabetes-Related Foot Ulcers are common in people living with diabetes and are a major cause of poor quality of life and disability. If they are not treated appropriately they may require hospitalisation and could lead to amputation and early death. Right now, we don’t have a quick and simple way to know which ulcers will heal normally, and which ones may delay healing, or lead to amputation. This project will trial a new way to analyse photography known as thermal imaging to see if there is extra information in this sort of image to help predict which ulcers will heal and which ones may not, so we can know which ulcers may need more aggressive intervention so they are more likely to heal.

Purpose of the study: The aim of this study is to investigate whether a structured physical activity program undertaken following chemotherapy can improve physical fitness and heart function in acute leukaemia patients. The results of this study will be used to guide future care for acute leukaemia patients. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 years and above and can exercise at the time of enrolment. Study details: Participants will undergo a series of assessments prior to the beginning of the study and again at 12 weeks later. Participants will perform three exercise bouts per week which will be supervised by the study physiotherapist or exercise physiologist. They will also be given a wearable device which is used to monitor heart rate which can then be used to prescribe exercises. These study activities will be included along with the normal care from the doctors. It is hoped that this study will help determine whether exercise can assist in increasing the physical fitness and quality of life of adults with leukaemia.

Nasally inhaled isopropyl alcohol (IPA) is readily available and an easy-to-administer intervention, that has been shown to reduce nausea and vomiting in patients presenting to the emergency department. The purpose of this trial is to determine the effectiveness of inhaling IPA in reducing nausea and vomiting in the self-ventilating ICU patients. It is hypothesised that nasally inhaled IPA reduces the requirement for intravenous ondansetron in critically ill patients with nausea and vomiting.

This study aims to determine if performing strength training in simulated altitude can cause greater improvements in muscle strength and muscle size in older adults, compared to traditional strength training at sea level conditions. The study ultimately aims to help slow the progression of muscle weakness and muscle wasting in older adults. We hypothesise that performing strength training in simulated altitude (termed hypoxia) will enhance the muscle training responses compared to training at sea level.

Haemodialysis cleans the blood and replaces some of the function of the kidneys when they are no longer working. Patients undergoing haemodialysis have traditionally been prescribed diets low in fruits and vegetables and high in animal protein, sugar and fat to prevent malnutrition and limit dietary potassium and phosphate. Research has shown that healthy diet patterns high in fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, and lower in meat and processed food are associated with lower risk of death in those with early stages of kidney disease, however studies examining these outcomes for haemodialysis patients are sparse. The aim of the study is to examine the extent to which healthy diet patterns and meeting core food requirements occur in our patients requiring haemodialysis and follow up participants for up to 5 years for heart disease related events. The study will use a questionnaire to collect information on dietary intake from patients undergoing haemodialysis. Data will be examined for diet quality by food groups and assessed against healthy diet criteria.

Strive to Thrive was created by people with a lived experience of stroke, clinicians and researchers. It is designed to help people who have had a stroke identify what helps and hinders them at their work and create a personalised action plan to manage the impact of the stroke on their day-to-day work life. We want to see if Strive to Thrive is acceptable to a broader group of people who have had a stroke, and make further adjustments and improvements based on their feedback. If Strive to Thrive is acceptable and seen as useful, we can then do a larger study to find out if it has a positive effect on the person who has had a stroke.

This is a pilot feasibility study to evaluate mobile rapid point-of-care hepatitis C antibody and RNA testing and treatment initiation for individuals completing community correction orders, who are at high risk of viral hepatitis but currently cannot access prison-based hepatitis screening and treatment programs. This study will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and efficacy of point-of-care fingerstick testing for hepatitis C antibodies and hepatitis C viral load, as well as rates of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) initiation (including same day hepatitis C testing and initiation of treatment) and treatment outcomes. A mobile clinic van fitted with medical equipment and staffed by a hepatitis clinical nurse consultants and peer mentor will attend community corrections facilities to recruit individuals attending these sites. Following recruitment, study personnel will conduct hepatitis C point-of-care testing, clinical assessments from the van, and initiate DAA therapy and discuss harm reduction strategies where appropriate. The study is a prospective cohort design recruiting consecutive participants at designated community correction sites over an 18 month period. Participants will be tested for hepatitis C exposure using a point of care antibody test. For participants who test positive for hepatitis C antibodies, current hepatitis C infection will be tested using rapid POC HCV VL fingerstick testing through the mobile van service. All participants who have current hepatitis C infection will be offered DAA treatment in line with the Australian consensus statement on the management of hepatitis C. Following completion of DAA therapy, participants will be monitored for an additional 4-12 weeks and offered hepatitis C point-of-care RNA PCR testing to confirm cure. The primary outcomes of the study are the feasibility of POC hepatitis C testing amongst the study population, DAA treatment initiation, uptake of same day hepatitis C testing and treatment initiation and likelihood of hepatitis C cure.

Naltrexone (NTX) is an opioid receptor antagonist commonly used to treat opioid withdrawal at a dose of 50.0-100.0 mg daily. Low dose NTX (LDN), within a specific dosage window of 1-5 mg/day as been used off-label since the mid-1980s due to improvements in chronic pain, stamina, cognition, fatigue, and inflammation for many autoimmune disorders, chronic pain syndromes, malignancies, and mental health disorders to target symptoms overlapping with long COVID. There is evidence to suggest the use of LDN will be beneficial to treat patient outcomes for those with Long COVID. A randomised dose ranging double blind placebo controlled 12-week clinical trial is proposed to determine the efficacy of LDN based on clinical symptoms and quality of life. Primary and secondary outcomes will be assessed through a series of online questionnaires to determine changes in symptom presentation (primary outcome) and through a series of validated patient reported outcome measures for quality of life.

Models of health care have traditionally been episodic and diagnosis centred. In an era of increased chronic illness, multi-morbidity and disability, there is a clear need for health care to transition towards integrated, person-centred and goal-oriented care. However, aligning care planning and delivery with healthcare consumers’ needs and preferences is operationally challenging, particularly across settings and clinical specialties. The aim of this study is to assess the feasibility of (i) healthcare consumers using a recently codesigned consumer digital health intervention, the MyNeeds intervention, to capture needs and preferences directly from healthcare consumers, and (ii) healthcare staff accessing and using this consumer data to inform person-centred care planning. This study is a non-randomised feasibility study that will be conducted sequentially across two inpatient wards: an acute medical ward; and an inpatient general subacute ward at an Australian metropolitan public health network. Primary outcome will be feasibility assessed using Bowen’s framework across the following focus areas: acceptability; demand; practicality; implementation; adaption; and integration. All consumers admitted to wards one and two during a six-week feasibility testing period will be screened for eligibility and all eligible consumers invited to participate. Consumers will be eligible unless they are: admitted and discharged after hours or on weekends; predicted to be discharged within 24 hours of admission; or currently participating in another unrelated trial where the fidelity of either trial could be impacted. All clinical and clinical support staff working on the test wards during the feasibility testing period will be eligible and invited to participate.