ANZCTR search results

Patients presenting for surgery at RMH eligible for LMA general anaesthesia

Tension-type headache (TTH) affects up to 75% of the world population and more than 33% of Australians. There is no ideal treatment for it due to the unclear mechanism. Commonly used medications include simple pain killers and anti-depressants. They are either not effective for long-term management or not tolerated by patients due to side effects. Acupuncture has been shown to reduce the frequency and intensity of TTH within three weeks of treatment and has an excellent safety profile. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) teaches patients how to cope with mental stress and correct unhelpful thoughts, belief and behaviour, and thus produces a long-term effect for TTH patients. In this current trial, we aim to assess the combined effect of electroacupuncture (EA) and CBT on TTH in short and long terms. 225 TTH patients will be recruited. After a four-week run-in period and randomisation, all subjects will have one-hour interview, and then be randomly allocated to receive either EA alone, CBT alone or EA+CBT group for a total of 12-week treatment. There will be a six-month follow-up at the end of the 12 week treatment period. Subjects will record the frequency, duration, severity and symptoms of headache and the use of headache medication during run-in, the treatment and the follow-up periods. This trial will be the first such project in the world in which acupuncture is combined with a well-received and practiced intervention in pain management for TTH, i.e., CBT. The combined therapy will be cost-effective because it will reduce the consumption of analgesics and visits to doctors, and improve effectiveness at work and quality of life as a result of reduced pain and enhanced self-management skills.

Sports anti doping study. The aim of the study is to obtain specimens of urine and blood from voluneers who have been given an injection of insulin. These samples will then be used to develop tests which will help detect the presence of insulin in the blood and urine of elite athletes who have used insulin illicitly to enhance their performance.

This study will investigate functional performance of the R3 Acetabular System, compared to a previous design, the Reflection System. Both systems are under approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, however the functional performance of the R3 Acetabular System compared to other systems has not yet been investigated.

The primary aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of simple lifestyle modification (healthy food choices and increased physical activity) in preventing excess weight gain during pregnancy (assessed 6 weeks postpartum). Secondary aims are to prevent prevalence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM), identify barriers to healthy lifestyle choices and to provide an evidence base to inform future interventions targeting education and prevention of excess weight gain in the prevention of long-term obesity and prevention or treatment of Gestational Diabetes. The expected outcomes for this study include; 1/ Weight gain that is equal to, or below, recommended weight gain in the intervention group in comparison to the controls. 2/ Reduced prevalence of Gestational Diabetes and/or reduced intensity of treatment if diagnosis does occur in the intervention group. 3/ Lower incidence of increased foetal birth weight or macrosomia in the intervention group. 4/ Improved biological markers of health in the intervention group. 5/ Enhanced self-efficacy, motivation, mood and quality of life in the intervention group that persists long-term (1 year postpartum).

Prisoners as a group are characterised by chronic social disadvantage, high rates of risky drug use, and poor physical and mental health. Many prisoners enter custody with these problems, and despite the existence of intervention programs in prison, many leave prison with the same problems. This is particularly true of women and Indigenous prisoners. Little is known about what happens to prisoners once they return to the community – what we do know is that the majority will re-offend at some point in their life, and that almost a third will return to prison within two years of release. In the weeks following release, ex-prisoners also face a massively increased risk of premature death due to drug overdose, accidents, suicide and other causes. Despite this, the few post-release programs that do exist for ex-prisoners in Australia are fragmented, under-funded and based on limited evidence. This project will conduct a randomised, controlled trial of a post-release intervention for adult prisoners in Queensland. Participants will undergo a comprehensive health assessment prior to release, and before release will receive a ‘health passport’ which will encourage and empower them to seek out appropriate health and psychosocial support in their local community. Participants will also receive telephone support from trained support staff, in the first 4 weeks following release. These 4 weeks are known to be a critical time for the reintegration of ex-prisoners. The impact of the Passport to Advantage intervention will be assessed through telephone interviews 4, 12 and 26 week post-release, and by accessing correctional and health (Medicare Australia) records for participants two years post-release. The findings of the study will inform the development of an evidence-based post-release intervention for prisoners in Australia and elsewhere, as well as providing an unprecedented insight into the post-release experiences of prisoners in Queensland.

Difficulty performing more than one task at a time (dual tasking) is a common and disabling problem experienced by people with Parkinson disease (PD). If asked to perform another task when walking, people with PD have repeatedly shown markedly altered gait, such as taking shorter steps or walking more slowly. Currently there is uncertainty about whether clinicians should teach people with PD to avoid dual task performance or whether they should encourage them to practice dual-tasking with the hope that practice will lead to enhanced performance. This study will begin to investigate how to best retrain dual tasking by comparing two different ways to attend to the tasks trained.