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Ill newborns frequently need breathing tubes inserted into their trachea in order to help with their breathing. This can cause pain and adverse physiological responses, such as changes in blood pressure, which may be harmful to the infant. We routinely give these infants medications beforehand, to lessen the impact the procedure has on them. The best drug or drug combination in infants is not known. In our neonatal unit, we use a combination of Morphine and Midazolam, which may not be ideal, as it takes long to work. We aim to compare these 2 drugs with a single agent, Propofol, an anaesthetic agent, used in theatres to insert breathing tubes. We do not know which of these drugs are better, that is why we have started this study. The study is expected to run for 18 months.

The aim of this project is to evaluate the extent to which the SA Family Home Visiting Program improves the health and well-being of mothers and infants during the two years after families enroll in the program. To evaluate the longer term effectiveness of the program when children are age 5 years.

This a randomised controlled trial of a website called Australian Cancer Trials Online. This website provides information about cancer clinical trials in Australia. The trial will look at the effect of the website on clinial trial recruitment and doctor patient communication about cancer clinical trials.

We tested the hypothesis that pre-operative forced-air warming is as effective for anxiolysis as intravenous midazolam, using a blinded, placebo controlled factorial design. One hundred and twenty patients were randomly assigned to cotton blanket and saline injection (n = 30), forced-air warmer and saline injection (n = 30), midazolam 30 lg.kg)1 and cotton blanket (n = 30), and forced-air warmer and midazolam 30 lg.kg)1 (n = 30). Patients completed visual analogue scales for anxiety and thermal comfort, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, at baseline and after 20 min. The estimated effect of midazolam on visual analogue scores for anxiety was )10 (95% CI )3 to )18; p = 0.007) and on state anxiety was )5 (95% CI )7 to )4; p = 0.03). Warming had no influence on visual analogue scores for anxiety (p = 0.50) or state anxiety (p = 0.33), but its estimated effect on thermal comfort was +23 (95% CI 19–27; p < 0.0001). There was no interaction between midazolam and warming. Pre-operative warming was not equivalent to midazolam for anxiolysis and cannot be recommended solely for this purpose.

One in ten Australians suffer from long-term low back pain (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2000). Long-term low back pain is extremely difficult to treat because it does not respond to most treatments, leading to an enormous social and economic burden. Exercise therapy may provide a potential solution as there is biological plausibility for effect. However, the types of exercise to be used and resulting efficacy have not been well established. Tai chi has been used as an exercise prescription as part of Traditional Chinese Medicine for many years. Recent studies have shown that tai chi is a safe exercise for elderly adults suffering from arthritis (Kirstiens 1991). Since a high percentage of patients with long-term low back pain are over 55yrs, tai chi should also be considered as a potential exercise in the treatment plan for this group. However, there are few randomised controlled trials studying tai chi and its efficacy for improving pain is not well known. We propose to conduct the first randomised-controlled trial of tai chi exercise for those who have long-term low back pain, which will inform best practice for managing long-term low back pain in clinical settings.

Trial completed with 6 subjects recruited. The breath test was not useful in predicting %FU toxicity. The Thymine test was useful in identifying soem patients with 5FU toxicity.

Epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors (EGFRIs) have been shown efficacy in the treatment of several cancers but despite their potential to be revolutionary therapeutic agents, they are commonly associated with undesirable skin side effects, some of which are chronic or have profound physical and psychosocial impact on patients. This study aims to assess physiological skin changes in patients on EGFRIs using transepidermal water loss (TEWL), skin pH, skin sebum levels, skin surface hydration and surface perfusion measurements in conjunction with microbiology swabs, clinical photography and the Dermatology Quality of Life Index (DQLI) in order to understand the pathophysiology of cutaneous side effects, better characterise these toxicities using a refined classification system and evaluate subclinical changes before overt disease in order to prevent and minimise cutaneous side effects.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of clinically applied treatment include manual therapy, supervising exercises and electro-acupuncture like TENS compared with well-designed home exercise program for OA of the knee. Our hypothesis was that physical therapy consisting of manual therapy, supervised exercises and electro-acupuncture like TENS (EA like TENS) conducted in the clinic would be more effective than exercise program performed at home for decreasing pain and improving function.