ANZCTR search results

This is a multicentre, prospective observational cohort study across three centres in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia examining differences in the microbiota of people with leukaemia, people with liver disease, people with other types of cancer who are receiving immunotherapy and healthy volunteers. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are an adult aged 18 years or older and you are either: a) a healthy volunteer who has not been diagnosed with cancer or liver disease, or b) someone who has been diagnosed with acute leukaemia who has or has not received an allogeneic stem cell transplant, or c) someone who has end stage liver disease and has received a liver transplant, or d) someone who has another type of cancer who is receiving an immunotherapy treatment. Study details Participants who fall into one of the health conditions described above who choose to enrol in this study will be asked to provide a series of blood, stool (faeces) and saliva samples weekly for initial hospital duration then 3 monthly for up to 2 years after enrolment. Participants who are healthy volunteers will be asked to provide a once off blood, stool and saliva sample at the time of enrolment. It is hoped this research will determine whether there are any differences in the diversity of microbiota in people who are immunocompromised compared to healthy volunteers, and whether the type of microbiota that a person hosts has an impact on their susceptability to infection.

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of training in a brief mindfulness meditation vs clinical hypnosis intervention for addressing symptoms of burnout and optimising wellbeing in uninjured competitive athletes. Additionally, the study aims to investigate potential psychological factors underlying the effects of these mind-body therapies. It is hypothesised that mindfulness meditation and clinical hypnosis will be effective via changes in unique mechanisms.

The Northern Sydney Frailty Group lead by Professor Susan Kurrle is presently conducting a frailty intervention trial (FORTRESS) which uses past experience and knowledge gained, to address frailty in the acute hospital setting and extend this intervention into the community. Interventions are based on the Asia- Pacific Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Frailty adopted as best practice at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai hospital in NSW. The FORTRESS Plus study will use a similar cohort, frailty measurement tool and eligibility criteria to the FORTRESS study but provide added community facilitation in the form of weekly supervised progressive exercise sessions at home after discharge from hospital. The 2020 – 2024 FORTRESS Study intervention group will be used as a comparison group.

Previous research shows that 12 months post pelvic fracture, women commonly experience issues with their bladder, bowel and sexual function, collectively known as pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD). This preliminary study also highlighted that men experienced significant sexual dysfunction post-pelvic fracture, but not bladder or bowel dysfunction. In the current study, eligible patients will be asked a series of questions pertaining to their normal bladder, bowel and sexual function during their acute hospital admission. Three months after their discharge from hospital, we will contact them via email or phone and these questions will be re-administered in order to detect any symptoms of PFD (such as pain or incontinence). This will enable patients with PFD to be randomly assigned to either receive usual care or usual care plus onward referral to a sub-acute outpatient continence or urology service. At 12 months post injury, all patients will again be asked the same series of questions to determine whether their symptoms have changed.

Previous research shows that 12 months post pelvic fracture, women commonly experience issues with their bladder, bowel and sexual function, collectively known as pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD). This preliminary study also highlighted that men experienced significant sexual dysfunction post-pelvic fracture, but not bladder or bowel dysfunction. In the current study, eligible patients will be asked a series of questions pertaining to their normal bladder, bowel and sexual function during their acute hospital admission. Three months after their discharge from hospital, we will contact them via email or phone and these questions will be re-administered in order to detect any symptoms of PFD (such as pain or incontinence). At 12 months post injury, all patients will again be asked the same series of questions to determine whether their symptoms have changed.

This study will be focused on adults 18-65 years who have partially or fully cut a singular tendon used to bend in the fingers and have had this tendon repaired by a surgeon. The study is designed to compare two different types of splints used after a flexor tendon repair. Our primary purpose is to see if one splint allows patients to achieve greater range of movement earlier in their recovery than then other. We hypothesise that a relative motion flexion splint will allow greater early recovery of finger movement compared to a dorsal blocking splint. During this study we will also be comparing when patients can return to work, patients' perceptions of their level of disability, pain, strength and ability to perform their usual activities of daily living. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the relative motion or dorsal blocking splint group. Both groups will receive weekly hand therapy, scar management, education and exercises. Patients will be assessed on the study's primary outcome measure at 3, 6, 8, and 12 weeks and a blinded assessor will review patients at 6 months.

This study aims to explore the use of exercise as an intervention to assist with the management of sleep disturbance in primary brain tumour survivors and their caregivers Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 years and older and have histologically confirmed primary brain tumour (WHO Grades II-IV) Study details All participants in this study will have 2x telehealth sessions per week with an Accredited Exercise Physiologist who will prescribe each participant an individualised exercise program to conducted over an 8-week period. While the exercise sessions will be individualised, the general exercise prescription (e.g., frequency, intensity, time, type) will be consistent across all participants. Participants will also be prescribed individualised aerobic exercise program 2x per week on days that they are not performing their telehealth session. Participants may also be allocated an Oura Ring to wear throughout the study period as well as a 4 week calibration/baseline period prior to commencing the 8-week intervention period to objectively monitor sleep. Participants will be allocated an Oura Ring through an alternating system (i.e., every second participant recruited will be allocated a ring to wear) which will be provided to participants prior to their baseline testing session. Participants will also complete questionnaires to assess sleep quality, quality of life and mental health and functional outcomes will also be assessed before and after the intervention period. Semi-structured qualitative interviews will also be conducted pre- and post-intervention exploring each participants sleep experiences and their beliefs on what contributes to said experiences. It is hoped that this research project will contribute to the understanding of exercise's potential role in managing sleep disturbances for PBT survivors and their caregivers. By addressing the gaps in existing literature and collecting comprehensive data on sleep, quality of life, functional, and mental health outcomes, this study aspires to provide evidence-based recommendations for improving the well-being of individuals affected by primary brain tumors

This study aims to investigate whether the combination of FDG-PET imaging, and blood sampling will lead to more accurate assessment of anal cancer location and progression. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are aged 18 years or older, you have been diagnosed with anal cancer (specifically, anal squamous cell carcinoma) and your doctor has determined that chemoradiation therapy would be a suitable treatment option for you. Study details All participants who choose to enrol in this study will be asked to provide up to 3 blood samples which will be tested for cancer markers. Participants will also be asked to undergo a form of imaging called FDG-PET scanning which will involve injection of a dye prior to the scan. It is anticipated that completion of the scan and blood samples will take no more than 2 hours. Participants will be asked to complete 1 FDG-PET scan prior chemoradiotherapy, 1 FDG-PET throughout the course of their chemoradiotherapy which is usually delivered over 5-6 weeks and maximum of 2 FDG PET post chemoradiotherapy. It is hoped that the findings from this investigations will provide new cancer markers that can be used to determine how well patients with anal cancer are responding to chemoradiation treatment. If this study finds new markers that look promising, these may be used to guide treatment decisions and could lead to improved outcomes for patients with anal cancer.

Myocardial infarction (MI) affects ~57,000 Australians every year and almost half a million Australians have had a heart attack at some point in their lives. While mortality after MI has been declining over the last few decades, it is in the group of young patients that it has lagged. Data on the biological and pathophysiological factors related to MI in the young is scarce. In addition, there are gaps in quality of care due to the perceived risk for MI being low. The study aims to characterise the clinical presentation, risk factors, angiography findings, underlying aetiology, quality of care and sex differences, of young patients with MI (age <50 years). This is an investigator-initiated, observational, single-centre clinical registry study. Approximately 500 patients under the age of 50 years with MI will be recruited retrospectively from Westmead Hospital.

Future Health Today is a co-designed quality improvement technology platform for general practice. It has been developed by multiple professionals including general practitioners, practice nurses, non-GP specialists, researchers, and information technology specialists. The software integrates with standard practice software. This trial involves general practice using the chronic disease modules of chronic kidney disease, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The modules flags patients are are at risk of or diagnosed with the chronic disease (for example kidney disease). It suggests evidence-based investigations, diagnosis for those meeting diagnostic criteria, and management. It also has links to evidence-based guidelines and patient education tools. Quality improvement projects can be completed at a practice level with the ability to recall patients needing further evaluation and management. Study investigators hypothesis that this intervention will improve the detection, diagnosis and management of chronic kidney disease in primary care.