ANZCTR search results

This study protocol outlines the methodology and background behind the hypothesis that less ventricular pacing in a pacemaker and ICD is beneficial to the patients with a history of right ventricular pacing. This will be evaluated by comparing the rate of patient deaths and the need for hospitalizations when using less ventricular pacing vs. the normal, standard amount of ventricular pacing.

To assess whether raising haemoglobin (red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout the body) levels during treatment can improve patient quality of life and treatment effectiveness.

Previous investigations have shown that a relatively new method of skin conductance assessment (SC) correlates with periods of stress and pain (one of which might be during the period of recovery after anaesthesia) during an operation. The method follows the “lie detector principle”: the electric skin conductance is assessed by three self-sticking electrodes placed on the palm of the hand. People who are stressed often experience “sweaty palms” (due to changes in the autonomous nervous system that results in an increased filling of sweat glands). The wetter the palms, the higher the skin conductance recorded. We would like to compare the method of SCA to the results of score based pain assessment, like a visual analogue scale, during the recovery period after general anaesthesia. In this study we will recruit 75 patients. The patients will receive a standard anaesthesia and postoperative care. The SCA uses three ECG electrodes placed on the palmar surface of the hand. It is safe and not painful. We will not interfere with the anaesthesia or postoperative pain control in any way, but will observe the monitored data to get an idea about how well it correlates with our normal score based pain assessment. For that purpose, a nurse who is blinded to the readings of the skin conductance monitor will ask the patient to rate his pain on a numeric rating scale (0-10), as normally done to rate a patient's pain level in the recovery room. A second observer will record the results from the monitor ast the same time. The study will hopefully help to develop a better monitoring device for the assessment of postoperative pain. This might help with patients who have difficulties in expression of pain, for example, due to language problems or confusion.

Patients receiving intravenous chemotherapy may require a central venous catheter (CVC) to enable effective delivery of the cytotoxic treatment. This is usually because of either difficult peripheral venous access or prolonged infusional chemotherapy schedules. This study is a randomised clinical trial comparing two types of CVC, the peripherally inserted central venous catheter (PICC) and the subcutaneously implanted port catheter (PORT catheter). The primary end point is CVC related complications. Background The last three decades have seen an increase in the use of chronic indwelling central venous catheter devices (CVC) in the setting of cancer treatment. CVCs enable effective delivery of chemotherapy into the venous system, and are particularly useful when peripheral venous access is otherwise difficult or when prolonged infusions of chemotherapy are required. The CVC also facilitates outpatient based therapy.

Most cases of oesophageal and gastric cancer are locally advanced or metastatic at presentation. Chemotherapy prolongs survival and improves quality of life in such patients, but standard chemotherapy for this disease has not been defined. Doxetaxel is a taxane with promising single agent activity in oesophago-gastric cancer. Combination chemotherapy regimens based on docetaxel may therefore have significant activity with a more favourable toxicity profile. This randomised phase II study explores the activity and toxicity of two novel docetaxel based regimens; weekly docetaxel, cisplatin and infused 5-FU (wTCF) and weekly docetaxel plus capecitabine (wTX) in patients with metastatic oesophago-gastric cancer. Based on the results achieved in this study, the AGITG would aim to test the best regimen in a future phase III study comparing it with ECF or another accepted standard regimen.

The purpose of the study is to determin the safety, efficacy and potential modes of action of BSP-201 in adults with osteoarthritis of the knees and/or hips. It will be a randomised, double-blind (both subjects and investigators are blinded), placebo-controlled, parallel study.

Capecitabine (Xeloda) is an oral chemotherapy agent that has shown to be effective in breast and gastrointestinal cancers. Patients receiving Xeloda tend to experience less severe side effects such as diarrhoea, mouth sores, nausea , hair loss and reduced white blood counts. Hand and foot syndrome (HFS) is a common complication for patients receiving Xeloda. Although it is not a life-threatening complication, it can be disabling in severe cases and affects the treatment course due to the need for dose interuption or reducation. Some previous research has suggested that the addition of Pydidoxine (vitamin B) to the chemotherapy may reduce the incidence and severity of HFS. The study is a double blind study comparing the administration of oral 200mg pryidoxine with an oral placebo for 24 weeks. Neither the patient of the Doctor will know what treatment (active drug or placebo) the patient will be allocated.

To investigate whether aggressive physiotherapy achieves a better functional outcome than regular physiotherapy after operations for wrist fractures. The subjects are blinded. The Physiotherapist is not blinded. The surgeon is also blinded however this fact is not as much of a cornerstone to the study as the blinding status of the patients and the physiotherapist.

This study is designed to examine the feasibility of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) in acute tetraplegia. This pilot study will examine how well CPAP is tolerated and if treatment is feasible prior to the commencement of any randomised, controlled trial of therapy.

Assessing the impact of exercise (one hour, 3 times weekly on dialysis) using a bicycle ergometer for 3 months, on arterial stiffness (and therefore cardiovascular health) in patients on haemodialysis. Using pulse wave velocity (non invasive applanation tonometry) to measure the changes in degree of arterial siffness