ANZCTR search results

One of the most painful and debilitating side effects of chemotherapy is mucoisits. Oral mucositis involves swelling, irritation, and ulceration of the lining of the mouth. Good mouth care including mouthwashes has been shown to relieve symptoms. Currently, there is no strong evidence to support the use of any mouthwash. This is a pilot study to test the mouthwash, Biotene. Patients (24) will receive either Normal Saline or Biotene mouthwashes. The following data will be collected from each group: 1) severity of mucositis, symptoms experienced and 3) compliance with mouth care. Patients will be randomly assigned and unaware of which mouthwash they are to receive.

Oxygen is the commonest neonatal therapy. Unfortunately, both too much and too little oxygen may be harmful for very premature infants. We now measure the oxygen in a baby's blood by oxygen saturation but the optimum range in the first few weeks is unknown and no randomised controlled trial (RCT) has addressed this question. This proposal is for Australian arm of a major international study involving 5000 babies, born at less than 28 weeks, to address this question. Babies will be randomised to a higher or lower target range of oxygen saturation from birth (85-89% or 91-95%). For all oximeters staff will target a masked range of 88-92%. We will assess which of the two target ranges is associated with the best overall outcome, which is a composite measure of survival, disability on a standard test of neurodevelopment (Bayley scales), and visual function at 2 years of age.

Low back pain affects most people at some stage in their life and is a major cause of chronic absenteeism and disability. Three common treatments for chronic LBP are spinal manipulative therapy, general exercise, and specific stabilisation exercise. While there is evidence that they are effective, to date there has been no head to head comparison of these treatments. We propose to conduct a definitive trial to investigate the effects of these interventions in a population suffering from chronic low back pain.

Approval granted to commence the trial in late 2003. The trial is conducted with the oversight of an independant data and safety monitoring board.