ANZCTR search results

In adults with severe diffuse traumatic brain injury and refractory intracranial hypertension, early bifrontotemporoparietal decompressive craniectomy decreased intracranial pressure and the length of stay in the ICU but was associated with more unfavorable outcomes.

The study was completed about 7 years ago but due to a lack of funding and two investigators not being on site it has not been analysed. The study now has been analysed and will be presented in November 2016.

We investigated the effect of a programme to increase self-management behaviours delivered by community health nurses, compared to usual care, on health-related quality of life and healthcare utilisation in people with COPD following hospitalisation. Participants were recruited during an admission to hospital and allocated according to domicile. The mentor role was to collaboratively develop self-management strategies over the 12-month study duration. Outcomes included quality of life and healthcare utilisation. Linear mixed models analyses found a significant benefit in the Physical Functioning and General Health components of the SF-36 questionnaire for the mentored arm, the average difference between interventions being 5.60 and 4.14 respectively over 12 months. Survival analysis using a combined end-point of time to next acute exacerbation requiring rehospitalisation or death found a significant benefit favouring the mentored group (p = 0.037).

The VITATOPS study is an international multi-centre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial designed primarily to examine the efficacy and safety of multi-vitamin (folate, B6, B12) therapy in the prevention of ‘stroke, myocardial infarction, or death from any vascular cause’, among patients randomised within seven months of a stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) of the eye or brain. Secondary outcomes include TIA, dementia, depression unstable angina and revascularization procedures of the coronary, cerebral and peripheral circulations. It is planned that 8,000 patients will be randomised and followed up for a mean period of 2.5 years (range 1-8 years) by the end of 2009.

The ASPIRE is looking at the effectiveness and safety of giving low-dose aspirin to prevent recurrent deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients with a first episode of unprovoked venous thromboembolism (VTE) who have completed initial anticoagulant treatment with heparin and warfarin. Recruitment has now closed, with 822 patients enrolled from centres in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, India and Argentina. The ASPIRE study addresses a question of major clinical and public health importance with several million patients at risk of recurrent VTE worldwide. If aspirin is found to be beneficial, this safe, inexpensive, and practicable intervention could be very widely applied and prevent thousands of patients from experiencing recurrent venous thromboembolism each year. In Australia alone, a 30% reduction in risk of recurrent VTE could conservatively be expected to prevent 375 to 525 cases of venous thrombosis and save 56-80 lives in the first year.