ANZCTR search results

Well fitting filtering masks (N95 masks) have become standard practice for personal protective equipment for workers performing aerosol-generating procedures during COVID-19. Currently, all health care workers in forward facing hospital roles are required to be undertake education (~20 minutes, low cost) regarding mask fitting and complete mask fit testing as directed by the Victorian Department of Health. This is also true for all Monash University students entering hospital and emergency service placements. However, there is scant evidence supporting the effectiveness or sustained benefit of current procedures used to undertake mask fit testing in this context. We hypothesise that there will be no difference between the intervention and control group in terms of the proportion of participants who "pass" the Quantitative Particle Count Fit Test either immediately following provision of the intervention / control condition or 2 weeks later.

Among people who inject drugs (PWIDs) with invasive infections, completion of planned antimicrobial therapy is likely to be an important predictor of patient outcome. The probability of completion of planned therapy may vary based on the model of care. Our aims are to determine the current burden, management and outcomes of invasive infections and the impact of currently available models of care on confirmed completion of planned antimicrobials for PWID admitted to hospital with invasive infections. We will enrol adults at least 18 years old with current injecting drug use (defined as within previous six months) admitted to hospital for management of a proven or suspected acute infection. EMU will be performed as a multi-centre prospective cohort study with two separate but related components. EMU-Audit will collect de-identified standard of care information regarding patient admission, demographics, management and outcomes. EMU-Cohort will enrol a subset of participants involved in EMUAudit who consent to 30- and 90-day follow up and data linkage. We hypothesise that in PWID with invasive infections, community-based treatment is superior to inpatient management alone for confirmed completion of planned antimicrobials.

For many people who live with dementia, managing their daily medicines is a complex and difficult task. Whilst medicines are used to improve health, their incorrect use may cause unintended consequences that range from minor symptoms to serious events that require hospitalisation. The role that community pharmacists have in optimising medicine safety is well-recognised, and several generic programs have been developed for pharmacists to help people living in the community use their medicines more safely and easily. Using one of these programs as a basis, our project will develop an in-pharmacy service to meet the specific needs of people living with dementia. The service is called MedsCheck Plus. This will involve the pharmacist holding structured meetings with a person living with dementia (and their family carers if appropriate), so that any medicine-related issues can be identified and overcome. The project will first develop a model for MedsCheck Plus, then train community pharmacists to do them. Finally, twenty people living with dementia will be provided with MedsCheck Plus, and the experiences of the consumers and pharmacists will be studied.

This research seeks to improve the exercise options available to people with multiple sclerosis (MS). As MS worsens, the ability to perform aerobic exercise becomes difficult due to leg and/or arm paresis and the possible effects of MS related fatigue. The main purpose of the study will be to assess whether the technology of functional electrical stimulation can assist people with moderate MS to exercise at a higher intensity than they might otherwise be able to do. The results will increase the understanding around when voluntary cycling can be of benefit and when the addition of functional electrical stimulation might be beneficial in assisting persons with MS to exercise more effectively.

The purpose of this study is to assess if the use of a robotic arm during TKR surgery results in better patient outcomes compared to the conventional method of using company instruments (jigs). In recent years there have been many technological advancements to help surgeons be more accurate in how they put in the components during TKR. The most recent advancement is the development of a robotic arm (ROSA) that assists the surgeon in performing the bony cuts required during surgery before putting in the components of the TKR. Traditionally, this part of the procedure has been performed with the help of company instruments called jigs. While the accuracy of component implantation may be better with the use of the robotic arm, we still do not know if the use of the robotic arm means better patient outcomes compared to the standard method of using company instruments (jigs) in TKR.

This study aims to evaluate the effects of a family-based surfing intervention on the physical and psychological wellbeing of children and adolescents with chronic conditions. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are a patient with one of the following conditions and aged 7-18 years: Cystic Fibrosis, Post-Burn Injury, Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, Cerebral Palsy, Sarcoma, or Type I Diabetes. Study details Participants who choose to enrol in this study will be randomly allocated to either receive the surfing intervention, or no intervention at all. Those in the surfing group will complete 12 one-hour surf lessons over 8 weeks, with the same instructor. All participants will complete questionnaires collecting data on factors such as psychological wellbeing, physical activity and family relationships. It is hoped that data from this study will help determine whether a family surfing program may lead to potential ongoing and low-cost health benefits for participants.

The primary aim of this project is to test the feasibility of recruitment, retention, data collection and analysis for a fully-powered randomised controlled trial (RCT). This is to evaluate the effectiveness of the rebozo technique in improving birth experiences and outcomes in first time mothers utilising epidural analgesia. As the rebozo technique is an under-researched method to optimise fetal position for labour and birth, a pilot RCT is needed to determine feasibility to a fully-powered RCT. The study participants will be low risk first time mothers using an epidural. The intervention will be the rebozo technique, and the comparison group will be standard care provided by midwives. Primary outcomes are proportion of women who meet inclusion criteria give consent to participate; proportion of women who give consent are randomised; proportion of women who receive allocated intervention; proportion of participants who withdraw from the study; proposition of participant data collection sheets completed; and number and nature of adverse events.

This project will determine whether atrophy of the quadriceps muscles in previously ACL injured limbs is due to an inability to activate key molecular signalling pathways that govern maintenance of muscle mass and the ability to regenerate new muscle tissue. We will provide both functional and mechanistic evidence regarding how ACL injured limbs have a reduced capacity to build muscle. The findings from this work will assist in the development of interventions aimed at improving muscle building capacity in the quadriceps in individuals following ACL injury. Hypothesis: Following exposure to strength/rehabilitation (resistance-based) exercise, limbs with a history of ACL injury will demonstrate impaired activation of key molecular pathways underlying muscle growth, compared to non-injured limbs. Study design: A within-participant cross-sectional study will permit investigation of differences in exercise-induced molecular pathway within the same participant between his/her limbs (with/without a prior ACL injury) at rest and immediately following a single bout of strength/rehabilitation exercise.

This study aims to test if it is practical to conduct a one-off multi-disciplinary team (MDT) consultation for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, focussing on survivorship care needs. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 years or older, have advanced non-small cell lung cancer, and have been receiving your current cancer treatment for at least 6 months without the disease getting worse on scans. Study details All patients who enrol in this study will be invited to participate in a single, 30-minute, multi-disciplinary team (MDT) meeting via a secure, online video-conferencing platform. The meeting will focus on any unmet needs and concerns the participating patient may have related to survivorship, with discussion led by a lung cancer specialist nurse from the hospital. The MDT will include the patient (+/- a family member), hospital doctor, allied health professional, and a member of the patient’s primary care team (ideally the patient’s GP). Prior to the MDT meeting, all patients will be asked to complete a survey to identify survivorship concerns in order to guide the MDT discussion, and they will receive a 15-minute call by a member of the study team prior to the MDT meeting. The patient’s GP will also be asked to complete a 5-minute questionnaire prior to the MDT. After the MDT meeting a survivorship care plan will be produced summarising the discussion at the MDT meeting, and a copy made available to the patient, the patient’s GP and placed in the patient’s hospital record. Three months after the MDT meeting, participating patients and GPs will be asked to complete a short follow-up questionnaire about how acceptable the MDT meeting process was. Later on (4-4.5 months post participating in the MDT meeting) some patients and their GPs will also be invited to participate in an interview to discuss their impressions of participating in the MDT meeting. Rationale It is hoped that this study will show that a MDT consultation is both feasible and acceptable to patients, hospital and community-based health-care providers, and enable further implementation of these consultations to improve the survivorship care for patients living with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of adding perforations to scleral contact lenses upon; 1) corneal tissue swelling, 2) tear flow behind the contact lens, and 3) build up of debris behind the contact lens in young healthy adults during short-term lens wear (3.5 hours). The null hypothesis is that the incorporation of scleral lens perforations will have no significant effect upon the primary outcome measures (1,2,3 listed above).