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Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the most common method of respiratory support used in the care of preterm infants. Injury to the nose from nasal CPAP occurs frequently (25% of infants using CPAP), potentially causing permanent scarring and disfigurement. Infants most at risk, are those born < 30 weeks gestation and < 1250g. Current nasal interfaces for CPAP available in the Grantley Stable Neonatal Unit (GSNU), come in a limited number of sizes and do not fit all faces. 3D printed custom fitted CPAP masks hold promise for reducing the risk of nasal injury from CPAP in this vulnerable population. This study will gather preliminary data to determine the best 3D scanning technique, to identify facial features that predispose preterm infants to CPAP nasal injuries. This is the first step towards the development of custom fitted CPAP masks to be manufactured, in house, at Metro North’s Herston Biofabrication Institute (HBI).

The ageing profile of the Australian population is well documented. The proportion of people aged 65 and over has been predicted to rapidly rise over the next few years. There is also evidence of an epidemiological transition in oral health, moving from high rates of edentulism and tooth loss towards lower rates of edentulism in the older population. Still, dental caries is one of the most significant health problems facing older adults. This creates new challenges to the society. One of these challenges is how to maintain the oral health of that group of the population. Preventive or therapy approaches are preferred to restorations. This is particularly the case for root caries lesions. In fact, prevention of root caries is central in older adults as they frequently have exposed root surfaces and may have compromised salivary flow. Further research is required into preventing root caries lesions. This study will compare the effectiveness of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) solution in arresting dental root caries and to assess the colour of arrested caries lesions at 12 months after 2 applications: baseline and 6 months in follow up dentine/root caries in older adults living in a fluoridated area.

We are conducting a pilot, safety, feasibility, efficacy, crossover, open-label randomised controlled trial, of 20 adult critically ill patients, in the Departments of Intensive Care at the Austin Hospital and Bordeaux University Hospital. Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), an artificial means of providing kidney function support, is often required in acutely ill patients who are admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). The aim of CRRT is to achieve adequate blood purification from kidney failure associated toxins (typically non-protein bound small solutes). However, there are additional toxins that are related to liver failure, which should be a target for effective removal but cannot be effectively removed by (e.g. ammonia and/or bilirubin) during the current approach to CRRT. In patients experiencing liver failure that is also complicated by kidney failure, an additional form of blood purification that can be easily added to the CRRT circuit would be desirable. Such blood purification is now available in the form of hemoperfusion (HP). It consists of a biocompatible coated resin inside a cartridge, which can adsorb large amounts of multiple toxins even when they are protein bound. This new technology has now been used to treat patients with septic shock, COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and hyperinflammation as well as the itch associated with end stage kidney disease and advance liver disease. The added form of hemoperfusion offers much promise as a way of detoxifying plasma in acutely ill liver patients admitted to ICU with kidney failure.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a disabling condition and treatments such as wrist bracing and carpal tunnel release surgery can improve patient symptoms and functional outcomes. Nerve conduction testing has been proven to be a good diagnostic tool (both sensitive and specific) for the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome. The association between a combination of extended risk factors and clinical features of carpal tunnel syndrome and its diagnosis has never been estimated via likelihood ratios. The association between pain experienced during nerve conduction testing and pain experienced from carpal tunnel syndrome has also never been established in the past. We aim to prove that: 1. There are multiple risk factors and clinical features associated with high positive likelihood ratio for the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome 2. Pain experienced during nerve conduction testing is more severe when pain related to carpal tunnel syndrome itself is more severe.

Colorectal cancer can develop in the colon (large bowel) and/or rectum. If left undetected, it can spread to lymph nodes and other organs in the body in a process called metastasis. It is thought that the immune system plays a role in preventing some cancers from growing or spreading. However, we do not fully understand why the immune system fails to prevent all cancers. New therapies called ‘immunotherapy’ have been developed that target the immune system in order to treat cancer once it is detected. Unfortunately, this type of treatment does not work well for most individuals with colorectal cancer. This project aims to investigate whether an immune system process called ‘tolerance’ may explain why the immune system fails to prevent colorectal cancer from growing and spreading. The project also aims to investigate whether ‘tolerance’ may explain why immunotherapy is not effective for most individuals with colorectal cancer. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are aged 18 years or older, you have been diagnosed with a stage 4 colorectal cancer and you have been scheduled to undergo surgery to remove your primary tumour, lymph nodes and other affected sites as part of your cancer treatment. Study details If you choose to enrol in this study, you agree that the study investigators may take samples from the tumour, lymph nodes, blood and other affected tissues for this study. Participants will also be asked to grant permission for the investigators to review and collect details of their medical history from their records. The investigators will then complete a series of analyses on the samples to determine whether 'tolerant' cells are present and may explain why immunotherapy does or does not work against these cancers. It is hoped that knowledge gained from this project may contribute to the development of new and better treatments for individuals with colorectal cancer in the future.

Background This study aims to investigate the effects of green-blue light therapy in combination with sleep health guidelines on sleep disturbances and quality of life in individuals with cancer receiving chemotherapy. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are an adult who has received a cancer diagnosis within the last six months and are scheduled to receive neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy with curative intent for stage 1-3 cancer, and meet the criteria for poor sleep quality and/or insomnia. Study details Participants will be randomly allocated to receive green-blue light therapy in combination with sleep health guidelines, or sleep hygiene guidelines alone. Green-blue light therapy will involve wearing light therapy glasses for 30 minutes each day for 4 weeks. Participants will be asked to complete various questionnaires on insomnia severity, fatigue and quality of life. Expected Outcomes It is hoped that information from this study will help determine if light therapy can be used to optimise sleep in individuals with cancer

This study will explore if it is possible to administer NanoCBD™ (MC_1020) oro-buccal spray so as to reliably achieve mucosal absorption of CBD and to understand some of the factors affecting mucosal absorption of CBD administered with the NanoCBD (MC-1020) oro-buccal spray . Ingested CBD has poor and erratic bioavailability and is subject to up to 75% first-pass metabolism, which could be improved by oro-buccal delivery. However, attempts at oro-buccal delivery to-date have failed as evident from the high levels of first pass metabolites present in the plasma. Preliminary data from micellized cannabinoid oro-buccal sprays indicate that the NanoCelle™ technology used to create these cannabinoid micelles, may be able to facilitate oro-buccal mucosa absorption; however, successful administration has been inconsistent. If reliable oro-buccal mucosa absorption can be demonstrated and the critical factors for achieving this is better understood, a delivery mechanism for cannabinoids that is suitable for routine medical use could be provided.

Sexuality is a fundamental aspect of the human experience and is widely considered to be a crucial component of holistic healthcare. While up to 50% of individuals with TBI will experience persistent changes in sexual functioning or wellbeing, post-TBI sexuality is rarely addressed in acute and rehabilitation treatment settings. Addressing TBI sexuality should be a priority healthcare concern alongside other rehabilitation outcomes such as return to work, driving and social participation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of routine psychoeducation on post-TBI sexuality in improving patient sexuality outcomes and general satisfaction levels with sexuality-related rehabilitation experiences. With the severe lack of evidence-based interventions for sexuality issues after TBI, this study may potentially provide empirical evidence to support the practice of using simple psychoeducation to ameliorate sexual problems, which is relatively inexpensive and easily implementable across most healthcare settings.

This primary aim of this study is to establish the effectiveness of a new brief online parenting program for parents of children aged between 2 and 8 years 11 months of age. Families taking part in this study are randomly allocated to receive the new program immediately, or to wait 4 weeks before receiving the program. Parents will be asked to complete some questionnaires about their child’s behaviour, and their own experiences as a parent to help us examine the following outcomes: 1) child externalising behaviours; and 2) parenting, parent-child interactions, and parental well-being. It is hypothesised that: 1) at post-assessment (4 weeks after randomisation), relative to the waitlist group, parents in the intervention group will report significantly lower levels of child externalising behaviour problems, dysfunctional parenting; parenting stress, inter-parental conflict, as well as improved parenting confidence and parental well-being. 2) the improvements across child and parent domains at post-assessment will be maintained at two-month follow-up for the intervention group. 3) fathers (i.e., male caregivers) will receive as much benefit from program participation as mothers.

Prostate cancer spreads primarily to the lymph nodes and bones, and to a lesser degree to other organs. Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a protein that is found in high concentration in prostate cancer cells. PSMA can be used for increasing the accuracy compared to conventional imaging like CT scan. PSMA PET scan accurately detects prostate cancer spread by measuring PSMA. However, PSMA SPECT may be a suitable alternative to a PET scan because it’s cheaper and more readily available. There has been limited research comparing these 2 methods of assessing prostate cancer spread. The purpose of this study is to assess and compare PSMA PET/CT and PSMA SPECT/CT scans in monitoring patients with metastatic prostate cancer and in assessing response to treatment or progression. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are an adult male who has been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. Study details All participants in this study will be asked to provide a blood sample and complete two scans (PSMA PET/CT and PSMA SPECT/CT) on a single day, taking approximately 3 hours total. You will then continue with treatment with your clinician as normal and any additional scans or blood test results completed within 14 weeks will be sent to study investigators. It is hoped that this study will help determine whether PSMA SPECT is a suitable, readily available, alternative to a PET scan.