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Introduction Currently there is no consistent and widely accepted approach to the diagnosis of vocal cord dysfunction/inducible laryngeal obstruction (VCD/ILO). Harmonised diagnostic methods are vital to enable facilitate optimal diagnosis, advance management and enable research. Aim To obtain consensus on how expert clinicians diagnose VCD/ILO. Methods and analysis Two-round modified Delphi. Ethics and dissemination Ethics will be obtained from the Monash Health Human Research Ethics Committee. The dissemination plan is for presentation and publication.

Anaemia affects nearly a quarter of the world and is common in surgical patients. A third of patients present with preoperative anaemia and three quarters of patients are discharged from hospital with anaemia. The World Health Organisation defines anaemia as an insufficient circulating red cell mass, with a haemoglobin (Hb) concentration of < 130 g/L for men and < 120 g/L for women. Perioperative anaemia is associated with delayed patient recovery and increased postoperative complications, leading to increased post-operative morbidity and mortality. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the in the use of intravenous iron therapy for preoperative anaemia in line with major international guidelines. This is common practice in Australia and New Zealand. However, the recent PREVENTT study has questioned the value of preoperative iron transfusion in anaemic patients. Management of anaemia in the perioperative setting is variable and compliance to recommended practices such as measurement of haemoglobin levels, use of tranexamic acid, and avoidance of oral iron remains unknown. The POSTVenTT (POST-operative Variations in anaemia treatmenT and Transfusions) audit aims to determine the variability in adherence to anaemia management guidelines in the perioperative setting and to assess its impact on clinical outcomes following major abdominal surgery.

This study is to assess the Eclipse 3 Continuous Glucose Monitoring System device (CGM). The Eclipse 3 system is comprised of an implantable CGM (sensor) paired with a mobile App that is designed to capture blood glucose readings in real time. The purpose of this research project is to test the safety and performance of the Eclipse 3 CGM System over a 4 to 8 month period. Six to eight participants who have had type 1 diabetes for at least 5 years, and are using insulin will be enrolled. This sensor will be implanted below the skin into the lower abdominal area and remain there for a minimum 4.5 up to a maximum of 8.5 months . Participants will come in monthly for visits. After 4 months of participation, data from the implanted sensor will be evaluated to determine whether or not participants will continue for the next 2 months. Should the participants continue to have the sensor implanted for an additional 2 months, they will continue to come in for monthly visits. At the 6month mark they will again have their data evaluated to determine if they will continue to have the sensor implanted for an additional 2 months up to a maximum of 8 months. After the 8 month visit (unless determined to be after Month 4 or Month 6) the sensor will be explanted and a biopsy of the tissue will be retrieved for evaluation.

Its really hard for a woman when she falls pregnant to jump through all the hoops needed to book in to a hospital for her antenatal care. Both with the current lock down issues as well as in the past, the delays have meant that women are booking in to the hospital well after the first trimester. Thus women are missing out on potential therapies that may be able to prevent complications in their pregnancy. A large proportion of women who at risk of complications will be able to be identified based on their personal and family history. We have developed an app that can ask questions to figure out which women are at high risk. This study aims to compare the accuracy of the risk assessment of the app with the current practice of booking in to the hospital. This trial will be undertaken with the app available in three languages with an assessment of user acceptability.

The aim of the current study is to evaluate relationships between sleep, exercise and memory and thinking skills in older adults who are 'poor sleepers'. The results from this study will allow us to determine how sleep may influence the relationship between exercise and memory, allowing the development of effective lifestyle interventions to delay the onset of memory decline, and ultimately dementia. The intervention for this study involves cycling on a stationary exercise bicycle, and subsequently completing memory testing and sleep measurement. It is hypothesised that immediately after a single session exercise, and 24-hrs post exercise, participants will show improved memory performance, and improved sleep that night, compared to a control session (no exercise).

This is a one-year independent study designed to provide a database for the unvaccinated population for comparative analysis with the vaccinated population in order to evaluate the success of the Covid19 mass vaccination programme and support future research projects. This study is not, and will never be, linked to any pharmaceutical company.

This study will assess whether topical application of a CBD gel can provide analgesia for patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the hand. A growing body of evidence suggests that inflamed tissue caused by osteoarthritis may be susceptible to treatment using CBD. Despite oral ingestion of cannabinoid products being the preferred route of administration, its poor aqueous solubility and extensive first-pass metabolism lead to poor bioavailability, which limits see its potential efficacy. The ability to deliver CBD directly to local, inflamed tissue using topical application may provide superior analgesia than oral dosage forms, whilst minimising any concerns related to systemic exposure. This study will assess whether topical application of a CBD gel can provide analgesia for patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the hand. In addition to analgesia, the study will investigate whether topical CBD can provide benefits for other symptoms of osteoarthritis of the hand; poor grip strength and hand functionality. Results from this study will support further clinical development of the CBD gel, as well as future prescribing to patients.

Lactoferrin is a well-known anti-viral and anti-bacterial protein that previous research has shown can improve immune function and reduce respiratory tract infections. Lactoferrin is made in the human body as part of our immune system defence and is normally present in saliva and breast milk. Lactoferrin is also naturally present in cow’s milk, allowing it to be purified and used as a dietary supplement. Clinical trials in adults and children show that lactoferrin supplements can reduce respiratory tract infections, though little research has been done to help us understand how lactoferrin improves immune function. The LIFE trial will test a lactoferrin dietary supplement in older adults, as immune function can decrease with older age. The LIFE trial will test whether taking a lactoferrin supplement, daily for 4 weeks can improve immune function and protect against virus infection in older adults. Researchers will do this by looking at changes in immune cells from blood samples taken before and after the 4-week trial.

Several studies have now reported that modest improvements in diet (eating more fruit and vegetables) can lead to improvements in mood (Firth et al., 2019; Jacka et al., 2017; Parletta et al., 2019). In our recent study, Francis et al., (2019) demonstrated that a 3-week diet intervention for participants who reported low mood experienced significant improvement after the intervention, compared to controls. The usual explanation for these effects of diet is ‘physiological’. However, an alternative explanation is that positive expectations about a treatment (i.e., a placebo effect) and ‘taking control’ of events in your life (called self-efficacy) can both make you feel better. It is very likely that people believe that fresh food is good for you. It is also very likely that taking charge of ones’ diet is likely to increase feelings of self-efficacy. Together, these psychological effects could improve a person’s mood. Therefore, the aim of our study is to investigate if the beneficial effects of a healthy diet on mood are in part from positive expectations and improved self-efficacy.

Evidence demonstrates that being outdoors and exposed to greenery has a positive impact on our physical and mental health. Numerous studies have explored interventions that support older people living in Residential Aged Care Facilities to participate in outdoor activities such as gardening and walking groups resulting in a variety of benefits such as reductions in depression, stress, falls and vitamin D deficiency. However, Residential Aged Care Facilities often report that outdoor spaces are unused. Common barriers include the design of the outdoor space and the main building (access points and their usability), safety concerns and staffing issues, weather and access to shelter, and lack of social activities. This study aims to reduce these barriers by co-designing with residents, their family/carers and staff an intervention at three Residential Aged Care Facilities in Victoria, Australia to improve safe access to and satisfaction with outdoor spaces. This in turn will increase opportunities for residents to access the benefits that we know time spent outdoors provides.