ANZCTR search results

Following completion of the pulmonary rehabilitation programme, benefits in exercise capacity, quality of life, and respiratory symptoms begin to decline unless people with chronic lung conditions continue to exercise. Adherence to supervised maintenance programmes is reported to be as low as 50% at 12 months following pulmonary rehabilitation and has been attributed to barriers such as exacerbations, anxiety, lack of social support, and difficulty accessing community exercise programmes. Unsupervised maintenance exercise may be more accessible and less costly than supervised maintenance exercise to promote continued exercise in the home and community. Online exercise videos using minimal equipment may be a promising strategy for improving adherence to self-efficacy for exercise during the maintenance phase of pulmonary rehabilitation, but have not yet been tested in people with chronic lung conditions. The research questions are: In the maintenance phase following completion of pulmonary rehabilitation, does an online exercise video increase physical activity and self-efficacy for exercise with unsupervised home exercise in people with chronic lung conditions? In the maintenance phase following completion of pulmonary rehabilitation, does an online exercise video maintain exercise capacity and quality of life in people with chronic lung conditions? in people with chronic lung conditions, what are their perspectives of using an online exercise video to pulmonary rehabilitation promote unsupervised home exercise in the maintenance phase following completion of pulmonary rehabilitation? Do perspectives vary with patient levels of self-efficacy for exercise and type of delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation?

While continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) are commonly used for treatment of infants with respiratory distress, the optimal level of CPAP/HFNC remains somewhat uncertain. Due to leaks occurring at the nostrils, the mouth and into the stomach, not all of the pressure generated by CPAP/HFNC is transmitted to the airway. Continuous measurement of the patient’s pharyngeal pressure could provide clinicians with important information. The proposed research is a feasibility study to measure the pharyngeal pressure in a convenience sample of up to 50 infants receiving CPAP/HFNC for the purpose of confirming the performance and safety of a new airway monitoring device. TGA-approved dual lumen gastric tubes will be modified to allow for airway pressure measurements in the pharyngeal region using a new airway pressure device (under development). The modified gastric tube will be used similar to regular gastric tubes, and pharyngeal pressures recorded over a 3-8 day period. The modified gastric tube will enable study participants to be fed as per usual clinical guidelines and facilitate enteral fluids/medication delivery as clinically required.

In this study, we will collect tonsil tissue that would normally be thrown away during tonsil removal surgery. We will use this tissue in the lab to study how certain pathogens, including strep A and Epstein-Barr virus, affect people differently based on their tonsil cells and immune structures. We hyopthesise that children may have different levels of vulnerability to these pathogens depending on the unique features of their tonsil cells and immune tissue.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the use of earplugs at night will improve our patients sleep and reduce the numbers of patients who develop delirium (a sudden change in your health condition that may include confused thinking or unsettled behaviour) while in ICU.

It is hypothesed that pulsed-field ablation will result in better acute procedural outcomes than radiofrequency ablation. This is a multi-centre, randomised control trial of two ablations systems for atrial fibrillation. Participants referred for repeat AF ablation will be screened and randomised to repeat atrial fibrillation with pulsed-field ablation or radiofrequency ablation. The primary outcome is acute posterior wall isolation. The secondary outcomes include acute pulmonary vein isolation, AF recurrence as assessed by 3 and 12-month Holter monitor, left atrial (LA) physiology and procedural metrics.

Oxidative stress plays a central role in the development of Type 2 Diabetes. However, studies investigating the effect of antioxidant supplements on glycaemic control in people with type 2 diabetes have been equivocal. We hypothesise that adopting a targeted approach to antioxidant supplementation will be effective in improving glycaemic control in people with type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of targeted and untargeted antioxidant treatments on glycaemic control and exercise capacity in people with type 2 diabetes.

This study will test whether cannabidiol (CBD) alongside antipsychotic medication can reduce psychotic symptom severity in young people with first episode psychosis (FEP) for whom antipsychotic treatment is not showing efficacy. CBD has been shown to reduce psychotic symptoms in adults with schizophrenia. It is non-intoxicating and non-addictive with a high margin of safety, and its side-effect profile is far superior to that of antipsychotic medications. This will be the first study to test its efficacy in FEP. Consenting 15-25 year-olds with FEP who have not responded to at least one adequate trial of antipsychotic medication and are within 2 weeks of commencing a new antipsychotic medication will be randomised to receive either 1000mg of CBD or placebo per day for 12 weeks in addition to their current antipsychotic medication and clinical care.

This study aims to test a wearable auditory feedback system designed to help people with neurological conditions, such as stroke or Parkinson's disease, improve their walking. The device provides real-time sound cues during walking exercises, which guide participants in adjusting their steps and movement patterns. We hypothesise that using this auditory feedback system will improve key walking measures, such as stride length, walking speed, and balance, when compared to walking without feedback. The study will evaluate how well this system helps participants walk more steadily and confidently. Participants will take part in walking exercises on a treadmill, both with and without the feedback device, and we will measure improvements in their walking performance across different conditions. This study aims to provide insights into whether this system can be used as an effective tool in rehabilitation programs for those with walking difficulties due to neurological conditions.

Despite the technological innovation and potential for improved care, the use of digital drainage systems has not been well evaluated for trauma care. Decreasing the length of time that patients have an invasive intrathoracic device is expected to impact length of stay (LOS) in hospital, intensive care, and risk of adverse outcomes. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of digital thoracostomy drain in the setting of major thoracic trauma and we hypothesize that it could reduce the length of inter-costal catheterisation (ICC) time compared to the analogue counterpart.

Young Australians have the highest incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, with females showing the steepest rise due to greater participation trends in high-risk sporting activities.. Unfortunately, many of these people will experience ACL graft failure, secondary knee injuries, sport/activity limitations, persistent pain, and impaired quality of life despite ACL reconstructive surgery (ACLR). Athletic footwear with appropriate design features (e.g., full-length, medial wedged insole) may reduce harmful loads on the ACL and knee cartilage leading to better outcomes following ACLR.