ANZCTR search results

Based on the findings of the current literature and our research team, the aim of this project is to perform a comparative analysis of physiological and visual responses in healthy humans after the oral administration of L-THE in a capsule form vs. L-THE embedded within the food matrix (0.2g/100g serve mango sorbet). This includes testing the effects of L-THE on saccadic eye movements, visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, heart rate (HR) variability, blood pressure, and the stress response via salivary biomarkers. HR variability and blood pressure has previously been shown in clinical populations, athletes and other healthy people to be a very good predictor of health status, inflammation and fatigue. As well as this, testing saccadic eye movements and salivary cortisol has shown to be a good indicator of alertness and stress levels in the human body.

Youth suicide is a major public health problem in Australia and worldwide. This study aims to build the evidence base for an effective public education campaign for young people. In particular we are testing to see if a 30 second ad can lead to reaching out and helping a peer at risk of suicide.120 young people will be recruited from the general population randomly allocated to view one of two PSA. The intervention PSA is about helping someone at risk of suicide and the control PSA is about the impact of sugary drinks. Participants will answer questions pre-viewing, post-viewing and four weeks later to permit an examination of several positive and negative outcomes.

The purpose of this trial is to investigate the dose-related effects of small intestinal administration of the bitter agonist, Amarasate, on the motor and hormone functions of the upper gastrointestinal tract, appetite, and energy intake. We have found previously that specific dietary nutrients, when given into the small intestine in small amounts (and so not contributing significantly to overall energy intake) have the unique ability to substantially stimulate gastrointestinal functions leading to marked energy intake suppression. There has been a recent interest in the effects of bitter compounds, some of which also occur in the diet, including thio-urea compounds in certain vegetables or fruit, or quinine in tonic water, with reported effects on gut functions and energy intake suppression. This study aims to characterise the dose-related effects of amarasate (a natural extract from a hop cultivar), when delivered to the small intestine, in an effort to identify an optimal dose for beneficial effect on the outcomes mentioned herein.

This study aims to evaluate the efficacy, safety and sustainability of an individualised approach to postoperative thromboembolism prevention in cancer surgery patients. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 16 years or above, and are scheduled to undergo cancer surgery at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Study details Participants in this study are categorised into low, intermediate and high risk profiles for thromboembolism, according to surgical procedure and baseline medical risk. Expert-endorsed risk-specific thromboprophylaxis strategies are then applied. These strategies include mechanical or drug intervention that were administered at a specific time point, duration and appropriate dose. For example patients undergoing major surgery (e.g. bowel resection) were classified as high risk profile and received mechanical compression devices and stockings, as well as blood thinning medications for at least 7 days after surgery. Patients undergoing lower risk endoscopic procedures were only advised to have early mobilisation after their procedure. Postoperative thromboembolism and bleeding rates will be compared before and after implementation of this protocol. If effective, it is hoped that this flexible approach can be translated to surgical populations at other institutions.

Summary The World Health Organisations International Classification of Function describes disability as the relationship between body function, activity levels and the level of participation. A patient’s level of disability has been shown to have adverse associations with surgical outcome. We have remotely measured patients’ activity and participation, continuously and objectively, using a cross platform smartphone application (app). The app reports step and Global Positioning System (GPS) data to a cloud database. Patients are generally accepting of this technology and show high levels of satisfaction with the process. We have used the data to generate meaningful outcomes for patients such as time spent at home and step counts. We have monitored patients prior to and following cardiothoracic surgery. These data will have a role in perioperative assessment. Currently perioperative assessment is performed using questionnaires and clinical assessment. These achieve a C-statistic for mortality prediction of 0.8-0.9. Machine learning techniques will enable the smartphone data to generate more accurate risk models for patients undergoing surgery and provide prediction for long-term patient-centred outcomes. Our objective is to assess the feasibility for a larger study. We intend to conduct a multicentre study enrolling 500 smartphone owning patients undergoing surgery at one of three centres in South Australia. Patients will receive a letter with instructions on how to install our app pre-operatively and be followed up for 90 days. We will report the time taken to achieve ethics and governance approval at each site and the number of patients who successfully activate the app at least seven days prior to surgery. We will report on the completeness of the step and GPS data from the individuals enrolled. We will use the data to power a larger study to predict days free from hospital at 90-days, time spent at home, daily step count and time spent inactive at 90-days. Plain English Statement Increasingly patients own smartphones. The multitude of sensors held in these devices allow for remote monitoring of patients. We believe that by using these data in a machine learning model, we will improve the prediction of risk of surgery, and also provide data on outcomes that are more meaningful to patients. We intend to assess the feasibility of using a smartphone app to monitor patients prior to and following surgery.

Media Smart-Targeted (MST) is a 9-module website designed to reduce eating disorder risk (ED: e.g., anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder) in young-adult women aged 18-25 years. MST was adapted from Media Smart, which is the leading school-based ED risk reduction program worldwide. MST encourages users to look at the way they interpret media messages, their use of social media and strategies that might be helpful in reducing pressures they feel. This study will expand on the first MST study by increasing the target audience and maximising user engagement by: including both females and males; increasing the target age group to include younger participants (13-17 years in addition to the 18-25 years); refining program content based on results from the first RCT; and, comparing outcomes for flexible program delivery (user’s own pace, MST-F) versus standard weekly module release (MST-S; used in the RCT). Once again we will take a national approach. People will self-refer to the website, complete consent and online baseline questionnaires and then be automatically randomised to: MST-F; MST-S; or control conditions. Measures will then be completed at post-program, 6- and 12-month follow-up. We hypothesise that those in the MST-F condition will complete more of the program than those in the MST-S condition and that this will lead to greater benefits on the outcome variables.

Type 2 diabetes is considered the epidemic of the 21st century and there are large numbers of people with ‘silent’, undiagnosed type 2 diabetes which may be damaging their bodies. An estimated two million Australians are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes; more than half of these cases may be prevented if they are detected early. This study of Diabetes Online Risk Assessment (DORA) aims to raise awareness of type 2 diabetes and to understand what types of health messages people like to receive and how useful these messages are in encouraging them to take follow-up actions after completing a health risk assessment.

Absolute uterus factor infertility (AUFI) affects 1-5% of reproductive-aged infertile women AUFI may result from: - Major congenital anomaly e.g. MRKH syndrome where the woman is born without a uterus; - Hysterectomy for benign or malignant reasons; - Acquired condition rendering the uterus non-functional e.g. Asherman syndrome (intra-uterine adhesions). Traditionally, women with AUFI could only obtain parenthood through gestational surrogacy or adoption. However, these options may not be acceptable for some women and their partners due to legal, religious, financial or ethical concerns. Furthermore, achieving a pregnancy and delivering a baby is a basic human right. Recently, Uterus Transplantation (UT) has become an alternative option for women of reproductive age with AUFI to bear children. As of January 2019, UT has been successfully performed, with 13 reported live births worldwide – 8 in Sweden, 2 in the United States, and 1 in Brazil, China, and India . Of the 13 live births, all have been from a living donor UT, except the 1 in Brazil which used the uterus from a deceased donor Once the results of the initial trial demonstrate efficacy, safety and operational viability, we intend on providing a nation-wide tertiary referral service offering UT as a viable option for women with AUFI through RPAH. In order to achieve this, we need to create a multi-disciplinary team with adequate infrastructure for the selection, assessment, and management of appropriate patients as donors and recipients.

To examine the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a modified traditional Chinese medicine formula (GynoclearTM) as a treatment for endometriosis related pain and fatigue. The project will utilise a placebo controlled, double blind, randomised controlled trial involving reproductive aged women surgically diagnosed with endometriosis. Baseline scores for pelvic pain, fatigue, painful intercourse (dysparunia) and rescue medication will be collected over four weeks. Women will be randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to active (GynoclearTM) or placebo capsules. Six capules will be taken daily for three months. The primary outcome is change in daily pelvic pain score at the end of the intervention. Safety and adverse event data will be collected during the trial and at a one month follow up period. If GynoclearTM shows evidence of efficacy and safety it will be another possible treatment option for the over 360,000 Australian women with endometriosis.

The purpose of this study is to determine the costs associated with post-operative complications of those undergoing a rectal resection. Accurately defining the costs of complications allows institutions to make more informed decisions as to what areas comprise a significant cost percentage, and then implement strategies to mitigate this. Who is it for? This is a retrospective study evaluating the costs of complications of adult patients who underwent a rectal resection at the Austin Hospital between January 2013 and June 2018. Study details The aim of this study is to outline the health costs of postoperative complications in patients who undergo rectal resection surgery. We consider the incidence, type and severity of these complications and expand on the surgical method used in relation to rectal resection. Further, we highlight the importance of evaluating the components of healthcare cost profiles relevant to patients undergoing rectal resection. We hypothesise that patients who suffer complications would incur greater costs as compared to patients who did not have a complication. We also hypothesised that as the complication severity increased, there would also be an increase in costs. It is hoped that this study will outline the costs of postoperative complications in patients who undergo rectal resection surgery, and highlight the importance of evaluating the components of healthcare cost profiles relevant to patients undergoing rectal resection.