ANZCTR search results

Oral food challenges (OFC) are the gold standard tool for diagnosis of allergy and acquisition of tolerance but are not routinely performed in adolescents. These have the potential to positively impact mental health, quality of life and reduce risk-taking behaviours, in addition to ensuring accurate diagnosis. We will undertake a multi-centre prospective study of adolescents with a previous diagnosis of food allergy to investigate the impact of oral food challenges on the proportion of adolescents who enter adulthood with a current food allergy diagnosis (and proportion who were “de-labelled” i.e. proven to be no longer allergic) and impact on anxiety, quality of life, confidence in managing food allergy and risk-taking behaviours. We hypothesise that using OFCs for adolescents at the time of transition to adult care will reduce the number of adolescents entering adulthood with a food allergy diagnosis, reduce risk taking behaviours, psychological impact and costs for patients, families and the healthcare system.

This 8-week, home-based pilot trial will quantify the effectiveness, engagement, feasibility, and safety of REFLECT through the measurement of the following therapeutic outcomes: upper limb function (FMA-UE), cognitive function (MoCA), health-related quality of life (SIS), and anxiety and depression (HADS). These assessments will occur at 5 timepoints, 1 month pre-intervention, directly pre-intervention, directly post-intervention, 1-month post-intervention, and 3-months post-intervention. Participants will be requested to use REFLECT for 40 hours total, in 2x 30 min, 3x 20 min, or 4x 15 min increments for 1 hour/day, 5 days/week, for 8 weeks. THEORY: REFLECT has been developed based on research evidence that mirror therapy, music, and virtual reality exercise can provide improvements in upper limb function; visuospatial neglect symptoms; mood; cognitive functions such as memory, literacy, and numeracy skills; and physiological measures such as heart rate and blood pressure. RATIONALE: Combining a series of known therapeutic techniques (VR exercise, Mirror Therapy, and Music Therapy) is expected to produce positive interaction effects for stroke survivors. OBJECTIVES: (1) to determine if delivering music-based mirror therapy in a virtual reality environment can improve upper limb function post-stroke in adults, as measured by the Fugl-Meyer Assessment for the Upper Extremity (FMA-UE). (2) to deliver a virtual reality-based upper limb stroke rehabilitation intervention that is engaging, affordable, and enjoyable. (3) for the intervention to include an opportunity for musical creation in a population that are typically unable to access conventional musical instruments due to disability.

ClearlyMe® is a self-guided smart phone application developed by the Black Dog Institute for adolescents with symptoms of depression. The app is currently available to the Australian public. This study will explore the acceptability and feasibility, from a clinician perspective, of integrating ClearlyMe content with in-person therapy for the management of depression in adolescents. For the purposes of this trial, the ClearlyMe content will be recreated in a web platform (ClearlyMe Blended Care; CMBC) that allows clinicians to prescribe ClearlyMe activities to their client. This pilot study will examine the acceptability and feasibility of using the ClearlyMe Blended Care in a real-world setting and explore how clinicians choose to integrate ClearlyMe content in their clinical practice. Specifically, the trial will address the following research questions: (1) Do clinicians find it feasible to integrate ClearlyMe content with in-person therapy? (2) How do clinicians integrate ClearlyMe Blended Care in their clinical practice? (3) Do clinicians find the ClearlyMe Blended Care platform and associated materials acceptable for use in their clinical practice?

Social media has become synonymous with misleading information, with evidence from systematic reviews finding health medical misinformation is highly prevalent. Moreover, misleading information on social media may promote inappropriate care which can cause overdiagnosis or overuse (e.g, promotion of whole-body MRI scans to healthy people). To our knowledge there are few, studies designed to work within social media to address overdiagnosis, and the misleading medical information which may be helping to drive it. This study will include three online randomised experiments to test the impact of novel evidence-based social media posts, compared to standard promotional (and misleading) social media posts, on interest in taking a test. Findings will provide evidence on potential content to help reduce the impact of overdiagnosis and overuse by stimulating public and clinical conversations about this problem and its solutions.

This aim of the study is to investigates whether a more frequent screening in people at high genetic risk leads to better outcomes in terms of less progression to glaucoma (or to glaucoma suspect), reduced visual fields deterioration, and decreased optic nerve damage (i.e. thicker retina and smaller vertical cup to disc ratio). Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are a male or female, aged 50-70, have reported a first-degree relative with glaucoma (parent, sibling, or child) and self-reported no diagnosis of glaucoma. Study details Participants will be recruited from will be recruited from the P3423 The Genetics of Glaucoma – Family History sub-study cohort based on their risk of glaucoma. Participants in the high predicted risk group will be randomised to either intervention or control group. Participants in the low predicted risk group will be only enrolled in the intervention arm. Our control group will follow standard of care of eye examinations every 2 years during the study duration of 4 years. Our intervention group will be asked to complete 6 monthly eye examination visits for the study duration of 4 years.

The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability of videoconferencing-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adults. After assessment, all participants will complete 10 sessions of vCBT with a psychologist.

This study is testing a new type of treatment called PMCC-COE19, which is a Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy. The purpose is to see whether PMCC-COE19 is safe and effective for people with blood cancers that express CD19 markers. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are aged 16 years or older, you have been diagnosed with a blood cancer with CD19-expressing B-cells - this might be leukaemia or lymphoma or another blood cancer, and you meet additional criteria relating to your wellbeing and ability to tolerate CAR-T therapy. Study details Participants who choose to enrol in this study will be given a single dose of the investigational treatment PMCC-COE19. To create this therapy, a participant’s own T-cells (a type of immune cell) will be collected from the blood and modified in a laboratory to specifically target CD19, a protein found on cancer cells. Before receiving the therapy, participants will be given chemotherapy to prepare their body (lymphodepletion). Treatment with PMCC-COE19 will then be given as a single infusion into a vein, anticipated to take 30 minutes. Up to 6 dose levels of PMCC-COE19 may be assessed in this study, but participants will only be given a single dose during the study. Blood tests and other assessments will be performed regularly to monitor safety and response to treatment. It is hoped that this study will show that PMCC-COE19 is safe to deliver to patients with CD19-expressing blood cancers, and to determine the highest dose of PMCC-COE19 that patients can safely receive.

This study aims to see if a new portable ventilator can safely and effectively support patients who need help breathing during surgery. We will compare this smaller “Lycovent” device to a standard hospital ventilator, focusing on breathing measures and patient safety. Our hypothesis is that the Lycovent will work at least as well as the larger, conventional machine. If shown to be reliable, this portable option could offer more flexibility in operating rooms and potentially lower costs. Ultimately, we want to confirm that the Lycovent meets essential safety and effectiveness standards for use during surgical procedures.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent and serious complication after cardiac surgery. Current diagnostic methods rely on blood tests and urine output, which often detect AKI only after significant kidney damage has occurred. This prospective cohort study will assess whether the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR), a simple and inexpensive urine test, can predict AKI earlier. We will enroll 200 adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery at Austin Hospital. Urine samples will be collected at three time points: before surgery, at admission to the intensive care unit, and the following morning. Our hypothesis is that patients with rising uACR after surgery will have a higher risk of developing acute kidney injury. Early identification could allow timely preventive strategies and improve patient outcomes.

Glaucoma is one of the most heritable of all complex diseases, and when untreated causes irreversible blindness. Despite advances in imaging technology, approximately half of all cases in our community are undiagnosed, and many people with glaucoma continue to present at advanced stages of the disease. We have recently developed a polygenic risk score, which in retrospective cohorts robustly identifies people at risk of disease. We now aim to conduct a randomized, single-blinded, parallel-controlled trial, to investigate the utility of polygenic risk profiling as the key intervention to identify people at high-risk of developing glaucoma and requiring clinical screening. We will recruit people who are aged between 64 and 68 years old, and have not had a clinical examination by an optometrist or ophthalmologist within the preceding 3 years. Services Australia will contact approximately 132,000 people across 320 postal regions in Australia. Participants will be randomly allocated to a) direct optometry examination regardless of genetic risk (control) or b) polygenic risk score-based prioritised (top 5% of population) clinical profiling (case). As such, we will be able to determine, and directly compare the prevalence rates of definite or probable glaucoma between screening groups.