Active clinical trials for "Wounds and Injuries"

To establish a solid foundation, e.g. a network and a coordinating centre for testing new SCI therapies in forthcoming randomised controlled multi-centre clinical trials following international standards and guidelines.

PALIVE 1 is an observational multicenter study on mechanical ventilation strategies used in children with an acute lung injury (ALI). The objective of the study is to describe mechanical ventilation strategies in children with an ALI. Our hypothesis is that daily clinical practice is heterogenous among pediatric intensivists as few pediatric data exists on optimal mechanical ventilation strategies in this group of patients. Furthermore, different strategies may affect patient outcome.

The investigators have developed a new non-invasive medical device called the Bioelectric Field Imager. They plan to use this device to measure the electric field near small lancet wounds in 60 volunteers. Their hypothesis is that the electric field is an early stimulus for wound healing and the magnitude of this field will vary with wound healing capability. The investigators will compare the electric fields near arm and leg wounds in males and females in the age groups of 18-30 and 65-80. In addition they will measure these wound fields in diabetics and near chronic ulcers.

The researchers' objective is to use diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) to evaluate infants diagnosed with cerebral white matter injury during the neonatal period and identify antenatal risk factors, electronic fetal heart rate monitoring abnormalities, and umbilical arterial gas results that are associated with cerebral white matter injury. The researchers' hypothesis is that this new imaging technique will help us better understand how these devastating injuries occur.

The Alfred Hospital receives approximately 40% of the major trauma patients in Victoria, all of whom are at risk for spinal injuries. The potential for spinal injuries necessitates the undertaking of appropriate spinal investigations, and a delay in the completion of these investigations exposes the patient to the risk of a missed diagnosis of spinal instability and of complications of immobility; the potential spinal patient is required to wear a neck collar and be nursed lying flat whilst awaiting the completion and the appropriate documentation of spinal X-ray investigations. The purpose of this study is to identify the issues causing a delay in the process of the completion of the appropriate spinal investigations and the documentation of the results. The outcome of the proposed research will be the development of a clinical management protocol to expedite the process, with the aim of optimising patient care and reducing complications.

Vaginal delivery is commonly accompanied by trauma of the genital tract. Perineal trauma is classified into four degrees based on anatomic structures involved and severity of lacerations according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (ACOG) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG). Episiotomy is an intentional perineal incision performed by midwifes or obstetricians to enlarge vaginal opening during the second stage of childbirth and has become the most common surgical procedure worldwide. A routine use of episiotomy was proposed to prevent severe spontaneous lacerations, although it failed to to demonstrate a clear protective role with no benefits both for mother and baby. Therefore the guidelines changed in a selective use of episiotomy, and we have introduced it in our routine obstetrics care. Nevertheless, second-degree lacerations comprise a wide range of lesions, from a minimal involvement to a massive damage of the perineal muscles. Therefore, it was never confirmed that selective use of episiotomy reduce the perianal trauma in the range of second degree lesions. We designed a prospective observational study with the introduction of a new classification of perineal trauma recorded with the usual data retrieved in delivery ward register. The aim is to definitively investigate if selective use of episiotomy reduce the overall perineal trauma.

Acute kidney injury is one of major adverse postoperative complications. research about postoperative acute kidney injury conclude that low preoperative albumin and intraoperative hypotension is associated to postoperative acute kidney injury. However, due to ethic issue and nonlinear realtionship between these factors and postoperative acute kidney injury, the exact threshold of these two risk factors were not be able to identified. The research tried to locate the exact threshold with implementation of penalized splines by generalized additive model.

Acute renal injury (AKI) is a common complication after cardiac surgery and is associated with worse outcomes. Hypotension is an important risk factor for the development of AKI after noncardiac surgery. However, the association between intraoperative hypotension and AKI after cardiac surgery has not been fully investigated. The purpose of this study is to analyze the association between intraoperative hypotension and acute kidney injury after off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery.

The object of this study is to investigate the damage to the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and ganglion cell complex layer (GCL+) in diabetic patients without retinal microangioma as detected by fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) and to determine the kind of nerve damage more likely to indicate early injury.

Objectives: To analyse if people with acquired brain injury in sub-acute situation, as well as their relatives, and/or partners, consider relevant the approach to sexuality during their Occupational Therapy intervention. Methodology: This study presents a qualitative design with a phenomenological approach. Twelve participants were interviewed: eight people with acquired brain injury, two relatives and two partners who agreed to participate. The information has been collected through interviews.