There are about 28871 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Canada. The country of the clinical trial is determined by the location of where the clinical research is being studied. Most studies are often held in multiple locations & countries.
Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD) is the most common cause of irreversible blindness in people of age 50 or older in the western populations. ARMD has two forms, the wet and the dry forms. The wet form is more serious and can lead to irreversible loss of vision. In the wet form of ARMD, new blood vessels grow under the retina. These blood vessels leak blood and fluid and cause the retina and the macula to swell. So the thickness of the macula increases. One of the key factors in the treatment of wet ARMD is early diagnosis and treatment to prevent complete visual loss. In this research, we are going to use a technique, called the Heidelberg retinal tomograph (HRT) to measure and compare the thickness of the macula in healthy controls and in patients suspected of having ARMD. HRT is a non-invasive imaging system that uses laser to measure the thickness of the macula. This allows us to come up with a quite simple and easy-to-use technique that helps us to diagnose wet ARMD early and treat it before visual acuity is completely lost.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether using an additional 48 hours of oral naproxen, after other post-operative pain medications have been stopped, will be effective in reducing opiate pain medication requirements and contribute to improved pain management.
Aspirin (ASA) has been shown, in an animal model, to attenuate the ototoxic properties of cisplatin. The researchers plan to investigate this in patients undergoing cisplatin chemotherapy. The researchers hypothesise that low-dose aspirin can prevent cisplatin induced ototoxicity in the clinical setting.
This is an investigational study on the use of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in the management of localized prostate cancer (T1c/T2a) as a primary non-comparative study. High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a non-invasive acoustic ablation technique that uses intersecting, precision focused ultrasound waves to raise the temperature of the target to) 80-90 degrees C in 2-3 seconds, destroying the targeted tissues (prostate cancer). The tissue targeting is highly precise, minimizing collateral damage. The overall hypothesis is that HIFU with Sonablate can safely, effectively and selectively ablate prostate cancer tissue, resulting in complete tissue necrosis, in patients diagnosed with localized T1c/T2a prostate cancer, with minimal morbidity. The specific hypothesis is that the Sonablate has the ability to: - Completely destroy prostate cancer tissue, without causing damage to the intervening tissue, with a drop in PSA levels to <0.5ng/ml. - Result in negative biopsies for evidence of viable malignant cells after the treatment (12 months if Nadir is not reached or PSA rises from Nadir) - Safely treat localized prostate cancer patients, with minimal and acceptable adverse effects
The overall objective of the present study is to examine the effects of delayed umbilical cord clamping in preterm infants on neonatal outcomes using a prospective randomized controlled trial comparing immediate cord clamping (standard at present) with delayed cord clamping. Our specific aim is to determine if a 30 to 45 second delay in umbilical cord clamping improves neonatal outcome as assessed by a composite of intraventricular hemorrhage and late onset sepsis in preterm infants born between 24 and 32 weeks gestation. Secondary outcomes to be examined include improvements in the following: 1) lung function as assessed by oxygen dependency at 36 weeks corrected gestational age (CGA), 2) cardiovascular function as assessed by the need for volume expansion, inotropes, or clinically suspected PDA requiring intervention prior to discharge home, and 3) anemia as assessed by initial hemoglobin, need for transfusion during stay in the NICU, and number of transfusions.
Women whose pregnancies are at judged to be at risk of a poor outcome from an early delivery due to medical problems such as diabetes or high blood pressure, are often very anxious during pregnancy, at least until they know they have passed the risk period of premature birth (after 8 months). Anxiety itself can have a significant effect on the developing baby, on the newborn child and the mother-infant bonding process. We will use a combination of pregnancy blood tests and an ultrasound assessment to check on placental function, since placental damage is the greatest cause of poor outcome. Most women tested this way will have normal results, and so may feel reassured and do better in pregnancy than untested women. The benefits may extend after birth to mother-infant bonding, breastfeeding success and a reduced risk of postnatal depression. We will randomly select an equal number of women for testing and no testing (like tossing a coin, known as a randomized control trial) to be confident that any benefits observed are genuine. The potential benefits of our research would be substantial for the mental health of many pregnant women, for their newborn and for their children as they grow up. The tests are easy to do and would add very little in terms of a woman's and in terms of the total costs of prenatal care.
This double blinded, placebo controlled, study seeks to determine the efficacy of preoperative anti-inflammatory therapy on the reduction of postoperative pain in knee arthroplasty surgery. Pre-emptive use of NSAIDS has demonstrated only modest reduction in post-operative pain in previous studies. However, the short duration of dosing in those studies did not capitalized on the anti-inflammatory properties of NSAIDS. Short-term use of NSAIDS only provides pain relief and does not address inflammation. Traditional NSAIDS cannot be used preoperatively due to platelet effects. Celecoxib, however, is both an analgesic and anti-inflammatory, but does not interfere with bleeding. It can therefore be safely used before surgery. This study hypothesizes that the use of celecoxib for seven days preoperatively reduces postoperative inflammation and consequently pain. A detailed Medline search has not identified any studies into the preoperative use of an NSAID at a dosing level that achieves anti-inflammatory effects.If effective in reducing postoperative pain, this research could lead to a new understanding of the role inflammation plays in orthopedic procedures and other elective procedures and thus improve patient outcomes in the future.
(i) Main Research Question(s): What is the effect of fondaparinux on coronary graft patency, heart attack, stroke, and death in patients who have undergone coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)? To reliably answer this question requires a large randomised trial. We propose a pilot study to demonstrate the feasibility of recruiting patients into this study and of performing CT angiograms to measure graft patency at 30 days. (ii) Why is this research important? Coronary artery bypass surgery has made a very important contribution to improving the health and survival of patients with advanced coronary artery disease but still has many problems. One in 10 patients experiences a heart attack at the time of surgery, 1 in 20 experiences a heart attack, stroke, or death during hospitalization, and 1 in 4 patients has at least 1 blocked graft within 1 year of surgery. Fondaparinux, a relatively new anticoagulant drug, has been shown to significantly reduce cardiovascular events and death in patients who have suffered a recent heart attack. Compared to established anticoagulant therapies for acute myocardial infarction, fondaparinux has been shown to be more effective with similar or lower risks of bleeding. Fondaparinux, unlike the most commonly used anticoagulants, does not cause Heparin Induced Thrombocytopenia (HIT), a rare condition with extremely high morbidity and mortality. This drug has never been studied in CABG patients. Our pilot study will provide key information about feasibility that will help us to design and perform a large definitive study in the future. (iii) What is being studied? We will be looking at blood flow in bypass grafts, heart attack, stroke, venous thromboembolism and death. For safety we will be looking at bleeding, transfusion, and need for further surgery because of bleeding. We will also perform laboratory tests for HIT antibodies as their levels are prognostic for the development of HIT and are also related to morbidity and mortality. The incidence of actual HIT cases will also be recorded.
In 2001, an estimated 1.9 million Canadians had chronic renal disease and the number of patients being treated for end stage renal disease climbed by nearly 20% in 5 years. Many medications commonly used in elderly patients are excreted by the kidney. Failure to adjust doses in those with impaired renal function can result in medication overdose, leading to potentially serious morbidity and mortality. Studies in hospitals and long term care facilities have found a 19-67% rate of non-compliance with guidelines for medication dose adjustment in patients with renal insufficiency and in ambulatory care one study found a 69% rate of non-compliance. Since primary care physicians write 80% of prescriptions for those aged 65 years, there is a need for interventions to improve prescribing to patients with renal impairment in primary care. This study will develop an audit tool and electronic decision support tool that will be incorporated into the electronic medical record in a large academic family health centre. It is seen as a preliminary step in a project to assess the effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention including chart audit, personalized feedback to prescribers, a pharmacist-facilitated group learning session and the use of an electronic decision support tool incorporated into the electronic medical record.
This aim of this study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of combining a single course of Yttrium 90 Ibritumomab Tiuxetan, a radiolabeled monoclonal antibody ( Zevalin ), with high-dose BEAM chemotherapy and autologous peripheral stem cell transplantation in patients with relapsed, refractory, or transformed Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.