There are about 188 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Ecuador. 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.
ELEVATE is a six-year project, conducted by an international research alliance led by Ghent University, aiming to develop a new test and approach for cervical cancer screening in hard-to-reach populations. In this final stage of the project, a hospital-based validation study is deployed in Belgium and Ecuador to clinically validate the new ELEVATE screening test based on self-samples and endocervical samples. The simultaneous detection of HPV DNA and the proteomic markers allows for the detection of those cervical HPV infections associated with progression towards cervical cancer. At each study site, 100 women between 30-65 years old, with a recent abnormal pap smear result will be recruited in the colposcopy waiting room. After registration and signing the informed consent form, each woman will be asked to fill out a short self-administered questionnaire for socio-demographic information. Each woman will provide a self-sample as well as an endocervical sample before the colposcopy examination. Both samples of all 200 women (i.e. participants from Belgium and Ecuador) will be tested with the new ELEVATE screening test, using 400 ELEVATE cartridges, as well as with standard tests. Besides analyzing all samples on the new ELEVATE screening test, the following standard tests will also be performed on all samples (at Ghent University - including the shipped samples of Ecuador): - AnyplexTM II HPV HR Detection (Segeene Inc., Korea): approved comparison test - ELISA protein detection: only available comparison test In order to generate HPV DNA results locally, that can be communicated to the participants in short time (versus waiting for AnyplexTM II HPV HR Detection test results after shipment to Belgium), in Ecuador the following additional standard test will be performed on the100 endocervical samples (before shipment to Belgium): • HPV DNA Mole Bioscience test Concordance between the test results of the ELEVATE screening test and standard lab tests on both type of samples will be defined, for HPV DNA as well as protein detection. Additionally, the sensitivity and specificity of the HPV DNA test and the protein test of the ELEVATE screening test will be defined, according to clinically relevant outcomes.
Recent improvements in punctures techniques and needles now allow for the collection of high-quality specimens comparable to core needle biopsy. A newly developed motorized fine needle biopsy (mFNB), the Precision-GI (Limaca, Israel) promises intact tissue acquisition without sample damage, relying on controlled axial tissue cutting and high-speed rotational coring for optimized tissue acquisition. Given the advancement mentioned, the investigators aim to compare the performance of the mFNB with the standard needle during the acquisition of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided pancreatic and liver specimens through a prospective, interventional, single-center trial. The study will consist of two groups of patients: one assigned to the standard fine needle biopsy (FNB) and the other to the mFNB. The primary study outcomes will include sample quality (core integrity), and diagnostic accuracy.
Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) visual impression is operator-dependant and can hinder diagnostic accuracy, especially in less experienced endoscopists. The implementation of artificial intelligence can potentially mitigate operator dependency and interpretation variability, helping or improving the overall accuracy. The investigators therefore aim to compare diagnostic accuracy between artificial intelligence (AI)-based model and the endoscopists when identifying normal anatomical structures in EUS-procedures.
This research seeks to demonstrate that a telemedicine model for the provision of legal abortion services in Ecuador is safe, feasible and acceptable to users requesting a medication abortion and who are less than 12 weeks pregnant.
Per-oral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is a minimally invasive therapy for achalasia. The procedure has demonstrated high technical and clinical success with lower adverse events. Different types of knives have been used for cutting and coagulation during the procedure; however, exchanging accessories is sometimes needed to perform all the stages of POEM. To overcome this disadvantage, the investigators aim to evaluate a single device that integrates in its tip bipolar radiofrequency and microwave, the Speedboat Ultraslim (Creo Medical, UK) for cutting and coagulation during POEM procedure. Some of the promise's advantages derived from its use are: (1) less inflammation, (2) clear differentiation between layers, (3) the use of a single device for the procedure. This single-center, prospective, interventional study will include patients with achalasia submitted to POEM procedure, with or without fundoplication (POEM-F). All stages (mucosal incision, submucosal tunneling, myotomy) of POEM will be performed using the Speedboat ultraslim flexible catheter. Technical and clinical success, along with safety will be the primary endpoints; while, post-procedure reflux symptoms and quality of life will be assessed as secondary outcomes with reflux severity index (RSI) and the Northwestern Esophageal Quality of Life (NEQOL), respectively.
The availability of affordable hardware and rapidly growing content that can be freely accessed in the public domain raises the possibility of VR being used across the world globally and, in a very broad range of settings, including low-income populations and middle-income countries. The goal of this study is implement a randomized control trial using a low-cost VR mindfulness intervention within older adults in Quito, Ecuador compared. The control group will only receive a check-in phone call.
This study includes a community-based, two-arm prospective acceptability study, whereby arm 1 consists of an educational session on sexual health and cervical cancer (screening) and a follow-up assessment after 3 months. Arm 2 consists of an educational session on sexual health and cervical cancer (screening) and self-sampling, additionally women will be asked to take a self-sample on-site, followed by a follow-up assessment after 3 months. Attitudes, uptake and users' experiences related to the use of a HPV self-sampling test will be assessed, additionally, the impact on looking for follow up care of self-sampling with standard cervical screening strategies will be assessed and finally the feasibility of an HPV self-sampling in hard-to-reach groups versus educational sessions and standard care will be compared (arm 1 and 2).
The goal of this observational study is to estimate the prevalence of the use of protective ventilation with low tidal volume ventilation in the transition of spontaneous ventilation modes in patients with hypoxemic acute respiratory failure in ICUs in Latin America and its association with patient outcomes. The main questions it aims to answer are: - what is the prevalence of the use of low tidal volume ventilation (VT <8 mL/kg of predicted body weight) in the first 24 hours of spontaneous ventilation modes in patients with hypoxemic acute respiratory failure? - Is there an association between the rate of adherence to low tidal volume ventilation in spontaneous ventilation modes and the ability to stay off ventilatory support and mortality? Participants are patients with acute respiratory failure under mechanical ventilation. Investigators will collect data on the ventilatory parameters of participants - 24 hours before they begin to be ventilated with spontaneous modes of ventilation - during the first 24 hours of spontaneous ventilation Investigators will collect several patient-centered clinical outcomes at 28 days after study inclusion, including ventilator-free days and mortality
In this new era of less invasive procedures, the indications for endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided gallbladder drainage (GBD) are rapidly expanding. Nowadays, the standard treatment for uncomplicated cholelithiasis (symptomatic patients not requiring hospital admission or non-surgically managed during one or more hospital admissions) is elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy. To avoid the complications, difficulties and disadvantages of cholecystectomy, the investigators proposed a single-center study to determine the safety and effectiveness of EUS-guided GBD with electrocautery-enhanced lumen-apposing metal stent (LAMS) (Boston Scientific, Marlborough, MA, EEUU) with stone removal in patients with cholelithiasis, in comparison with the gold standard treatment, the elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
The goal of this observational study is to evaluate disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with malignant gliomas undergoing neurosurgical procedures using 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA)-based photodynamic therapy