There are about 3753 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Hong Kong. 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.
To develop and examine an interactive, multi-functional mobile app-based technology designed to encourage endogenous health care using a 12-month randomized controlled trial to demonstrate whether knee osteoarthritis (KOA)-at-risk individuals and KOA-diagnosed patients can improve their knee pain, physical function, and other relevant outcomes by using the technology to support knee/KOA self-management.
Thoracic hyperkyphosis, an exaggerated curvature between the first thoracic vertebra body (T1) and the 12th thoracic vertebra body (T12), has a high prevalence among older adults. The cross-sectional study conducted by the Principal Investigator found 72% of older adults in the Chinese community have thoracic hyperkyphosis. Thoracic kyphosis has been found having negative effects on self-image, physical function, respiratory function, pain, balance, and gait performance. Treatment options of thoracic hyperkyphosis included surgery, peptides injection, menopausal hormone therapy, bracing, traditional Chinese medicine therapies, and exercise. The previous studies reported that different types of exercise such as strength training, pilates, yoga, and corrective exercise were effective in reducing the thoracic hyperkyphosis. However, the previous studies either excluded older adults who have exercise habits or lack of information about participants' daily activity levels. Besides, all the group spine exercise interventions in previous studies were delivered by professional trainers or physical therapists in the form of face-to-face exercise classes. The current RCT will be conducted to provide kyphosis-specific exercise in the form of short video and face to face exercise classes as the intervention to Chinese older adults with thoracic hyperkyphosis. The RCT can test the effects of such kyphosis-specific exercise intervention on the angle of kyphosis, physical performance, pain, and self-image among Chinese older adults with thoracic hyperkyphosis. The investigator hypotheses that older adults receive kyphosis-specific exercise intervention (video and exercise class) have reduced the angle of kyphosis. And older adults receive kyphosis-specific exercise intervention (video and exercise class) have decreased pain, better self-image, and improved overall physical performance.
Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of a novel elastic taping-augmented functional movement power training (KT-FMPT) program in improving leg muscular performance, body balance, motor proficiency and functional independence in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Methodology: In this clinical trial, twenty children with DCD (aged 6-12) will be randomly assigned to either a KT-FMPT group or a placebo control group. Children in the KT-FMPT and control groups will receive elastic taping-augmented FMPT and general jogging exercise with non-elastic taping, respectively, for 12 weeks (2 hours/week). Major outcome measures: body balance and leg muscle activity will be measured via muscle sensors along with a force platform. Secondary outcome measures: leg muscle strength, motor proficiency and functional independence will be assessed by a digital dynamometer, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 and Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory, respectively (before- and after-intervention measurements). Significance: The KT-FMPT group is predicted to display much better muscular and motor performances than the control group. This novel training program can be readily adopted in clinical, school, or home settings to improve functional independence in children with DCD, an outcome with positive socioeconomic implications. Moreover, study findings will inspire future research work in children with other childhood-onset disabilities.
Sedentary lifestyle in Asian children together with aversive parenting style may compromise their physical and psychological health. The aim of the proposed stratified, randomized controlled study are to explore the beneficial effects of Japanese martial art (karate) and Chinese martial art (Ving Tsun kung fu) training on improving the psychophysical health in this population. Over fifty-two Asian children (age = 6-12 years) will be recruited from schools in Hong Kong and then randomly assigned to either a karate group or a Ving Tsun group. Children in both groups will receive the respective physical and spiritual martial art training for 3 months (3 times/week, one hour each). Outcomes will be evaluated at baseline and after the intervention by a blinded assessor. Primary outcomes include muscle power of the arms and legs as measured by a medicine ball throw test and a standing long jump test, respectively. Secondary outcomes include flexibility as quantified by a sit-and-reach test, aggression as measured by the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire, and attention as measured by the Child Behavioral Checklist-Youth Self-Report. Both karate and Ving Tsun kung fu training programs are predicted to improve physical health of Asian children. It is expected that these training programs can be incorporated into the physical education classes or extracurricular activities in schools or in the community to improve project sustainability.
Patients in Wong Siu Ching Clinic and Tai Po Clinic who are found to have ear wax after physical examination will have ear syringing done, without pre-ear oil application. On the other hand, patients in Fanling Family Medicine Centre with ear wax will be given ear oil one week before performing ear syringing. We will compare the respective success rates of ear syringing from these 2 groups, the mean numbers of syringing attempts , as well as any complications such as ear canal abrasion, ear drum perforation, any pain or vertigo reported by patients. For those cases who fail ear syringing , olive oil will be prescribe and arrange 1 week follow up for ear syringing .
Atrial fibrillation is a clinically significant cardiac arrhythmia that increases the risk of stroke by 3 to 4 times. Oral anticoagulation has been shown to mitigate stroke risk by two-thirds among patients with AF and is widely recommended in optimizing AF management.Direct oral anticoagulants have also been demonstrated to be superior to warfarin with respect to the risk of fatal bleeding and stroke prevention. However, the previous study finding highlighted a great gap between current guidelines and the clinical management of AF .Nonetheless, the decision for anticoagulant use is not straightforward.It is worth to investigate the updated prevalence of anticoagulant use, the reasons for not receiving anticoagulant, and the factors independently associated with anticoagulant refusal in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.
Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) patients are at high risk of development of reduced bone mineral density due to impairment of functional status due to the disease and a relatively high dose of glucocorticoid use for the treatment. Reduced bone mineral density is prevalent in local IIMs patients. Denosumab and zoledronic acid are established treatments for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. However, the role of these treatments in reduced bone mineral density including osteoporosis and osteopenia related to IIMs are lacking. There is also no evidence on comparing the efficacy of the two agents. Therefore, the investigators conducted this prospective randomized controlled study to compare the efficacies of denosumab and zoledronic acid in treating reduced bone mineral density in IIMs patients. The hypothesis in this study is that treatment by denosumab or zoledronic acid would improve bone mineral density in IIMs patients with reduced bone mineral density.
With aging of population, osteoarthritis of knees and hips become major orthopaedic problems in Hong Kong. Osteoarthritis of knees and hips are associated with significant pain problem and functional disability. Total joints replacement is the ultimate surgical procedures to deal with such problems. However total joints replacement is associated with significant tissue damage and post-operative pain problems, which would affect post-operative recovery and rehabilitation. The primary aims of total knee replacement are improvement in functional activities and reduce pain due to degenerated knee joints. However, there are around 20-30% of patients would develop significant pain problem despite uncomplicated total knee replacement. It accounts for major post-operative problems and burdens. Procedure specific analgesic method with multi-model analgesia technique is well-known to be useful in post-operative pain management, which reduces the post-operative pain score. However, despite using of multi-modal analgesic technique, pain after total joint replacement is still the most unsolved issue. It prolongs the recovery period and increases post-operative analgesic consumptions. Multimodal analgesia, including periarticular local infiltration of analgesia (LIA), regional nerve block, opioid and non-opioid have been shown to be effective in managing postoperative pain. Periarticular LIA has been shown to be an effective way of pain management. Regional nerve block using femoral nerve block or adductor canal block (ACB) is also a well-established anlagesic technique after total knee replacement. Comparing with femoral nerve block, it involves more sensory blockade so has the advantage of quadriceps sparing, less affecting the post-operative mobilization. From most recent systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials, it becomes clear that periarticular LIA has better pain control with less opioid consumption than ACB alone. However, duration of a single-dose LIA may not be long enough after total knee replacement. Recent meta-analysis has shown that combined ACB with LIA could significantly reduce pain scores and morphine consumption compared LIA alone after TKA. Standard bupivacaine, levobupivocaine, ropivocaine were used in ACB in these studies. They are local anaesthetic with half-life ranging from 3-6 hours. With the availability of liposomal bupivacaine (LB), ACB using LB may further prolong the analgesic effect of ACB as the therapeutic levels of bupivacaine, which are below the toxic range and sustained for 72 hours after injection. Therefore, the issue is whether ACB using LB has even longer analgesic effect than plain bupivacaine or ropivacaine. There was only one study directly compared ACB using LB and 0.1% ropivociane infusion. It was shown that LB had significant impact in pain control in the first 36 hours. However, this was a retrospective study and there was difference in delivery of local anaesthetics (single shot injection for liposomal bupivacaine but continuous infusion for ropivacaine). The primary aim of this study is to investigate whether ACB using liposomal bupivacaine has even longer analgesic effect than standard bupivacaine (SB) and its cost effectiveness. Secondary aims are to evaluate the pharmacokinetic data of standard bupivacaine and liposomal bupivacaine in adductor canal block and pharmacokinetic data of ropivocaine level in LIA.
Prospective clinical study on the performance of an Influenza A+B rapid test kit. The main goal is to establish the sensitivity and specificity (i.e. how accurate the test is) when compared to a gold standard. Option of participating in this clinical study will be presented to patients displaying influenza-like illness. Informed consent will be collected from patients or patient's next of kin/guardian before samples (nasopharyngeal swab) are taken from the patient. Nasopharyngeal swabs are tested using both the investigational test kit and a predicate fluorescence immunoassay test kit. All samples will be tested using a molecular-based PCR test kit as a confirmatory test. The results will be analysed statistically and the performance of the Influenza A+B test kit can be evaluated.
Objectives: To compare the effectiveness of RAS-MPT, RAS alone, MPT alone, and usual care (as a control) for improving the overall gait performance of and reducing falls in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and to explore the relationship between gait performance and falls in this population. Design: A randomized controlled trial. Sample: 76 children with DCD. Interventions: RAS-MPT, RAS alone, MPT alone, or usual care (12 weeks). Major outcomes: Outcomes will be evaluated at baseline, post-intervention, and a 6-month follow-up. Comprehensive gait analysis will produce spatiotemporal gait parameters (e.g., velocity and stride length), kinematic gait parameters (e.g., knee joint motions), and leg muscle EMG outcomes; an isokinetic test will quantify leg muscle strength and force production time; and fall histories will be obtained via interviews. Anticipated results and significance: The RAS-MPT group is predicted to display the best gait performance, which is associated with reduced fall incidents. This novel training regime can be readily adopted in school, clinical, or home settings to improve locomotor ability in children with DCD, an outcome with positive socioeconomic implications.