There are about 3194 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Portugal. 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.
Background: Coarctation of the aorta (CoA) can be treated using surgery, balloon angioplasty or stent implantation. Although short-term results are excellent with all three treatment modalities, long term cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality remain high, likely due to persistently abnormal vascular function. The effects of treatment modality on long term vascular function remain uncharacterized. The goal of this study is to assess vascular function in this patient population for comparison among the treatment modalities. Methods: Vascular function in large and small arteries will be prospectively assessed fusing multiple non-invasive modalities, and the results will be compared among the three groups of CoA patients previously treated using surgery, balloon angioplasty or stent implantation after frequency matching for confounding variables. A comprehensive vascular function assessment protocol was created to be used in 7 centers. The primary outcome is arterial stiffness measured by arterial tonometry. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were carefully established after consideration of several potential confounders. Sample size was calculated for the primary outcome variable. Conclusions: Treatment modalities for CoA may have distinct impact on large and small arterial vascular function. The results of this study will help identify the treatment modality that is associated with the most optimal level of vascular function, which, in the long term may reduce CV risk.
The purpose of this study is to determine if an investigational drug can prevent Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia, reducing the burden of chronic lung disease in extremely premature infants, as compared to extremely premature infants receiving standard neonatal care alone.
To test the feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of a new automated pressure derived resting index (Pd/Pamin), using FFR as gold standard, in de novo coronary lesions in which invasive physiological evaluation is warranted.
The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and performance of the Trialign System for the treatment of symptomatic chronic functional tricuspid regurgitation (FTR) in patients with a minimum of moderate tricuspid regurgitation. The procedure will be performed with the PTVAS device using a non-surgical percutaneous approach to tricuspid valve repair in patients who have FTR with a minimum of moderate tricuspid regurgitation.
The main goal of the investigation is to identify the incidence of cognitive dysfunction and POD in patients older than 65 years of age undergoing neurosurgical elective surgery and determine if an association between cognitive dysfunction, basal NIRS and POD exists.
Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a major cause of death or long-term disability in infants born at term in the western world, affecting about 1-4 per 1.000 life births and consequently about 5-20.000 infants per year in Europe. Hypothermic treatment became the only established therapy to improve outcome after perinatal hypoxic-ischemic insults. Despite hypothermia and neonatal intensive care, 45-50% of affected children die or suffer from long-term neurodevelopmental impairment. Additional neuroprotective interventions, beside hypothermia, are warranted to further improve their outcome. Allopurinol is a xanthine oxidase inhibitor and reduces the production of oxygen radicals and brain damage in experimental, animal, and early human studies of ischemia and reperfusion. This project aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of allopurinol administered immediately after birth to near-term infants with HIE in addition to hypothermic treatment.
Adequate antifungal therapy is a critical determinant of survival in patients admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with suspected or proven fungal infections. Critical illness can alter the way human body handles antifungal agents, i.e. how the drugs are distributed in the body and removed from the body. Consequently, these changes can increase the risk of inappropriate antifungal exposure that may lead to adverse consequence on patients' outcome. Developing an evidence-based antifungal dosing guideline is of global significance and should be considered a priority to improving clinical outcomes for patients receiving antifungal agents The aim of the SAFE-ICU Study is to develop optimised antibiotic dosing guidelines for ICU patients with life-threatening infections that account for patient characteristics. This will be achieved through completion of the following aims: i) Describe detailed demographic, clinical and plasma antibiotic concentration-time data in a large ICU patient cohort; ii) Perform a robust statistical analysis of the data collected in Aim 1 to develop an enhanced preliminary prediction algorithm for antifungal dosing. This is a multi-national study and will enrol ICU patients who are prescribed an antifungal agent (fluconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, isavuconazole, caspofungin, anidulafungin, micafungin or amphotericin B). A minimum of 12 patients per drug will be enrolled across at least 15 countries and up to 80 ICUs. Eligible patients are those admitted to the ICU, who are prescribed an antifungal agent (fluconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, isavuconazole, caspofungin, anidulafungin, micafungin or amphotericin B). Blood samples will be taken to measure drug concentration. Sampling will occur on two occasions, first during study days 1-3 and then a second time between days 4-7, each over an 8-24 hour period. Blood samples will be taken from a vascular access device already inserted for ICU patient care. Abdominal samples from abdominal indwelling drains already inserted peri operatively will also be collected on these two occasions in the subgroup of patients with intra-abdominal infection. Data on infection, various blood tests and patient specific data will be collected using a structured case report form (CRF). Patients will also be followed up 30 days after enrolment into the study to evaluate 30-day mortality. Collected samples will be frozen and stored locally and then shipped in large batches for processing at Burns Trauma and Critical Care Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Australia. Data analysis for development of antifungal dosing algorithms will also be undertaken at The University of Queensland, Australia.
The objective is to compare the efficacy and safety of masitinib in combination with riluzole versus matched placebo in combination with riluzole for the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
This study is a randomized clinical trial conducted in a medical ward of an acute 580-bedded teaching hospital. One hundred fifty-eight older acute medical patients will be blindly randomly allocated to the control group or intervention group. The intervention will consist of a twice daily walking training, plus privileging trips to the toilet by walking and all daytime meals seated. Differences between groups will be measured at baseline (admission) and discharge. As primary outcomes, we defined the length of stay and the independence level. The independence level will be assessed at baseline (admission) and discharge by two distinct methods: through the Barthel Index and the Patient Classification Systems(PCS).
This study is a randomized controlled trial on the efficacy of inspiratory muscle training on swimming performance, airway dysfunction and perceived breathlessness in elite swimmers.