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.
An Emergency Department (ED) visit for an older adult is a high-risk medical intervention. Known adverse events (AE) include delirium, prolonged ED or hospital stay, hospitalization, recurrent ED visits and hospital death. These happen in a growing proportion in ED visitors over age 65 are over who are represented in ED visits. Tools predicting AEs in the ED are of paramount importance to help decision-making on patient triage and disposition. They can help identify areas of unmet needs for seniors in order to develop targeted actions. Multiple scoring systems including "Programme de recherche sur l'intégration des services de maintien de l'autonomie" (PRISMA-7), Identification of Seniors at Risk (ISAR), Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), Brief Geriatric Assessment (BGA) have extensively been studied in the ED and other settings for various outcomes. These tools rely on a simple scoring system that minimally trained staff can reliably and quickly administer. Doing otherwise is unlikely to be applicable to daily clinical practice. As prediction accuracy has not significantly improved in the past decade, perhaps new analysis strategies are necessary. The current hype surrounding deep learning comes from better and cheaper hardware and the availability of simple and open-source libraries supported by large companies and a broad community of users. Hence, implementing deep learning (DL) algorithms is now open to a wide range of settings, including medical care in a standard clinical practice. DL has been shown to be more accurate than the average board-certified specialist on very specific tasks. Prediction of various clinical outcomes has produced less dramatic results, perhaps as traditional (non-DL) models already outperformed clinicians for many disease states. Published DL approaches applied to outcome prediction in the ED have focused on acutely ill adults in general, specific conditions or administrative issues such as admitting department or ED overcrowding. None have targeted a specific age group like older ED visitors. An important caveat to many DL approaches is interpretation of results. To develop interventions based on targeted features associated with AEs in a given model, it has to be somewhat transparent. If multiple layers of NNs improve prediction compared to linear regression, they often provide no clinically relevant insight on how and which variables interact to yield that result.
This is a three-arm prospective double-blinded randomized comparative trial aimed at comparing results regarding knee pain improvement in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee awaiting total knee arthroplasty (TKA) by either a sham procedure, a geniculate artery embolization procedure or a geniculate nerve ablation procedure. Experienced interventional radiologists and anesthetists at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and study affiliated centers will carry out all interventions. 72 consecutive subjects meeting the eligibility criteria, considered for knee replacement in the future. Patients will be randomized to receive either the embolization procedure, the nerve ablation procedure or a sham procedure. Monitoring of pain will be recorded using visual analog scales, pain medication use, and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) and osteoarthritis knee and hip quality of life questionnaire (OAKHQOL) questionnaires over a period of 1 year post-treatment or up to the time of surgery. Pain and recovery post surgery will be monitored as well in patients who do get the Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) before the 1 year mark.
This study is an effectiveness trial investigating neurofeedback (NFB) in adults with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions - i) NFB, or ii) wait list. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, our study will, primarily, take place online (i.e., online assessment and treatment, with option of in-person fMRI, or functional magnetic resonance imaging, scans). NFB sessions will be conducted from home, with videoconferenced supervision by research staff. After study completion, individuals in the wait list condition will be offered the same NFB treatment.
The primary objectives of this pilot study protocol are to assess safety and feasibility of using the geko™ device in COVID-19. Regarding safety to patients, we will measure the rate of adverse events, primarily local site irritation or discomfort. Feasibility will be measured on the basis of recruitment; ability to enroll sufficient number of patients meeting criteria. Protocol adherence will be observed as the ability to deliver the study intervention to the patients randomized to the treatment arm within the prescribed timeline and ability to complete the course of treatment. Additionally, we plan to measure patient outcomes such as ICU admission and death. The findings of this study have the potential to decrease the complications seen in COVID-19 infections.
Background - Mental health and pain problems in early childhood are major risk factors for serious mental health problems into adulthood. These long-term effects point toward the essential need for prevention and early intervention to curbing the rising tide of global mental health disease. New approaches to child and adolescent mental health are urgently needed. This study focus on children with functional abdominal pain (FAP), which is defined as recurrent abdominal pain independent of bowel movements without an underlying medical cause. This population has a high co-occurrence of anxiety and somatic complaints. The effects of fiber on gastrointestinal pain have not yet been tested in this group. The investigators propose that supplementation with dietary fiber (psyllium) in children with FAP will promote SCFA production by the gut microbiota, reducing abdominal pain and subsequently anxiety and improving quality of life. Psyllium promotes SCFA production, is considered safe, and meta-analyses have identified it as the most potent fiber for reducing abdominal complaints in IBS patients, indicating strong potential for reducing abdominal pain in children with FAP. It is essential that potential mechanisms through which psyllium-induced SCFA production can reduce abdominal pain and anxiety symptoms and improve quality of life are explored. This study will explore 3 mechanisms: 1) activation of the vagus nerve, as SCFAs can induce vagal signalling, and evidence suggests that vagus nerve stimulation can reduce pain and anxiety symptoms; 2) reduction in HPA-axis responsiveness, since fiber has been shown to do so in adults, and both abdominal pain and anxiety disorders are associated with increased HPA-axis activity; and 3) structural and functional brain changes in the amygdala and hippocampus, as SCFA can influence neuronal activity of specific brain regions and probiotics-induced improvements in mental health have been related to these brain regions in adults with IBS. Research question & Objectives - The first objective is to provide a dietary fiber psyllium supplement to children (ages 8-16 years) who suffer from FAP. The aims are to: 1) determine whether psyllium reduces abdominal pain, 2) investigate whether this subsequently decreases anxiety and improves quality of life, and 3) assess associated gut-brain axis mediators, specifically the vagus nerve, HPA-axis, and brain networks. Methods - The investigators propose a 12-week placebo-controlled double-blind parallel-group intervention pilot study (n=20/group) where children suffering from FAP will receive a daily supplement of either psyllium or placebo (maltodextrin). For participants aged 8-11 and weighing > 24 kgs, the dosage is daily 3 grams for 2 weeks followed by daily 6 grams for 10 weeks. For children aged 12-16 and weighing > 40 kgs, the dosage is daily 5 grams for 2 weeks followed by daily 10 grams for 10 weeks. An initial lower dose was chosen to allow the gastrointestinal tract to acclimatize to the increase in dietary fiber. The dosages were chosen based on the fact that this age group typically consumes 10g less dietary fiber than recommended. All study measures are collected prior to, and after the intervention. The primary measure is abdominal pain frequency and intensity during 7 consecutive days. Secondary measures include parent and child reported anxiety and quality of life. Stool samples are used to determine gut microbiota and SCFAs. MRI will be used to assess the role of brain regions implicated in pain and anxiety. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia during seated rest will be used to assess basal vagal tone.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether Chinese Herb supplements lead to a measurable improvement in symptoms commonly experienced by patients with advanced stage lung cancer and an improvement in quality of life. In our previously conducted single-arm observational study we found significant improvement in physical well-being, tiredness and drowsiness with no evidence of increased toxicity even in those on cytotoxic chemotherapy. Based on the encouraging results of this study we plan to move to a placebo-controlled study using the same Chinese Herb formula.
Canada is entering the important yet dangerous phase of the COVID-19 pandemic: the reopening of industry. As such, there is an urgent need for a quick and accurate screening tool to help ensure people re-entering the workplace are COVID-19 negative. This proposal offers an innovative, simple-to-implement and quick screening tool for this purpose. This study hypothesize that breathing sounds of a COVID-19 positive person would have different characteristics even if the person is asymptomatic. This study aim the development of an integrated diagnostic pattern recognition tool in the form of a smartphone app, using audio and temperature as inputs to identify COVID-19 positive individuals. The proposed digital technology will screen individuals as healthy or possibly COVID-19 positive. The latter group will then be recommended for further testing. The goal of the proposed app is to provide much more accurate early screening (currently only temperature is taken), and to reduce the burden of COVID-19 tests. This digital technology will be used and tested in Manitoba initially and later nationally in Canada, with the potential of being publicly available in the future. To use the proposed screening tool, a smartphone is held within 1 cm of an individual's mouth and the individual instructed to take five deep breaths through the mouth. The individuals' breathing sounds will be recorded by the smartphone, while the participant's temperature will also be recorded by the heat camera. The app will first use its acoustic analysis to identify sounds as healthy or abnormal. If the outcome is abnormal, then a questionnaire will be provided, along with a further acoustic analysis to rule out other common comorbid conditions (e.g. chronic lung disease). Finally, based on the inputs, the diagnostic algorithm will decide if the individual should be referred for further testing or not. Since the proposed end product is a smartphone app, the two software partner companies will play a crucial role in the final integration and development.
Assessment of common carotid artery flow is more easily done and can be taught more broadly than transthoracic echocardiography, providing a greater number of clinicians a tool to assess volume responsiveness. These assessments are of great importance to patients with COVID-19, who often present with hypotension requiring fluids, which must be balanced against limiting fluid administration to minimize pulmonary edema.
Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is rare, devastating, and currently incurable genetic blistering disorders characterized by fragility of skin and mucosal membranes. Therapeutic options for EB are limited. Acute and chronic wounds cause pain, itching and infection, altering quality of life and impair wound healing. In absence of a cure, wound care is paramount to alleviate suffering. Anecdotal experience suggest that CBD application alleviates the pain and itching and improves wound healing by controlling the inflammatory process. We propose to undertake a phase II/III study exploring the safety, tolerability and efficacy of topical application of 3% Cannabidiol cream (CBD) on acute and chronic wounds affecting patients with EB. We are doing this trial to determine safety and tolerability of topical CBD cream in a cohort of RDEB patients with chronic wounds (phase II trial), and to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CBD cream in EB with acute and chronic wounds in promoting wound healing, decrease blister formation, pain, itching and improve overall quality of life (phase III trial)
Epidural anesthesia may represent a safe and effective pharmacological tool in the management of Ogilvie's Syndrome. This pilot study aims to demonstrate feasibility, safety, and efficacy of epidural anesthesia to set the stage for adequately powered future randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in order to assess the efficacy of epidural anesthetic as a pharmacological treatment strategy for Ogilvie's Syndrome. Ultimately, this research may prompt further investigation and establish standardized criteria for managing Ogilvie's Syndrome patients with epidural anesthesia.