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.
Purpose: To evaluate the clinical outcome of patients with refractory Neurotrophic Keratopathy (NK) in stages 2 and 3 treated with topical insulin. Methods: A retrospective, observational analysis of eyes with NK in stages 2 and 3 refractory to standard medical and/or surgical treatment which were treated with topical insulin. Topical insulin (1 unit per mL) was applied 4 times a day; treatment was continued until persistent epithelial defect (PED) or ulcer resolved and then tapered accordingly. The primary outcome of the study was the complete resolution of the PED or ulcer. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), days until complete resolution as well as anterior segment photographs were obtained.
Diabetes mellitus currently affects 463 million people worldwide. One of the most serious complications of diabetes is the diabetic foot. Adequate foot care behaviours reduce the risk of ulcers, infections, and amputations, and improve the quality of life, in these patients. This Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial aims to analyse the impact of different educational strategies - an instructive video (Video Watching Group - Experimental Group 1) compared with a leaflet on foot care with real-time guided reading (Real-Time Leaflet Reading Group - Experimental Group 2) and with standard teaching on diabetic foot care (Standard Care - Control Group) - on adherence and knowledge regarding diabetic foot care, as well as on patient's perception of their foot health. Participants will be assessed at the first consultation of the diabetic foot (T0), about two weeks after the first assessment (T1), and three months after the T0 in a follow-up assessment (T2), with T1 and T2 being performed through telephone calls, after obtaining the patients' consent. The results of the present study will inform educational interventions regarding foot care adherence in patients with diabetic foot, in order to decrease the likelihood of developing diabetic foot ulcers and, consequently, to reduce amputation rates and the several associated costs, contributing to improving patients' quality of life.
There are several studies that have considered Botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) injections are effective in treating symptoms for Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) disorders. BoNT-A injections improve the hyper-tonicity of mandibular muscles and its consequent joint load reduction. Also injections of BoNT-A, for patients with articular disc displacement, resulted in pain relief and return of the normal movements of the mandible. The main goal of this study is to test the beneficial impact of BoNT-A injections in the masticatory muscles of patients submitted to TMJ surgical arthroscopy.
This is a worldwide, multicenter, non-interventional, retrospective study of patient medical records from metastatic breast cancer (mBC) patients previously identified as human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (HER2-neg), regardless of hormone status.
Given that healthy food-related habits are protective of both malnutrition and multiple noncommunicable diseases (including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer), and acknowledging that poor diets constitute a greater risk to mortality, it is essential to improve individuals' food-related knowledge, skills, and behaviours. Furthermore, the current public health context caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the need for an adequate diet as a protective factor for one's global health. In the ambit of the FOODLIT-PRO: Food Literacy Project (ref. SFRH/BD/128528/2017), a digital intervention to promote food literacy - that is, food-related knowledge, competencies, and behaviours - encompassing behavioural change strategies and psychological determinants (such as intention, planning, and self-efficacy) was developed. With the online deliver of personalised evidence-based materials concerning food literacy, adult participants receive weekly challenges that promote their food-related knowledge (e.g., recognising food's origin and seasonality), competencies (e.g., as cooking and planning skills), and behaviours (e.g., tracking food intake, interpret nutritional labels). Matched with tailored behavioural change strategies (experimental group), both food literacy content and psychological aspects that relate to health behaviour are assessed weekly in order to evaluate the intervention's efficacy. Follow-ups at 3-, 6- and 9-months post intervention will be assessed.
According to the official guidelines, a range of settings for cardiorespiratory rehabilitation, including the community- and home-based models, are considered to answer to the inadequate number of rehabilitation services, especially at hospitals, and, also, to respond to the patients' needs. For these settings outside the hospitals, new strategies for the assessment of exercise capacity and exercise training are essential. The modality of stepping can be a promising tool because it is inexpensive, portable, and reflects one of the main activities of daily living (stair climbing). The development of a new field test implies the establishment of normative values and reference equations generated from data of populations without disabilities to aim to characterize a defined population at a specific period of time, and evaluate and compare an individual's performance within a population.
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a serious mental disorder characterized by episodes of mania/hypomania and/or depression. Compared to the general population, these individuals present functional impairment, and life interference subclinical symptoms even between mood episodes, and higher mood instability and suicide rates with a lower quality of life. Given the chronic and phasic course of this disorder, patients are great consumers of health services and in Portugal there is no specialised psychotherapeutic approach to Bipolar Disorder, having pharmacological treatment alone as the main therapeutic response, and a considerable number of patients are not fully stabilized with drug treatments, experiencing residual symptoms. Although studies suggest that certain psychological therapies can be helpful for people experiencing full mood disorder episodes, or to reduce risk of future episodes, there are no gold standard and evidence-based psychological therapies for BD, and recent systematic reviews on psychosocial interventions for BD identify Dialectical-Behavior Therapy (DBT) as promising. Our research is sustained in a recovery based perspective, which means we intend to develop a sense of hope, understanding, empowerment and work towards a meaningful and satisfying life, focusing on less clinical outcomes. Recovery is a concept that looks beyond the traditional clinical definitions which focus on reduced symptomatology, hospitalisation and medication compliance, and focuses on having a better sense of living even though you might have some clinical symptomatology. DBT was developed as an approach for highly emotionally and behaviourally dysregulated people, and it has been referred as promising in BD patients. DBT aims to give individuals who experience quick and intense shifts in mood, skills to manage and regulate their emotions. People with Bipolar Disorder can benefit from skills to regulate their emotions and interpersonal efficacy, which is frequently affected by mood changes, and therefore have a life worth living, feeling skillful and empowered to deal with challenges. Our study aimed to develop a 12 session DBT-skills group adapting the sessions and skills to be used with this client group (Bi-REAL - Respond Effectively and Live mindfully). This study aims to test acceptability, feasibility and efficacy of this 12 session DBT skills pilot randomized group intervention for patients with Bipolar Disorders.
Acute pancreatitis is an acute inflammatory pathology of the pancreas with activation of both innate and adaptive immune system, including T and B lymphocytes and release of inflammatory cytokines. We aim to characterize the circulating profile of T and B cells, its regulatory populations and B cell maturation, as well as inflammatory cytokines, in a prospective way of 50 patients with acute pancreatitis admitted to Hospital da Luz Lisboa. Blood samples will be collected at hospital admission, 48h, one month and 6 months after hospitalization of patients, relating these values to the severity of acute pancreatitis. Patients with acute pancreatitis in the previous 6 months, diabetes mellitus, pregnant women, uncontrolled comorbidity and terminal neoplasms will be excluded. A control group of 30 ambulatory individuals observed at the Hospital da Luz Lisboa will be recruited. Laboratory evaluation will be performed at the Immunology Laboratory of NOVA Medical School.
This is a single-center, observational retrospective study. This study aims to identify predictive factors of complications for patients submitted to cranioplasty after decompressive craniectomy for all types of etiologies. All patients submitted to cranioplasty since 2008 will be analyzed.
The aim of this study is to test the effect of cognitive stimulation (CS), applied individually and at home, on the overall cognitive functioning, emotional state, functionality, and quality of life (QoL) in adults with psychotic disorders. To this end, a randomised controlled clinical trial will be conducted in which selected participants will be randomly assigned to an individual intervention group using CS or a control group. The CS program is adapted from other existing protocol, composed of 32 sessions. Each session will last 45 minutes and will be held twice weekly. There will be four evaluation points (baseline, intra-evaluation - after 8 weeks of intervention, post-evaluation - after 16 weeks of intervention, follow-up - after 8 weeks of the end of intervention).