The MASTER Anaesthesia Trial (or Mulcentre Australian Study of Epidural Anaesthesia) is a large clinical experiment designed to determine whether using epidural techniques to control pain during and after surgery results in fewer complications after major surgery. The Trial involves a comparison of epidural methods, in which some of the anaesthetic and pain-killing drugs are injected into the space in the spinal column surrounding the sac that encloses the spinal cord, with conventional methods, ....The MASTER Anaesthesia Trial (or Mulcentre Australian Study of Epidural Anaesthesia) is a large clinical experiment designed to determine whether using epidural techniques to control pain during and after surgery results in fewer complications after major surgery. The Trial involves a comparison of epidural methods, in which some of the anaesthetic and pain-killing drugs are injected into the space in the spinal column surrounding the sac that encloses the spinal cord, with conventional methods, where the drugs are injected into a vein or muscle. Both approaches are well accepted in clinical practice, but it remains uncertain whether one is superior to the other. At present, nineteen hospitals in Australia, Hong Kong and Malaysia are contributing patients to the project, with others in New Zealand and Asia expected to join soon. If one method of anaesthesia and pain control is found to be significantly better than the other, in terms of avoiding complications, this would have obvious benefits to patients, but would also reduce lengths of stay in hospital and improve efficiency within the health system.Read moreRead less
Real-Time Molecular Typing Systems In Infection Control: Design And Effectiveness
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$82,554.00
Summary
MRSA is a major cause of hospital-acquired infection. Molecular typing identifies how a patient managed to contract MRSA in the hospital, and if the strain they have is particularly dangerous. This study will develop a rapid typing protocol then implement it routinely, to determine whether providing this information to infection control staff in a more timely fashion will lead to reduced MRSA infections in hospitals.
Hormonal Resuscitation And P38 MAP Kinase Inhibition To Enhance Quality Of Cadaveric Donor Organs For Transplantation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$469,500.00
Summary
The transplantation of organs such as the heart, lung, liver, kidney and pancreas from brain-dead donors is limited primarily by the shortage of donor organs. It is now recognised that as many as 25% (one in four) potentially usuable donor organs are lost after brain death due to the rapid deterioration that occurs in organs after brain death. There is evidence that this deterioration is due to loss of the normal hormones that are essential to the normal functioning of these organs. In this proj ....The transplantation of organs such as the heart, lung, liver, kidney and pancreas from brain-dead donors is limited primarily by the shortage of donor organs. It is now recognised that as many as 25% (one in four) potentially usuable donor organs are lost after brain death due to the rapid deterioration that occurs in organs after brain death. There is evidence that this deterioration is due to loss of the normal hormones that are essential to the normal functioning of these organs. In this project, we will use a pig model of brain death that we have extablished in our laboratory to examine the effects of hormone replacement on the function of organs that are used for transplantation. We will also test a novel drug aimed at protecting donor organs during the period between removal of the organ and transplantation. If successful, these treatments have the potential to markedly increase the numbers of organ transplants and to improve the outcomes for recipients of these transplants. In the Australian and New Zealand setting, a 25% increase in the number of donor organs would results in approximately 220 more people per year receiving these life-saving operations.Read moreRead less