All Clinical Trials in Canada

The mean of this study is to compare primary and secondary closure of tracheo-cutaneous fistulas and evaluate the differences in outcomes between both techniques. Read Less

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is prevalent worldwide and affects around 10% of people living in developed health economies. As the kidney loses its function in patients with CKD, the kidneys are unable to filter toxins out of the blood as efficiently as those of healthy individuals. Arguably, sodium (salt) is the most relevant toxin in CKD and can build up in the kidneys of patients with CKD. Salt build-up has also been found to occur in the heart muscle tissue and could drive the development of scarring of the heart muscle tissue which contributes to heart failure. Using sodium magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we would like to measure the levels of salt in the heart muscle tissue. We will examine whether the heart muscle tissue has high salt levels, and if so, whether this relates to any heart defects. A conventional proton MRI will be done to measure heart function. The MRI images of healthy volunteers, CKD patients, and those on hemodialysis will be analyzed for levels of salt and the findings will then be compared to the cardiac biomarkers (proteins or enzymes that are released into the blood when the heart is damaged or stressed) and fibrosis (scarring) measured from each patient's proton MRI images to establish a possible correlation. This research has the potential to precede additional studies that may investigate the effect of diuretics (a drug that increases the production of urine) on the heart muscle tissue of CKD patients. Using sodium magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), it is possible to measure the sodium content in the cardiac tissue of patients with kidney disease. In this research study, it will be investigated whether the elevated levels of sodium in patients with kidney disease is also present in their hearts, and if so, whether this relates to cardiac abnormalities. Cardiac sodium MRI images of healthy volunteers, hemodialysis patients, and CKD patients will be analyzed for sodium content. This sodium information will then be compared to the biomarkers of cardiac function and fibrosis measured from each patient's proton MRI images in order to establish a possible correlation. This research has the potential to precede additional studies that may investigate the effect of diuretics on the cardiac tissue of kidney disease patients. Read Less

This study is to evaluate the accuracy of a novel radiopharmaceutical tracer, para-chloro-2-\[18F\]fluoroethyl etomidate (CETO), used with positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT), as a way to subtype unilateral vs. bilateral forms of Primary Aldosteronism, compared to AVS as a reference gold standard. Read Less

Older adults, especially those in acute care require accessible non-pharmacological interventions, such as music to improve their mental health. Immersive 360 virtual reality (VR), is an innovative technology that has been found to be feasible, safe, and enjoyable by older adults. However, VR based music intervention to improve older adults' mental health has not been studied in acute in-patient settings. Read Less

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a persistent lung disease that makes it very difficult to breathe. The airways and the normally 'spongy' lungs themselves are affected. The main treatment is puffers, some which are long-acting (to control persistent symptoms) and some which are short-acting ('rescue' puffers when suddenly feeling short-of-breath). Beyond persisting breathlessness at rest, people with COPD can also experience dangerous "lung-attacks" which can require urgent care visits or even hospitalization for treatment. Amazingly, although COPD is the third leading cause of death worldwide, and COPD lung-attacks are a leading cause of hospitalization in Canada, investigators are still unsure which combination of puffers is most effective at treating lung-attacks. The main objective is to determine which puffer treatment combination (just short-acting, or both short-acting and long-acting) best opens up the lungs to airflow during COPD lung-attacks. A test called oscillometry, which requires only quiet breathing and is so safe that it is regularly used in children, toddlers and even infants, will be used to measure lung function changes. All eligible people with COPD receiving urgent lung-attack treatment who agree to participate will perform three rounds of oscillometry: before any puffers, after only short-acting puffers, and finally after long-acting puffers are also added on. Any potential evidence of side effects will be collected from the chart. Oscillometry tests will be compared to see which puffer strategy best improves flow in the airways. Part of the reason why this has not been well-studied so far is that the standard breathing test, spirometry, requires multiple rounds of forceful breathing which is very difficult, even distressing, for many people with COPD (at rest, let alone during a lung-attack). No studies have ever properly studied which puffer strategy is most effective for lung-attacks. The investigators have experience and expertise with oscillometry, the most appropriate test in this setting, to answer this pressing question. This research addresses an important treatment knowledge gap for this very common lung disease. These results could influence how patients with COPD around the world are treated during lung-attacks so that they can breathe better, sooner. Read Less

The hypothesis for this study is that a preparative regimen that maximizes host immunosuppression without myeloablation will be well tolerated and sufficient for engraftment of donor hematopoietic cells. It is also to determine major toxicities from these conditioning regimens, within the first 100 days after transplantation. Read Less

Lower Limb Amputations (LLAs) are a substantial burden on the Canadian health services with nearly 50,000 cases reported between 2006 and 2011. To address the challenging nature of a LLA (e.g., decreased mobility, pain, depression), patients need to go through extensive rehabilitation programs. Effective self-management programs can help those with LLA to monitor their own condition and improve their quality of life. However, a lack of self-management programs, a limited healthcare budget, and a decrease in quality of services (e.g. shorter lengths of stay for inpatients and rapid movement to outpatient services) pose further challenges for patients with LLA. Self-management programs can be provided to clients through online mobile technologies (e.g., tablet) and offer accessible, low-cost, and potentially augmentative rehabilitation after discharge, in both urban and rural areas. To address these needs, an online educational and training platform for individuals with LLA called, Self-Management for Amputee Rehabilitation using Technology (SMART) was designed and developed. SMART focuses on LLA education, prosthetic limb management, and weekly support of peers. It is monitored by a trainer through a website. SMART will be evaluated in men and women with LLA aged 50 years and over, admitted to prosthetic rehabilitation throughout BC and ON. SMART has the potential to influence a client's post-LLA needs with direct (e.g., individual's health) and indirect (e.g., healthcare utilization) benefits. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the effect of SMART in community dwelling older adults with unilateral, above or below, knee amputation. Read Less

The use of titanium dental implants has become a common modern treatment to restore teeth. Although the success rate of dental implants is high, inflammation around the dental implant still occurs. The current study will investigate if the inflammation around the implant is due to bacterial infection, hypersensitivity or both. Read Less

This is a study to look at whether the presence of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) in the blood can help to predict whether giving adjuvant treatment after surgery can decrease the chance of the cancer coming back in people with lung cancer. Read Less

The SUPER trial is a prospective Phase II trial. It is designed for patients with stage 2 or 3 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) prior to surgery. Patients who are enrolled in this trial will receive combination of Non-ablative oligofractionated radiation (NORT) and two cycles of Durvalumab, an immunotherapy drug before their surgery. Read Less

Mechanical ventilation is frequently used in the operating room and the intensive care settings. Although essential in many cases, mechanical ventilation can be responsible for ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). The relationship between mechanical ventilation and VILI has been clearly demonstrated in animals and is highly suspected in humans. The putative mechanism responsible for VILI is excessive pulmonary strain or overdistension. Frequently observed in mechanically ventilated patients, the presence of a severe pre-existing pulmonary disease can increase the risk of overdistension. The development of a tool allowing early detection of pulmonary overdistension would represent a great asset in the prevention of VILI by allowing safer adjustments of mechanical ventilation parameters. Ultrasonographic imaging is a non-radiant, non-invasive technique already available in the intensive care setting. Already used for cardiac strain measurements, ultrasonography is a promising avenue to assess pulmonary strain.This study will aim to establish normal pleural strain values using ultrasonography in healthy volunteers. Purpose: The primary objective is to calculate 95% confidence intervals in pleural strain for a set of 8 inspired volumes at 15 predetermined lung areas in healthy volunteers. The secondary objectives of the study are: * to modelize the relation between pleural strain and inspired volume * to modelize the relation between pleural strain and global pulmonary volumetric strain * to modelize the relation between pleural strain and maximal echo intensity change * to compare the regional distribution pattern of pleural strain in healthy volunteers in dependent versus non-dependent areas. Hypothesis: Elastography using the Lagrangian speckle model estimator based on optical flow allows the determination of normal mean values and 95% confidence intervals of pleural strain (average Von Mises coefficient) in 15 predetermined lung areas for a set of 8 inspired volumes in healthy volunteers. Read Less

The objective of this study is to investigate the dose-response effect of allulose on diet-induced thermogenesis, substrate oxidation, glycemic response, and subjective appetite in healthy normal weight adults. Read Less