Clinical trials

This longitudinal, observational study aims to assess whether the characteristics of a novel blood peripheral biomarker can serve as indicators for depression and schizophrenia in patients at the Royal Columbian Hospital Psychiatric Clinics. The study will evaluate whether changes in these biomarker characteristics can help distinguish between depressed patients who do or do not respond to treatment and between individuals experiencing a single psychotic episode and those at risk of progressing to schizophrenia. To achieve this, blood samples and standardized mental health assessments will be collected across three study visits from up to 500 participants, grouped into two study arms based on their diagnosis: Depression (DEP) or Psychosis/Schizophrenia (PSY).

The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate whether a structured educational video improves outcomes related to fear of birth and patient preparedness for pregnant adults who are planning to labour. The primary objective is to evaluate whether an educational video can reduce fear of childbirth more effectively than a pamphlet. Patients will complete a baseline questionnaire assessing their knowledge of labour pain relief options and their current fear of childbirth. The control group will be provided an electronic version of a pamphlet while the intervention group will watch an educational video outlining pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic options for labour pain relief. Immediately after the intervention, all participants will complete the same questionnaire to assess changes in fear and knowledge.

The goal of this pilot clinical trial is to test the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial that will examine the use of ropivacaine in the spinal anesthesia for patients undergoing elective 1- or 2-level lower spine surgery. This study aims to: * Determine the rates of eligibility, recruitment, consent, and attrition * Determine the acceptability among patients, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses of doing spine surgery under spinal anesthesia * Gather preliminary data on outcomes relevant to a future dose-finding study Participants will be randomized to one of three treatment groups: * General anesthesia with endotracheal tube * Spinal anesthesia with bupivacaine * Spinal anesthesia with ropivacaine