Clinical trials

Collection of serum from women not living with HIV, who received the GBS6 vaccine in the "a placebo-controlled clinical trial investigating the safety and immunogenicity of GBS6 in pregnant women with and without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and their infants" (GBS6) Clinical Trial in Kampala, Uganda, for the Development of Group B Streptococcus quality assurance panel for the GASTON multiplex anti-CPS IgG immunoassay

QUESTION. Does duroplasty improve outcome after spinal cord injury? WHAT DO WE STUDY? We will investigate whether performing a surgical procedure called duroplasty improves outcomes after spinal cord injury. WHY SPINAL CORD INJURY? Spinal cord injury is a devastating condition that causes permanent disability such as paralysis, numbness and loss of bladder and bowel control. Currently, there are no treatments shown to improve outcome after spinal cord injury. WHAT IS DUROPLASTY? Duroplasty is an operation that involves opening the tough membrane around the cord, called the dura, and stitching a patch of artificial dura to expand the space around the swollen cord. WHY IS DUROPLASTY BEING STUDIED? Based on our preliminary evidence, we think that the dura causes cord pressure after injury. We have shown in a small study of patients that performing this operation safely and effectively reduces pressure on the injured cord. WHO IS ELIGIBLE? Adult patients with severe spinal cord injuries in the neck who will have surgery within 72 hours. WHAT TREATMENT? Those who agree to take part will be allocated by chance (like tossing a coin) to standard treatment or standard treatment plus duroplasty. Some patients will also be asked to take part in a smaller study that involves placing probes at the injury site. WHERE? We will recruit patients from U.K. Major Trauma Centres. Most assessments will be done in U.K. Spinal Injury Centres. Later on, we may recruit from overseas. HOW LONG? We aim to recruit 222 - 260 patients over 4 years. Patients will be followed up for a year. WHAT DO WE ASSESS? Patients will be assessed (using questionnaires and by examination) how well they can use their hands, walk, control their bladder and bowel and their quality of life. Some of these assessments will be repeated at 3, 6 and 12 months after surgery. WHAT IS THE OPTIONAL MECHANISTIC STUDY? DISCUS includes an optional study for at least 50 patients who will take part in the randomised controlled trial. The aim of the mechanistic study is to determine how duroplasty improves outcome, i.e. whether duroplasty reduces cord compression, improves blood flow to the injured cord perfusion, improves cord metabolism and reduces cord inflammation. WHAT IS THE OPTIONAL INFORMATION STUDY? For the first two years, a study called QuinteT Recruitment Intervention (QRI) is designed to optimise patient recruitment and informed consent in the trauma setting.

Syphilis is an infection which affects about 1 in 25 pregnant women in Uganda. If the infection is not diagnosed and treated this can be a risk to the mother and unborn baby's health. This study aims to see whether a new test for syphilis infection in mothers and babies which can give a result in 10 minutes is as good as the standard tests that are done in the laboratory and take hours or days to provide results.

The demographics of the global population is changing with increasing numbers of elderly and co-morbid patients. As a result, more elderly patients will be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), which will bring several ethical challenges. It is for this reason the investigators have chosen to focus on this historically neglected and important patient population. Little is known about how family meetings are implemented in ICUs in Europe and other parts of the world. However, these meetings contribute to building trust between the family and the ICU team. They are a crucial component for planning and conducting a time limited trials as they provide the opportunity for shared-decision making with the ICU team and with other stakeholders. The investigators plan to determine the current practice of communication between ICU staff and patients and their relatives. The investigators expect to find a substantial variation in approaches to family meetings. This information may then help design and further investigate targeted interventions enabling shared decision-making focused on family and patient values. The investigators research aim is to to investigate whether Family meetings are used in ICUs across Europe and other regions and, if so, how they are conducted and the influence on patient-centred outcome measures.

This is an observational, prospective/retrospective multicentre, cohort study of children diagnosed with cCMV. This study will contribute to a wider study also recruiting participants in Europe and other countries worldwide. No investigations or treatment will be carried out that are not part of routine clinical practice. Infants with cCMV are routinely followed up from an infectious diseases, audiology, ophthalmology and neurodevelopmental perspective until approximately 6 years of age, or longer if there are ongoing issues. Some children will be retrospectively diagnosed with cCMV in later childhood. Recruitment can be from any centre that manages these patients and has agreed to participate in the study.

NeonIN is a is a neonatal infection surveillance database which will facilitate active surveillance for bacterial infections through a network of neonatal units, using standardised definitions, proformas and microbiological techniques. The centralised and secure web-based database will allow real-time entry of data and rapid and timely analysis of results.