Clinical trials

Dyspnea in patients with incurable illness is a difficult symptom. Therefore, there is a need to identify new effective treatment modalities. Previous studies suggest that high-flow nasal therapy delivered via a nasal cannula (HFNT = High-Flow Nasal Therapy) may alleviate dyspnea, and similarly that directing airflow toward the face can provide relief. HFNT has been studied very little in hospice settings and on palliative care wards. The aim of this study is to determine whether HFNT is a feasible and effective treatment for relieving dyspnea in patients receiving palliative care. Patients will be recruited from the Hatanpää Palliative Care Ward and the Pirkanmaa Hospice, Tampere, Finland. The target is to recruit approximately 30-40 patients. The inclusion criteria are: age ≥18 years, ability to understand the study and provide informed consent to participate, a palliative treatment approach, and significant dyspnea. Each patient receives HFNT and fan therapy in which airflow will be directed toward the patient's face. Both treatments will last 30 minutes. Patient symptoms will be asked after the treatments. In addition, patients will be asked to rate the overall benefit they experienced from the intervention and any side effects. The primary endpoint is the relief of dyspnea with HFNT compared with fan therapy. The study will be conducted in accordance with laws, regulations, and guidelines governing medical research, as well as good scientific practice and research ethics. The study does not involve significant risks or measurements or sampling procedures that would cause additional discomfort. All other care for the patient will be provided according to the standard practices of the treating unit, and participation in the study will not limit any necessary treatments. Identifiable information will not be disclosed for use outside the research group. Results will be reported in a manner that does not allow patients to be identified. The Ethics Committee of the Wellbeing Services County of Pirkanmaa has approved the study. If successful, the study will significantly improve the care of the patients in palliative care.

The aim of this study is to expand access to Bergen Four-Day Treatment (B4DT) in Finland and to integrate it into psychiatric care pathways at Tampere University Hospital (TAYS). A Bergen team has been established within TAYS Psychiatry and has been trained in collaboration with the B4DT team from HUS and the Norwegian developers. The objective of this study is to enhance understanding of the model's adaptability to the Finnish healthcare system, evaluate healthcare professionals' attitudes toward the intervention, and assess treatment outcomes. The aim is to recruit approximately 35 patients for the study. Patients will be recruited from a minimum of three groups (15 patients) and up to a maximum of six groups (35 patients). The criteria for admission to B4DT and for participation in the study are identical. The treatment and the study may include patients receiving specialized psychiatric care at Tampere University Hospital who have been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder and who experience significant impairment due to their symptoms. In addition, personnel from TAYS Psychiatry who recommend and refer patients for B4DT will be recruited for the study. The estimated number of participating staff members is approximately 30.

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn how oral vancomycin therapy may contribute in treating paediatric inflammatory bowel disease, particularly atypical ulcerative colitis and PSC-associated colitis. It will also give more information on how this treatment affects gut microbiota and metabolism. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does oral vancomycin improve disease activity and lead to remission (based on symptoms, biomarkers, and endoscopy findings)? 2. How does oral vancomycin change gut metabolism? 3. Does different types of colitis respond differently to oral vancomycin? Researchers will compare children receiving oral vancomycin plus standard therapy to those receiving standard therapy alone. The gut metabolisim before and after oral vancmycin will also be compared, as well as to healthy controls and children with typical ulcerative colitis. Participants will: 1. Take oral vancomycin (if assigned) together with conventional treatment for at least 3 months and up to 12 months depending on response 2. Visit the clinic approximately every 3 months for checkups, tests, and monitoring 3. Provide blood, stool, and saliva samples to study disease activity and microbiota activity 4. Undergo clinical assessments such as symptom scoring, imaging, and possibly endoscopy 5. Complete questionnaires about quality of life 6. Be monitored for side effects and treatment response throughout the study period

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the Manchester procedure and vaginal hysterectomy in treating patients with symptomatic uterine prolapse. The main question it aims to answer is: • What is the difference in the success rates at the the two year follow-up Participants will: * be randomized in either the Manchester procedure or vaginal hysterectomy group and operated as such * visit the clinic at 2 and 5 years after the operation * fill in questionnaires at 1, 2, 5 and 10 years after the operation

Prolonged cough lasting more than four weeks is common in children, but the best treatment is often unclear when no underlying disease can be found. This study aims to find out whether commonly used treatments help children with prolonged cough more effectively than placebo. Children who take part will first undergo standard medical examinations, including lung function tests and a chest X-ray, to look for the cause of the cough. If no specific cause is found, the child may enter the study. Children with a dry cough will be randomly assigned to receive either an inhaled corticosteroid (fluticasone) or a placebo inhaler for two months. Children with a wet or productive cough will be randomly assigned to receive either an oral antibiotic (amoxicillin-clavulanic acid) or a placebo medicine for 14 days. Neither the families nor the researchers will know which treatment the child receives during the study. The main goal is to determine whether these treatments significantly reduce or stop the cough compared with placebo. The results will help improve treatment recommendations for children with prolonged cough and avoid unnecessary medication use. Participation is voluntary, and parents provide written informed consent for their child.

Continuous intravenous antibiotic infusion using elastomeric pumps is well established in adult care and has been shown to be effective, safe, and cost-efficient, particularly for beta-lactams and vancomycin. In pediatric outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (p-OPAT), home intravenous treatment is feasible and safe, improves quality of life, and reduces hospital stays and healthcare-associated infections. Elastomeric pumps offer practical advantages, including portability, ease of use, fixed infusion rates, and reduced drug handling, although they are limited by fixed flow rates and drug stability. This prospective study at Tampere University Hospital (Tays) will evaluate the safety and cost-effectiveness of 24-hour continuous antibiotic infusions in children between January 2026 and January 2029. Eligible pediatric patients requiring intravenous antimicrobial treatment and suitable for home care will be included. Indications include serious bacterial infections such as bacteremia, osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, neutropenic fever, cystic fibrosis-related infections, and foreign body infections. The study antibiotics are benzylpenicillin, cloxacillin, piperacillin/tazobactam, and vancomycin, administered via CE-approved infusion devices for home use. Children will receive continuous infusion either initially in hospital or directly from the emergency department if appropriate, with treatment duration and dosing comparable to standard intermittent regimens. Outcomes include safety, feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and patient-reported quality of life measured using PedsQL™. The study aims to determine whether continuous infusion can optimize pediatric antimicrobial care and healthcare resource utilization. Results will be published in peer-reviewed international journals.

This prospective cohort study aims to establish reliable histological reference values for normal small-bowel mucosa, improve histological diagnostic quality in celiac disease, and develop an advanced molecular profile for disease diagnosis and treatment response evaluation. The study will collect duodenal biopsies from three groups: healthy controls undergoing clinically indicated gastroscopy, patients referred for primary celiac disease diagnostics, and patients with small-bowel mucosal injury unresponsive to a gluten-free diet. Patients will undergo routine clinical assessment via standard pathology review of diagnostic biopsies. Biopsies will be analyzed using digital morphometry, AI-based image analysis, RNA sequencing (transcriptomics), and intestinal organoid cultures.

* Health effects of mindfulness based stress reduction course versus usual care in treatment of back pain: a randomized clinical trial * Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) course intervention for half of the research patients * MBSR course lasts for 8 weeks. * follow-up time 2 years. * research data is collected by Recdap * Working-age (18-64 years) patients with back pain in thoracal or lumbar area (NRS at least 4) with or without radiculation over 12 weeks will be recruited. * The primary outcome measure is Numeric pain rating scale (NRS, 0-10).

A multi-center randomized controlled clinical trial which determines the efficacy of proximal median nerve release in patients with persistent proximal median nerve compression. The primary outcome is patient reported improvement of symptoms on a 7-point Likert scale at 6 months after the randomization to treatment group.

Inguinal hernia repair is a common surgical procedure, often performed as day-case surgery. Despite standardized surgical techniques, postoperative pain may delay recovery and occasionally lead to unplanned hospital admission. The PRO-RSTAP study is a prospective, randomized, double-blind clinical trial evaluating whether ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block, rectus sheath (RS) block, or their combination improves postoperative recovery after open inguinal hernia surgery. Adult patients undergoing unilateral open inguinal hernia repair are randomized into four groups receiving either combined TAP and RS blocks, TAP block only, RS block only, or placebo blocks , in addition to standard perioperative care. The primary outcome is total perioperative opioid consumption measured as intravenous morphine equivalents. Secondary outcomes include postoperative pain scores, need for rescue analgesia, postoperative nausea and vomiting, time to discharge, unplanned hospital admission, and chronic postoperative pain during long-term follow-up. The aim of this study is to determine the individual and combined effects of TAP and RS blocks on postoperative analgesia and recovery in patients undergoing open inguinal hernia repair.

The primary aim of this project is to investigate how active screening and the timing of diagnosis affect the long-term health outcomes of patients with celiac disease. Additionally, the study seeks to clarify the natural course of so-called potential celiac disease. A key focus is also placed on assessing adherence to a gluten-free diet among screen-detected and, if initiated, potential celiac disease patients, their satisfaction with the diagnosis, and the diet's impact on general health and quality of life.

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if surgery helps with wrist ganglions in adults. The main question it aims to answer is: * Does surgery result in better patient-reported outcomes and satisfaction over a 6-months follow-up period? Researchers will compare surgery to conservative treatment (self-administered exercises and use of the hand as tolerated) to see if surgery provides superior outcomes. Participants will: * Be randomly assigned to receive either surgery or conservative treatment * Complete questionnaires about wrist pain, function, quality of life, satisfaction, and recovery at 3, 6, and 12 months

DISCLOSE trial is a randomized controlled trial including 532 participants with low-energy distal radius fractures. The primary objective is to evaluate whether casting without prior closed reduction is equivalent to casting following closed reduction with respect to wrist-related pain and disability, as measured by the Patient-Rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE) score at 12 months, in patients aged 65 years or older with a displaced distal radius fracture. * Primary endpoint will be PRWE at 12 months * Follow-up visits are scheduled at 3 and 12 months. 5-year follow-up will be considered as an exploratory endpoint

Couples and Microbial Diversity (CLARITY) - study is a prospective study that investigates the risks and dynamics of different microbes and transmission among couples to optimize the prevention and control strategies as well as improvement for infertility treatments. The study will be conducted at the Infertility Clinic of Tampere University Hospital, Tampere Finland; and will recruit 200 couples undergoing infertility investigations and treatments. Oral and genital tract samples will be collected at baseline and every six months during a two-year follow-up period. Background information will be obtained through a secure online questionnaire. Couples who achieve pregnancy will be followed according to the CLARITY protocol until delivery, after which families will transition to the CLARITY-Baby extension study. Samples from both the newborn and parents will be collected at delivery and again at six months postpartum, accompanied by an online follow-up questionnaire completed by the parents.

The goal of this interventional study is to find out whether conservative treatment with semi-occlusive film is superior to surgical treatment in single finger amputations in adult population. The main question it aims to answer is: Is PRWHE (Patient Reported Wrist and Hand Evaluation) total score measured at 12 months after injury better in conservatively or operatively treated patients?

Lynch syndrome (LS) is an inherited cancer predisposition syndrome caused by pathogenic germline variants in DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes. New cancer screening and diagnostic tools are urgently needed to identify LS-related cancers early enough for curative treatment. Urothelial cancers (comprising bladder and upper tract urothelial tumors) are the third most common cancer after colorectal and endometrial cancers in individuals with LS. Up to one in four LS individuals will develop urothelial cancer during their lifetime, with the risk varying based on the defective MMR gene. In this clinical trial, we will employ urine tumor DNA (utDNA) to identify asymptomatic urothelial cancers in Lynch syndrome patients, and to investigate the potential benefits of urine tumor DNA based screening in this high-risk population.

Urothelial cancers of the bladder and upper urinary tract account for over 200,000 deaths and 600,000 diagnoses annually worldwide. The most common presenting symptom is hematuria (blood in urine), triggering a cascade of tests, including an invasive examination of the bladder using a flexible scope (cystoscopy). Millions of cystoscopies are performed every year worldwide for patients presenting with hematuria, but only 10% result in a cancer diagnosis. The UROSCOUT-1 trial is a prospective multicenter observational study that explores the potential of urine tumor DNA (utDNA) testing to replace a significant portion of cystoscopies in the diagnostic setting for hematuria or other reasons to rule out urothelial cancer. The goal is to enhance patient quality of life, reduce healthcare costs, and address increased workloads in urology centers. Sample collection will be conducted by mail, and the samples will be analyzed in a blinded manner, without knowledge of which patients are diagnosed with cancer. Random subsampling will be applied to cancer-negative patients to achieve an approximate 1:1 ratio between cancer-positive and -negative patients.

The main purpose of this study is to investigate genetic, serological, immunological and microbiata diversities between different coeliac disease phenotypes and to discover applicable prognostic markers for specific phenotypes.

Lung cancer surgery causes significant changes in the small circulation as well as changes in the intrathoracic anatomy. The effects of lung cancer surgery on electrocardiography and the cardiac stress associated with the procedures have not been previously extensively studied. The aim of the present study is to ascertain whether modern mini-invasive lung cancer surgery causes changes in the electrocardiogram, and whether these changes are transitory during short-term follow-up. Furthermore, the study aims to describe whether lung cancer surgery causes significant cardiac stress detectable by intraoperative electrocardiography.

The goal of this one-arm clinical trial is to implement and study the oncological outcomes of nonoperative management of rectal cancer having complete clinical response to neoadjuvant therapy. The main questions to answer are * if the oncological results of nonoperative management after Nordic practice in chemoradiotherapy indications differ from experiences elsewhere * what is the organ preservation rate * what is the local regrowth rate

This prospective study evaluates the safety of extending the interval of routine calendar-based follow-up visits from every 12 months to every 24 months in patients with type 1 diabetes who are in good glycemic control and suitable for remote monitoring. The primary outcome is the proportion of patients who maintain good glycemic control during the 24-month follow-up period. Participants will attend two in-person visits at baseline (month 0) and at the end of follow-up (month 24), which include a comprehensive clinical examination, assessment of glucose control, and laboratory testing. One remote contact will occur at month 12 for prescription renewal and review of glucose data. Patients may contact their care unit as needed throughout the study. At the baseline and final visits, participants will complete a questionnaire assessing their perceived ability to manage self-care, the safety of the care plan, and their ability to contact their care provider when necessary.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common compression neuropathy of upper extremities. Its usual symptoms are pain, numbness and tingling of fingers, which tend to be worse at night. Splinting the wrist with an external orthosis is usually a first-line treatment provided to most people with mild to moderate disease. The FINCROSS trial (randomized cross-over trial) aims to assess the effect of night-time and full-time splinting in comparison with no-treatment. It also aims to identify possible subgroups of people who would benefit from splinting, as well as assess if positive response to splinting is associated with subsequent lower need of surgery. The trial will recruit 110 people with carpal tunnel syndrome in Finland. Each participant will undergo all three treatment periods in a randomised order: 1) splinting at night-time for six weeks, 2) splinting both day and night for six weeks; and 3) be assessed under a six weeks long control period of no-treatment. Each treatment period will be separated with a three-week washout period. Therefore, the whole treatment sequence for each participant lasts 24 weeks after randomization. The participant will be followed-up to 1 year after the randomisation. Additionally, the participants will get instructions for self-administered stretching exercises to perform throughout the study. All participants will be asked to avoid any intervention administered or supervised by medical personnel (such as structured supervised exercises, manual therapy, steroid injections, surgery, etc.).

The aim of the study is to find out whether supervised physical exercise during cancer drug treatment improves the effectiveness of the treatment in metastasized breast, kidney, ovarian and prostate cancer compared to unsupervised exercise. In addition, the investigators are investigating whether the use of atorvastatin combined with guided group exercise training would further improve the response to cancer treatment.

The goal of the Transmission of Oncogenic HPV Infection Among Families (TREVINO) study is to improve understanding of how high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are transmitted within families. The research focuses on transmission between sexual partners and between parents and children. It also examines how the various microbes may influence the persistence of HPV infections and the development of HPV-related cancers. The study will include up to 300 couples recruited from gynecology and ear, nose, and throat (ENT) clinics in Finland, as well as their children. Participants include individuals with persistent HPV infection, cervical precancer or cancer, or HPV-related head and neck cancer, along with their partners and potentially their offspring. Participants will provide self-collected samples from the oral and genital areas at multiple time points over up to five years. Questionnaires addressing medical, behavioural, and environmental factors will be completed. The study is conducted at Tampere University Hospital and Kuopio University Hospital in Finland. Results will inform HPV screening and prevention programs, improve understanding of family-level transmission, and identify potential microbial and genetic markers linked to cancer risk.

The goal of this prospective study is to investigate the sexual function and quality of life of women undergoing loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) due to HPV-related cervical lesion. The main question it aims to answer are: * Whether LEEP affects the sexual function of women in comparison to untreated women, and * Whether LEEP affects the health-related quality of life of women in comparison to untreated women Participants are asked to complete web based an international validated self-report questionnaire on sexual function issues, the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), and a validated quality of life -questionnaire 15D at the time of first colposcopy appointment and six and 24 months, 3 years and 5 years after index visit (LEEP or first colposcopy in control group). Relevant additional background information is also collected via questionnaire and from patient files. Researchers will compare women with LEEP and those with only colposcopy visits to see any differences between self-reported sexual function (FSFI scores) or health-related quality of life (15D scores) both short and long-term.