Research Roundup:
April 2020
Welcome Message
Welcome to another edition of our TSANZ Research Roundup. We currently have two invitations on offer – one for a study in Identifying barriers and facilitators to the implementation of best practice for pulmonary fibrosis in Australia, the other for participation in the ASCOT trial.
Submissions are always open for our “Research Roundup Holy Grail,” supported by the limbic. You will be featured in an upcoming Research Roundup and also published on the limbic website. This is a great opportunity to tell us about your research and inspiration, and provides a platform to be able to connect your passion project with our network of TSANZ members and the limbic subscribers. Details can be found here.
Please feel free to get in touch with the office if there is anything we can do to support your research needs during this time.
Enjoy the March edition of your Research Roundup.
Prof Sandra Hodge
Chair, Research Sub-Committee
The following articles will take you to thelimbic.com
TSANZ launches ‘living guidelines’ for COVID-19
Professional groups call to stop routine pulmonary function testing
Professor Helen Reddel: eosinophils of less use for guiding treatment in mild asthma
What do the lungs of a coronavirus patient look like? First autopsy images
Changes in EOS after ICS treatment may predict response, research shows
Respirology – Editor’s Choice
Respirology Issue 25.4 April 2020
Pamela Laird, Roz Walker, Mary Lane, Anne B. Chang and Andre Schultz
DOI: 10.1111/resp.13642
Maria P. Arellano-Maric, Christine Hamm, Marieke L. Duiverman, Sarah Schwarz, Jens Callegari, Jan H. Storre, Claudia Schmoor, Marc Spielsmanns, Wolfgang Galetke and Wolfram Windisch
Principal investigator Maria Paola Arellano-Maric, MD (left) and senior investigator Prof. Dr. Wolfram Windisch (right)
DOI: 10.1111/resp.13704
Research Review
Respiratory Research Review COVID-19 Special Issue 171
Infectious Diseases Research Review Focus on COVID-19 Issue 27
ASCOT Trial
ASCOT is a clinical trial that will generate clinical evidence about treatment for COVID-19 that can be applied during the pandemic to reduce mortality or the need for mechanical ventilation in hospitalised but not yet critically ill patients with COVID-19.
The trial is conducted on an adaptive platform, results will be continually analysed, so that ineffective therapies can be stopped and new therapies can be evaluated as part of the trial. The trial will be conducted across more than 60 sites in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. The trial is registered at: ACTRN12620000445976, Ethics approval granted through Melbourne Health Human Research Ethics Committee HREC/62646/MH-2020.097
Potential Treatments for COVID-19
There are currently no specific therapies for COVID-19. The two main strategies are to limit the virus replicating (antiviral therapies) or to modulate the immune response (in some severe cases, there is a damaging over exuberant immune response).
ASCOT intends to randomise patients to different therapies to understand their impact on clinical outcomes. We will do this for existing therapies, but also be set-up to test new and emerging therapies as they become available.
ASCOT Trial Intervention
Initially, an open label trial of two existing treatments in a 2×2 factorial design with usual care arm will be conducted.
- Lopinavir/ritonavir (kaletra), a combination medicine that is used to treat human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection
- Hydroxychloroquine, a medicine used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory conditions and to prevent and treat malaria.
Protocol documents and further details are available at www.ascot-trial.edu.au
Invitation
IDENTIFYING BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF BEST PRACTICE FOR PULMONARY FIBROSIS IN AUSTRALIA
What are the barriers and facilitators to implementing best practice?
Dear Members of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand,
The Centre of Research Excellence in Pulmonary Fibrosis (CRE-PF) is inviting physicians involved in the management of people with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) to take part in our study aimed at identifying the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of best practice for the diagnosis, treatment and management of the disease.
Participation is voluntary and involves providing your views, opinions and experiences on the management of PF through confidential, in person interviews of about 30 minutes in duration.
Your perspective is important to help us understand the barriers that may be impeding the implementation of best practice in clinical settings. The findings have the potential to guide the development of behaviour change strategies aimed at improving implementation and in turn, optimise the prognosis and management pathways for people with this insidious disease.
Like more information or interested in participating? Click here
The study has been approved by the Monash University Human Ethics Committee (Number 22350) and the Sydney Local Health District Human Ethics Committee (Number 2019/ETH13556).
If you would like to speak to us about any aspect of this study, please contact:
Professor Anne Holland
Professor of Physiotherapy, Monash University and Alfred Health
Department of Allergy, Clinical Immunology and Respiratory Medicine, Monash University
Anne.Holland@monash.edu or (03) 9903 0214
Thank you for your time and consideration of our study.
Can you help TSANZ make a difference?
Your support makes a difference, and helps us continue to provide funding for research and our TSANZ awards. If you would like to support our work, you can leave a tax deductible donation of your choice in our areas of need.
1. Making a donation to our Benevolent Fund
The Benevolent Fund supports projects aimed at improving the respiratory health care of individuals who are in a setting where health care resources and delivery are poor.
CLICK HERE to make a donation or by filling out the Support TSANZ form. Once you have completed the form, please email TSANZOffice@thoracic.org.au.
2. Making a donation to support research
With your support, we can continue to support Australia and New Zealand’s most significant and cutting edge respiratory health research, and benefit Australians and New Zealanders suffering from lung disease.
Please CLICK HERE to make a donation or by filling out the Support TSANZ form. Once you have completed the form, please email TSANZOffice@thoracic.org.au.
3. Establishing a named award
For significant donations of above $10,000 AUD, a TSANZ award can be established in your name. Please call the TSANZ office on +61 2 9222 6200.
4. Leave TSANZ a gift in your will
If you are interested in supporting TSANZ in the future, one way to do so is to leave TSANZ a gift in your will. Any support is greatly appreciated and will leave a lasting legacy.
If interested, please notify us by ticking the box on the Support TSANZ form. Once you have completed the form, please email TSANZOffice@thoracic.org.au. Alternatively, please call the TSANZ Office on +61 2 9222 6200.
5. TSANZ New Zealand Branch Incorporated
New Zealand members are reminded that you are also able to make a tax deductible donation directly to the NZ branch. You can assist the NZ branch to provide services to members across NZ. If you make a payment via electronic funds transfer (EFT), please notify the TSANZ office so that we can arrange a receipt.
CLICK HERE to make a donation.
Thank you for your continued support of TSANZ.