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August #TALK.Research Newsletter CMH_PI_HoD

Aug 10, 2022

Welcome to the August Edition of #TALK.Research

Kia Ora Koutou,

The last 12 months has been our most successful year, where we conducted more clinical trials, both commercial and grant trials, than ever before and enrolled more participants than any preceding year. We are motivated to reduce health inequity in Counties Manukau and hope that bringing in clinical trials across a range of therapeutic areas gives our community a chance to access innovative medicines and technologies that such trials can offer.

None of this would be possible without the help and dedication of the investigators and research staff within the hospital, as well as the highly skilled staff at MMCT.

We continue to grow and add more therapeutic areas as we do so. The next 12 months is shaping up to be a very exciting and challenging year with new trials in dermatology, obesity, vaccines, COPD, atrial fibrillation, stroke, NASH and haematological malignancies.

We look forward to the staff at Counties Manukau Health partnering with us to deliver another outstanding year for the community of Counties Manukau.

Maa te waa,

Dr Edward Watson

What's In This Issue:

UTI in Older Adults
Recent Publications by CMH Investigators
MMCT is Now on Twitter
Meet the Team - Karen Carter (Research Operation Manager)
Trials Starting at MMCT and Trial Statistics

UTI in Older Adults

As we get older the risk of developing a urinary tract infection (UTI) increases. In fact, UTIs are one of the most frequently occurring infections in older adults. According to the National Institute of Health, UTI's affect around 10% of men and 20% of women over 60. Older adults are more vulnerable to UTI's because as we age, we tend to have weaker muscles in our bladder and pelvic floor that can cause urine retention or incontinence.

Older adults often do not have typical UTI symptoms, such as burning and frequent urination, or these symptoms are not obvious to the people caring for them. Instead, common UTI symptoms in older adults are sudden changes in behaviour or symptoms associated with cognitive issues, such as:

Dizziness
Confusion
Aggression or agitation
Tiredness
Frequent falls
Decreased appetite

These symptoms can easily be mistaken as signs of aging. Additionally, in older adults there is also a higher chance of having a UTI with no symptoms.

It is vital that UTIs are diagnosed and treated as soon as possible. It they are not, the bacteria can travel to the kidneys and enter into the bloodstream. This may result in kidney damage and a life threatening blood infection (sepsis).

There are several clinical trials that are actively researching vaccines that may help prevent the occurrence of UTIs with the hope of preventing serious complications such as sepsis. MMCT is now enrolling for the E.mbrace vaccine study. The purpose of this study is to investigate if the vaccine can protect adults 60 years and older against E. coli infections that cause UTIs and infections in other areas of the body.

Click Here for More Information

Recent Publications by CMH Investigators

Clements J, Christensen PM, Meyer M. A randomised trial comparing weaning from CPAP alone with weaning using heated humidified high flow nasal cannula in very preterm infants: the CHiPS study. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2022 Jul 18:fetalneonatal-2021-323636. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2021-323636. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35851035.

Ezekowitz JA, Colin-Ramirez E, Ross H, Escobedo J, Macdonald P, Troughton R, Saldarriaga C, Alemayehu W, McAlister FA, Arcand J, Atherton J, Doughty R, Gupta M, Howlett J, Jaffer S, Lavoie A, Lund M, Marwick T, McKelvie R, Moe G, Pandey AS, Porepa L, Rajda M, Rheault H, Singh J, Toma M, Virani S, Zieroth S; SODIUM-HF Investigators. Reduction of dietary sodium to less than 100 mmol in heart failure (SODIUM-HF): an international, open-label, randomised, controlled trial. Lancet. 2022 Apr 9;399(10333):1391-1400. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00369-5. Epub 2022 Apr 2. PMID: 35381194.

Goh, M. F., Hollewand, C. E., McBride, S., & Mathy, J. A. (2022). Microbiology of surgical site infections (SSIs) following skin cancer surgery. ANZ journal of surgery, 10.1111/ans.17957. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/ans.17957

Hardcastle T, Rasul U, de Paiva Leite S, Zheng K, Donaldson G, Ahmad Z, Morton RP. The Manukau Salivary Symptoms Score for Assessing the Impact of Sialendoscopy in Recurrent Obstructive Sialadenitis. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2022 Mar;166(3):461-467. doi: 10.1177/01945998211017444. Epub 2021 Jul 13. PMID: 34253080.

Tan E, Hoare K, Riley J, Fernando K, Haskell L, McKinlay CJ, Dalziel SR, Braithwaite I. Panic or peace - prioritising infant welfare when medicating feverish infants: a grounded theory study of adherence in a paediatric clinical trial. BMC Pediatr. 2022 Apr 11;22(1):195. doi: 10.1186/s12887-022-03230-4. PMID: 35410322; PMCID: PMC8995914.

REMAP-CAP Writing Committee for the REMAP-CAP Investigators, Bradbury CA, Lawler PR, Stanworth SJ, McVerry BJ, McQuilten Z, Higgins AM, Mouncey PR, Al-Beidh F, Rowan KM, Berry LR, Lorenzi E, Zarychanski R, Arabi YM, Annane D, Beane A, van Bentum-Puijk W, Bhimani Z, Bihari S, Bonten MJM, Brunkhorst FM, Buzgau A, Buxton M, Carrier M, Cheng AC, Cove M, Detry MA, Estcourt LJ, Fitzgerald M, Girard TD, Goligher EC, Goossens H, Haniffa R, Hills T, Huang DT, Horvat CM, Hunt BJ, Ichihara N, Lamontagne F, Leavis HL, Linstrum KM, Litton E, Marshall JC, McAuley DF, McGlothlin A, McGuinness SP, Middeldorp S, Montgomery SK, Morpeth SC, Murthy S, Neal MD, Nichol AD, Parke RL, Parker JC, Reyes LF, Saito H, Santos MS, Saunders CT, Serpa-Neto A, Seymour CW, Shankar-Hari M, Singh V, Tolppa T, Turgeon AF, Turner AM, van de Veerdonk FL, Green C, Lewis RJ, Angus DC, McArthur CJ, Berry S, Derde LPG, Webb SA, Gordon AC. Effect of Antiplatelet Therapy on Survival and Organ Support-Free Days in Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2022 Apr 5;327(13):1247-1259. doi: 10.1001/jama.2022.2910. PMID: 35315874; PMCID: PMC8941448.

Tong SYC, Mora J, Bowen AC, Cheng MP, Daneman N, Goodman AL, Heriot GS, Lee TC, Lewis RJ, Lye DC, Mahar RK, Marsh J, McGlothlin A, McQuilten Z, Morpeth SC, Paterson DL, Price DJ, Roberts JA, Robinson JO, van Hal SJ, Walls G, Webb SA, Whiteway L, Yahav D, Davis JS; SNAP study group. The Staphylococcus aureus Network Adaptive Platform Trial protocol: New tools for an old foe. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 Jun 19:ciac476. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac476. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35717634.

Zheng KT, de Paiva Leite S, Yeom BW, Hardcastle T, Ahmad Z, Morton RP. Patient Outcomes After Unsuccessful Endoscopic Sialolith Extraction. Laryngoscope. 2022 May;132(5):1029-1033. doi: 10.1002/lary.29943. Epub 2021 Nov 19. PMID: 34797568.

Interested In Applying For Funding?

A range of funding opportunities are available for research projects. If you are interested in applying or not sure which grant is right for you, please email the Grants Team.

Contact the Grants team

Middlemore Clinical Trials is now on Twitter!
Follow us to stay updated on clinical research news that is conducted right here at Middlemore Hospital

Follow MMCT on Twitter

Meet the Team - Karen Carter (Research Operations Manager)

Recently joining MMCT Karen has a background in nursing and over 30 years’ experience in clinical research in the UK and NZ. Having worked in a variety of roles, including managing both pharma and investigator initiated research, as well as being the General Manager of National Institute for Health Innovation (NIHI), Karen brings a varied lens and a wealth of knowledge to the role.

Karen is a values driven leader, mentor and manager. Her passion stems from being at the forefront of science and making a difference to health and wellbeing outcomes. She is looking forward to overseeing all operational aspects of our clinical trial program.

Trials Starting at MMCT

List of upcoming trials that are planned to start recruiting in the next three months:

To learn more about the trials we are performing at Middlemore Hospital, please visit our website and see what trials in what disease areas we are currently working on.

Together through research we can improve the lives of many of the patients in Counties Manukau.

View Current Recruiting Trials

MMCT Contacts

Type of Enquiry	Person	Email Address
Feasibilities	Kate Msiska	feasibility@mmclintrials.nz
Trial contracts	Kate Msiska	contracts@mmclintrials.nz
Finance	Emani Setefano	finance@mmclintrials.nz
Investigator initiated (grant funded) trials	Dr Nicola Jackson Dr Renee Railton Dr Hannah Burden	grants @mmclintrials.nz
Regulatory/Ethics	Catherine Howie	ethics@mmclintrials.nz
For support when a clinically significant event occurs with a trial	Dr John Baker	John.Baker@mmclintrials.nz
To refer a patient for a clinical trial	Please visit our website	Recruiting Trials participants @mmclintrials.nz