Clinical Research Directory

Inflammation and Medical Provider Attitudes, Cognition, and Treatment Decisions Study

This is a randomized, double-blind clinical trial involving emergency medicine and internal medicine healthcare providers as participants. The intervention involves the administration of the seasonal influenza vaccine or a saline placebo; this protocol is used in psychoneuro-immunology to simulate a state of mild illness. The primary aim is to examine whether acute inflammation induced by receiving the vaccine affects decision-making on standardized psychological reaction time tasks and questionnaires. Participants attend two laboratory sessions on consecutive days, receive either a seasonal influenza vaccine or a saline placebo at the first session, provide blood samples to measure inflammatory cytokines, and complete a series of standardized assessments of medical decision-making and social attitudes. Participants who received the placebo during the first session will receive the vaccine during the second session. Overall, the study is designed to examine how adverse provider conditions particularly acute inflammation, burnout, and concerns about one's own health affect provider judgments and healthcare-related decision-making. The primary hypothesis is that providers experiencing greater adverse conditions at the time of research participation would have altered decision-making compared to those experiencing fewer adverse conditions.

Effects of Implicit Bias in Clinician Decision-making of Tooth Restorability

This study aims to determine the association between race and clinical decision-making for dental treatment planning. The investigators conducted cross-sectional survey on participants, who are randomized to one of two patient race conditions.

Bilirubin Thresholds in Preterm Infants on Neonatal Intensive CarE Units: The B-NICE Trial

Rationale: Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is highly prevalent in very preterm infants born \<30 weeks. Since 2008, uniform Dutch phototherapy thresholds for preterm infants have been used nationwide, largely based on consensus. Consequently, \>80% of very preterm infants receive phototherapy for several days, accompanied by repeated blood sampling and reduced opportunities for skin-to-skin care. The corresponding UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline applies higher (less strict) thresholds, which may reduce overtreatment, but comparative safety for very preterm infants has not been established in a randomized trial. The investigators hypothesize that using NICE thresholds is non-inferior to Dutch thresholds for survival without neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) at two years' corrected age, while reducing treatment burden. Objective: Primary: To determine whether initiating phototherapy according to NICE thresholds is non-inferior to Dutch thresholds with regard to survival without NDI at two years' corrected age in infants born \<30 weeks of gestation. Secondary: To compare phototherapy exposure (incidence, duration and cumulative exposure) and monitoring burden (e.g., number of bilirubin blood samples, temperature instability, biomarkers of oxidative stress (subpopulation)), and to evaluate parent-infant outcomes (skin-to-skin contact time, parental stress/satisfaction), and nursing workload (time dedicated to bilirubin-related care). Study design: Nationwide multicenter, parallel-group, open-label randomized non-inferiority trial with 1:1 allocation, stratified by center and gestational age category (\<28 weeks and ≥28 weeks). Follow-up continues to the routine neurodevelopmental assessment at two years' corrected age. Planned project duration: 36 months. Study population: Very preterm infants born \<30+0 weeks of gestation, admitted to a participating Dutch NICU within 24 hours after birth. Intervention: Bilirubin monitoring and phototherapy according to one of two threshold strategies: (1) current Dutch phototherapy thresholds (control) or (2) thresholds from the UK NICE guideline (intervention). Phototherapy is delivered using standard NICU devices. Main study parameters/endpoints: Primary endpoint: survival without NDI at two years' corrected age. NDI is defined as Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, fourth Edition, Dutch Version (BSID-IV-NL) cognitive and/or motor composite score \<85 and/or hearing impairment and/or visual impairment. Nature and extent of the burden and risks associated with participation, benefit and group relatedness: Both strategies reflect accepted standards of care with routine bilirubin monitoring. Incremental burden consists mainly of additional registration (phototherapy use, bilirubin sampling, skin-to-skin contact, temperature instability), parental questionnaires and, in selected centers, collection of stress-related biomarkers from urine, feces, or waste material from routine blood samples to explore the physiological impact of phototherapy. No biobanking for future unspecified research is planned. The investigators will also use routinely collected and stored monitor data to assess sleep (sleep-wake states and sleep fragmentation) in a subset of infants. Neurodevelopmental follow-up at two years corrected age is routine care in Dutch NICUs. Bilirubin levels above thresholds in both groups will be mitigated by routine monitoring and management according to this study protocol. The study is group-related because bilirubin management and potential neurotoxicity thresholds are specific to very preterm infants.

Comparative Efficacy of 100-, 200-, & 400-mg Amiodarone in Patients With Paroxysmal AF Depending on Plasma Concentration

Amiodarone is a highly effective drug for the treatment and prevention of arrhythmias. In the 1970s and 1980s, numerous experimental and clinical studies comprehensively examined the mechanisms of amiodarone's antiarrhythmic action, as well as its effectiveness in various types of arrhythmias. This explains why drug therapy is so widespread today. According to the CAMIAT study, which included 1,202 patients with ventricular extrasystole who had suffered a myocardial infarction, amiodarone administration reduced the risk of arrhythmic death by 48.5%, and by 35% in the EMIAT study. In the GESICA study, amiodarone therapy was documented to reduce overall mortality by 45%, the incidence of sudden cardiac death by 54%, and mortality from progressive heart failure by 40%. In Russia, amiodarone is prescribed as a first-line drug for AF in 41% of cases with organic myocardial disease, in 52% as a second-line drug, and in 12.5% in the absence of organic heart damage. Moreover, the effectiveness of maintaining sinus rhythm in atrial fibrillation varies from 30 to 95.2%, which is a significant range when predicting the effectiveness of treatment. Attempts to assess amiodarone concentrations during therapy and to analyze the correlation with the achieved effects have been made repeatedly. While assessing amiodarone concentrations is generally considered inappropriate, based on the results of numerous studies, the use of monitoring is justified in certain clinical situations where the desired clinical effect or adverse events are absent. A detailed analysis of systemic reviews revealed significant shortcomings in the formation of such judgments. The groups were heterogeneous, small in number, and included, among other things, individual clinical situations and different routes of drug administration. A literature review did not reveal any data on the analysis of the concentration of amiodarone and desethylamiodarone as an anti-relapse therapy for atrial fibrillation when used consistently in doses acceptable by clinical guidelines with the possibility of titration under laboratory monitoring.

Real-World Study of Post-Resistance Treatment Strategies in Advanced Breast Cancer Following CDK4/6i, PIK3CA Inhibitors, or T-DXd

This is a real-world observational study aiming to evaluate the effectiveness of post-progression treatment strategies in patients with advanced breast cancer who have developed resistance to prior targeted therapies, including CDK4/6 inhibitors, PIK3CA inhibitors, trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), or other targeted agents commonly used in clinical practice. As resistance to these therapies becomes increasingly common, optimal sequencing strategies for subsequent treatment remain unclear. This study will collect clinical information on post-resistance systemic treatments and their outcomes, including progression-free survival, overall survival, and response rate. Baseline patient and tumor characteristics will also be collected to explore potential prognostic and predictive factors and to develop outcome prediction models that may help guide future clinical decision-making. This is a non-interventional study based on retrospective and prospective data from routine medical care. The results are expected to provide real-world evidence to inform personalized treatment strategies for patients with advanced breast cancer following resistance to targeted therapies.