Research Portfolio

The HALT-IT trial: Tranexamic Acid for the Treatment of Gastrointestinal Bleeding, an International Trial

Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a common emergency with a substantial mortality rate. Bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal system is caused by ulcers, stomach inflammation and oesophageal varices and carries a fatality rate of up to 10%. Lower GI bleeding has a variety of causes and a case fatality of about 15%. Between 10% and 25% of patients will have a repeat bleed after their first episode, and these people are four times more likely to die than people without repeated bleeding. The clotting of blood helps to stem bleeding and blood clot break down may play an important role in…

Principal Investigator: Dr Luke Lawton
Amount Awarded: $185,788
Institution: The Townsville Hospital

Supplementing Pain Management in the ED – Conventional Treatment versus Intravenous Adjunctive Low Dose Ketamine (SPECIAL-K).

Pain is a common feature of major traumatic injuries. Little research has been done into the utilisation of low dose Ketamine for analgesia in the ED. Ketamine has the potential to be a highly effective method of analgesic management in haemodynamically unstable trauma patients who are unsuitable for large doses of opioid drugs but it is not utilised for this purpose due to a lack of supporting evidence and clinical concern about potential side effects. The clinical impact of this trial is in the development of an evidence base to support the use of Ketamine for analgesic purposes in the…

Principal Investigator: Dr Luke Burman
Amount Awarded: $25,170
Institution: The Townsville Hospital

Magnesium in Irukandji Syndrome Trial (MIST).

This research project did not commence.

Principal Investigator: Dr Jeremy Furyk
Amount Awarded: $105,282
Institution: The Townsville Hospital

Serum catecholamine levels in Irukandji Syndrome (IS)

Irukandji Syndrome (IS) is a condition caused by the venom of jellyfish found in the tropical waters of Australia and has received significant media attention over the past decade. The syndrome most commonly presents with a variable combination of severe generalised pain, involving the torso and limbs, nausea and vomiting, sweating, headache and severely elevated blood pressure and pulse. Documented complications of IS include myocardial (heart) damage and failure, intracerebral haemorrhage (bleeding on the brain) and death. The signs and symptoms of IS are believed to be due to excessive release of endogenous catecholamines (stress hormones). A number of in-vitro…

Principal Investigator: Dr Clinton Gibbs
Amount Awarded: $9,340
Institution: The Townsville Hospital

Validating the Manchester Acute Coronary Syndromes (MACS) Clinical Decision Rule

Diagnosis of heart attack (acute myocardial infarction) relies on troponin testing along with additional inpatient investigations. Researchers in the United Kingdom have developed a clinical decision rule (the MACS rule) for avoiding unnecessary hospitalisation for patients with chest pain. The MACS rule places individuals into four risk groups with suggested dispositions for each group, with the very low risk eligible for immediate discharge. Initial validation of the rule revealed that 31.5% of patients met the low risk criteria and so could be discharged from hospital with no further investigation. Of these patients, none had a heart attack within 30 days.…

Principal Investigator: Prof Louise Cullen
Amount Awarded: $27,806
Institution: Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital