330 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
The proposed Virtual Reality as an Adjunct to Pain Management for Geriatric Patients in the ED (VRAP-ED) project will take place in the Emergency Medicine Department at Maimonides Medical Center. It seeks to enhance the analgesic practices for geriatric patients with acute painful conditions in the emergency setting. Although virtual reality (VR) has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing pain and anxiety in various clinical settings for juveniles and adults, the analgesic efficacy of VR for geriatric ED patients lacks established data. The project will use a geriatric-focused VR platform. The project intends to improve pain management for almost 200 geriatric patients by evaluating the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) in reducing pain and its impact on anxiety \& stress reduction. The research project will conduct a randomized clinical trial to investigate the analgesic efficacy and impact on anxiety \& stress by using VR as an adjunct to the standard of care (SOC) for pain management in elderly patients presenting to the ED with acute musculoskeletal pain. This will be investigated through a prospective, randomized, non-blinded clinical trial conducted over two years. Eligible patients will be randomly assigned to either the control (SOC) or intervention (SOC+VR) groups. The expected outcomes of this research study will provide insight into the feasibility of using VR in a busy emergency setting for one of the most commonly encountered painful syndromes and to assess the analgesic efficacy as well as the satisfaction of VR application by both patients and ED clinicians.
This Interventional clinical study aims to explore how receiving information about their health and physical abilities affects the treatment decisions of older adults. The study will look at whether sharing detailed assessments of their health and functional status helps older adults better understand their condition and make informed decisions about their care. The main question it aims to answer is if providing this information changes the treatment priorities of older adults, helping them focus on what matters most to them in their medical care.
The goal of this clinical trial is to test a new way to help older adults who have had cancer. The researchers want to see if a program that assesses participants health and aging is achievable and makes a difference. A community health worker/promotora de salud will assess their health and provide coaching to help them feel better. This is important because older adults with cancer often have other health issues that are not addressed after completing treatment. The researchers want to make sure they get the care they need.
This prospective randomized study will assess an emergency department (ED) based prevention strategy in geriatric patients at high risk for recurrent falls and injury. Falling is a major health hazard in older adults with a number of proposed but unproven protocols to prevent fall-related injuries. This study proposes to study one of these strategies, the CDC's Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths and Injuries program (the STEADI Program).
The objectives of this study are to refine the dialysis care model with key stakeholder input and conduct a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) to obtain evidence critical to inform a definitive RCT.
The primary goal of this study is to conduct pharmacogenomics testing (a type of DNA test) within an aging population and measure the impact of this test on medication selection, dosing, healthcare utilization, and costs of care.
This project assesses the feasibility and usability of the geriatric assessment platform (electronic Geriatric Assessment Platform or eGAP in 50 older patients with cancer, their caregivers, and their oncology team. Using an iterative process, we will refine the eGAP based on input from stakeholders.
Despite the known benefits of geriatric care models among hospitalized older adults outside the intensive care unit (ICU), few studies have addressed the needs of older adults in the ICU; for example, sensory impairment, functional decline, and de-prescribing of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) are rarely addressed in routine ICU practice. This pilot study will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and barriers to implementation of a geriatrics bundle (occupational therapy, assessment and treatment of hearing impairment, and de-prescribing PIMs) in the ICU.
This project is focused on Veteran patients 65 and older with chronic pain. In this project, the investigators will understand the impact of a contextual patient generated health data (PGHD). Contextual PGHD are data about what is important to patients, information about the Veterans social and home contexts (for example, how the Veterans medications are stored and how much help they receive from others). In this study the investigators will talk with Veterans with chronic pain and the Veterans informal caregivers (family members or friends who help them) and find out about how they are coping with chronic pain and what information might be helpful to provide to the Veterans healthcare team. Then, the investigators will talk to clinicians about information that might be helpful to them. The investigators will collect contextual PGHD and use it to develop a computer application for collecting contextual PGHD and displaying it to patients and doctors in a visit. The investigators will also test the impact of having contextual PGHD in a visit on patient satisfaction with the Veterans care plan and how well they are able to follow the care plan.
In brief, this K76 study consists of a small open trial to refine the study protocol and train study personnel on study procedures (Aim 1.b.). In Aim 2, we will recruit older adults into a multidisciplinary fall prevention pilot study. Participants will be randomly assigned to usual care with a traditional fall evaluation by an ED clinician (i.e., ED medical staff member) or an intervention. In the intervention, participants will receive an in-ED consultation by a physical therapist and pharmacist to determine reasons for the fall and offer additional education and training. Participants will be provided an Apple Watch to record measures of fitness and falls, if possible, in the following 12 months. Recurrent falls will be measured in twelve-month follow-up.
Investigators will evaluate clinical decision support nudges informed by behavioral science and directed at primary care clinicians. These will be used to reduce commonly misused, and potentially harmful, diagnostic and therapeutic actions that occur in the care of older adults (e.g. overtreatment of type 2 diabetes, misuse of PSA screening, misuse of urine testing in women with nonspecific symptoms or no symptoms.
Researchers are evaluating the safety and effectiveness of a single administration of entolimod when administered at the same time as the influenza vaccine (flu vaccine).
This project will implement a 2 step protocol for multidisciplinary geriatric assessment in the Emergency Department (ED). Candidate: Dr. Lauren Southerland is a Geriatric- and Emergency Medicine-trained physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Training: The career development plan will build upon Dr. Southerland's unique fellowship training in Geriatrics with courses in Implementation and Dissemination Science, a Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, and Master's in Public Health courses. This combination will position her as an expert in Implementation research, with the career goal of translating validated, effective elements of geriatric care into the daily practice of Emergency Medicine. Mentors: Dr. Southerland has an experienced mentorship team who will provide guidance in the intricacies of emergency research (Dr. Jeffrey Caterino, MD, MPH), implementation strategies and studies of hospital staff and nurses (Dr. Lorraine Mion, PhD), implementation frameworks and reporting (Dr. Christopher Carpenter, an EM physician at Washington University at St. Louis), and identifying environmental and human factor barriers to quality care. Project: Multidisciplinary assessment by geriatricians, physical therapists, case managers, and pharmacists identifies and addresses underlying geriatric issues in older ED patients. However, only a few EDs across the country have been able to incorporate multidisciplinary care for their older patients, due to barriers such as personnel costs, work flow culture, and the 24 hour ED care model. We developed a two-step protocol to address these barriers: Step 1 is quick, sensitive screens for fall risk (4 Stage Balance Test), delirium (Brief Delirium Triage Screen), and frailty (Identifying Seniors at Risk Score). Patients with concerning results will be placed in an ED Observation Unit for (step 2) multidisciplinary geriatric assessment. In Aim 1 we will use the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research and Lean Six Sigma methods to identify and address residual barriers to full implementation. Aim 2 will evaluate the effectiveness of this protocol in regards to patient-oriented outcomes (functional status and health-related quality of life at 90 days). By using implementation frameworks and processes, we will develop a protocol that is effective, sustainable, and ready for dissemination to EDs across the US.
Polypharmacy is common among older adults in the United States and is associated with harms such as adverse drug reactions and higher costs of care. This pilot-phase project is designed to test two electronic health record (EHR)-based behavioral economic nudges to help primary care clinicians reduce the rate of high-risk polypharmacy among their older adult patients.
The risks and benefits of many diagnostic approaches and treatments differ for older adults compared to middle aged adults. When diagnostic and therapeutic strategies are misapplied to older adults this can lead to increased morbidity and mortality. Well established examples where clinicians do not often follow best practices in the care of older adults include those identified by the American Geriatrics Society for the Choosing Wisely initiative: 1) testing and treatment for asymptomatic bacteriuria, 2) prostate specific antigen testing in older men without prostate cancer, and 3) overuse of insulin or oral hypoglycemics for type 2 diabetes. Clinical decision support nudges, informed by social psychology and delivered via electronic health records (EHRs), are promising strategies to reduce the misuse of services in cases where optimal utilization may not be zero but should be well below current practice. These interventions seek to influence conscious and unconscious drivers of clinical decision making, are low cost to implement and disseminate, and can be incorporated into existing delivery systems. In the R21 phase of this Behavioral Economics Applications to Geriatrics Leveraging EHRs (BEAGLE) study, we will: select EHR delivered nudges to address 3 topics of potential misuse in older adults based on the main psychological drivers of overuse identified in interviews with high-using clinicians; develop and pilot test decision support tools within a health systems' EHR to understand technical feasibility, work flow fit, preliminary impact on clinical outcomes, and clinician acceptability; and develop and validate electronic clinical quality measures of potential overuse/misuse related to the care of older adults.
The protocol involves functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging acquisitions immediately before and after Low Field Magnetic Stimulation treatment on two separate days in a sham controlled, randomized trial, in order to assess the physiologic effects of Low Field Magnetic Stimulation on brain function in a geriatric population with bipolar depression.
There is debate over the best management for acetabular (hip) fractures that occur within the geriatric population. Geriatric patients, 60 years or older, are at greater risk for operative complications because they tend to have poorer bone quality, complicated fractures, and multiple health problems. Physicians currently have no guidelines as to the best surgical management for these particular fractures, because there is little data on the long-term outcomes of these injuries. The use of internal fixation (a nail or plate) is a standard method for repairing these injuries, however when the injuries are complicated it is predicted to have a poorer outcome than performing internal fixation along with total hip arthroplasty (joint reconstruction). Given the significant problems that result from hip fractures in this population, our study is designed to determine the best method for treatment of acetabular fractures and to clarify the criteria for treatment with guidelines assisting the physician in selecting the appropriate treatment.
The purpose of this research study is to pilot test a transdisciplinary intervention that integrates both geriatrics and palliative care with routine oncology care for older adults with incurable cancer. The investigators will explore their perceptions of the supportive care needs of older patients with cancer. Using these data, the investigators will finalize the transdisciplinary intervention and perform a pilot, randomized trial of the transdisciplinary intervention versus usual care in patients age ≥65 with newly diagnosed, incurable cancer.
The primary aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of Low Field Magnetic Stimulation (LFMS) in treating symptoms of depression and anxiety in older adults suffering from bipolar depression. The investigators also aim to assess any cognitive benefits from regular LFMS treatments in older adults suffering from bipolar depression.
In this study the investigators will incorporate a wide range of clinical variables associated with aging and cardiovascular disease to determine whether they are associated with mutation status independent of chronologic age. Clinically, aging can be operationalized using geriatric assessment, which entails a comprehensive multi-dimensional assessment of the health of an older adult, including measures of comorbidity, polypharmacy, functional status, cognition, depression, falls, social activities and social support. Given that aging is heterogeneous, geriatric assessment allows greater specificity for aging than chronological age alone.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects after up to 1 year of supervised weekly Tai-Chi-Chi versus Health Education and Wellness classes on reduction of depressive symptoms and improvement in resilience, health functioning, quality of life, cognition, sleep, fMRI neural correlates of working memory, and brain structure.
A Phase 1b/2, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multiple Oral Dose Escalation Study to Assess Safety, Tolerability and Pharmacokinetics of ITI-007 in Healthy Geriatric Volunteers and in Geriatric Patients with Dementia
This study evaluates the effect of standard of care treatments (physical therapy versus manual therapy) in older adult patients who have balance problems with or without low back pain.
This research study will examine if a targeted computerized cognitive remediation (CCR) training program is better for treating geriatric depression than general computer activity. We will also examine whether this intervention is related to improvement in cognitive and depressive symptoms. Elderly patients with depression, who have, and who have not been treated with antidepressant medication for their illness, will be recruited to participate in either a 30 hour cognitive remediation program or general computer activity designed to be both challenging and interesting. They will be asked to complete between 1 and 3 hours of remediation per day over 4 weeks. While undergoing the cognitive remediation participants will be asked questions to assess their symptoms of, as well as the severity of, their depression weekly. This will inform researchers about whether or not the CCR is helping to improve depressive symptoms. At the end of the CCR study, participants will be given a battery of cognitive tests design to tell investigators whether or not the CCR improved their thinking in a variety of different ways including improving attention, memory, and organization. Investigators will also determine whether changes in participants' thinking are related to changes in their mood or other depressive symptoms. It is hoped that information gained from this study will help investigators to better understand the brain processes associated with depression, recovery from depression, and will help inform the development of future alternative treatments for this illness.
The proposed project will evaluate the role of neuroimaging biomarkers of brain aging (i.e., neurodegenerative and vascular brain changes) and mild cognitive impairment in the patterns of treatment response to memantine combined with escitalopram compared to escitalopram and placebo.
This study will evaluate the ability of a largely self-administered geriatric assessment (GA) to predict toxicity in non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) patients ≥60 years old receiving chemotherapy or chemoimmunotherapy.
The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of vilazodone for the treatment of depression in older adults.
Surgery for colorectal cancer is a major surgery. People above the age of 60 tend to have a higher risk of complications. Some studies indicate that senior cancer patients might benefit from a home support after surgery by a geriatric nurse practitioner and a team, beside their usual post-operative care. The investigators team is planning a large study to assess whether this approach could help patients with colorectal cancer recover better from their surgery, get better cancer treatment after that (e.g. chemotherapy), and possibly live longer. This study you are asked to take part in is a pilot for this large study.
This study involves collaboration between McLean Hospital, Geriatric Medicine at the Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) and other sites within the Partners and Harvard Medical School network. The investigators plan to recruit individuals 55 to 89 years old with treatment resistant depression. Someone with "treatment resistant" depression for this study may be someone who still has sad or low feelings and thoughts even though he/she is taking an antidepressant medication for at least 8 weeks to help relieve his/her depression. During the study, subjects will gradually add memantine hydrochloride in dosages up to 20 mg/day for 8 weeks to their standard antidepressant treatment. The investigators are doing this research study to help answer 3 questions: 1. Do older adults with treatment resistant Major Depression have lower levels of a chemical in the brain called NAAG than older adults without Major Depression? 2. Do older adults with naturally low NAAG levels do better on memantine hydrochloride treatment than older adults with higher amounts of this chemical on memantine hydrochloride treatment? 3. Do older adults with treatment resistant depression have more problems with memory and concentration than older adults without depression? The investigators are also interested in looking at electrical and neuronal activity of the brain, spiritual beliefs, and fatigue in relationship to depression. The investigators hypothesize that: 1. Older individuals with treatment resistant Major Depression will have lower levels of NAAG compared with age-matched older control subjects. 2. Older adults with treatment resistant depression and low NAAG levels will do better on treatment with memantine hydrochloride than older adults on memantine with higher NAAG levels. 3. Older adults with depression will do better on tests of attention and executive functioning after treatment with memantine hydrochloride. 4. Healthy controls will do better on tests of attention and executive functioning than older adults with depression.
It has been shown that patients can improve their safety through informed choice, safe medication use, and complication reporting. This includes not only the potential problems that occur from prescription medication use but also issues that may arise through the improper use of over-the-counter medications. The willingness of a patient to take on safety action is known to be complicated by an unwillingness to behave in a manner that might challenge a physician's judgment or actions. Community pharmacists are in the unique position to provide perspective on the physician's recommendation and act as an advocate to facilitate necessary change. Through supportive and repeated interaction with their community pharmacist patients will develop assertiveness toward their own health care, an increased frequency and quality of interaction with their physician, and thus a minimized risk of harm and maximized opportunity to optimize clinical outcomes.