Clinical Research Directory

AlcoTail - Implementation of Tailored Interventions

This study aims to investigate the implementation and real-world effects of an intervention for harmful use of alcohol and psychoactive medicinal drugs among hospital inpatients. Due to the negative impact of alcohol consumption on health outcomes, a call for action has been made by the Norwegian Ministry of Health, with focus on screening patients for alcohol consumption and evidence-based tailored interventions for those with medium or high consumption. In addition, non-prescribed use of psychoactive medicinal drugs, or concomitant use with alcohol, can also have negative health effects, therefore improved monitoring of the use of these are warranted. Interventions will be introduced as routine procedures at Norwegian hospitals in the upcoming year, and 2500 patients receiving acute medical care will be included in the control group before the intervention is implemented, and 2500 patients in the case group after the implementation is effectuated. This study will evaluate the implementation process using baseline data on self-reported alcohol- and psychoactive medicine use, motivation to reduce consumption and mental distress. In addition, left-over blood samples used for diagnostic purposes will be collected and analyzed for alcohol, psychoactive medicinal and illicit drugs. After 12 months baseline data will be coupled to patient journal data and relevant registry data in order to evaluate the effects of the intervention.

Predictive and Impact of Pain After 6 Months of Radiotherapy, in Head and Neck Cancer

Head and neck cancers are a source of complications and after-effects related to the disease and treatment. These cancers and their treatment alter the quality of life of patients and generate pain with physical and psychological components. Chronic pain affects 36% of patients at 6 months and 30% after this period. These pains are responsible for the consumption of level II and III analgesics in 53% of these patients. At the same time, after the end of treatment, nearly a quarter of patients continued to smoke and half still consumed alcohol at least twice a week. The hypothesis of this research is to investigate the correlation between pain and the continuation of addictions, the occurrence of depressive states, asthenia and the alteration of the patients' global quality of life. The investigators propose a two-center prospective cohort study to evaluate this hypothesis at 6 months after radiotherapy treatment. This study is planned to include 120 patients with a first head and neck cancer whit radiotherapy as part of their treatment sequence. The expected duration of inclusion is 18 months. The identification of factors affecting survival, quality of life and patient compliance is essential to determine appropriate management, particularly by creating appropriate therapeutic education programs.