A multidomain decision support tool to prevent falls in older people: the FinCH cluster RCT.

Background: Falls in care home residents are common, unpleasant, costly and difficult to prevent.

Objectives: The objectives were to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the Guide to Action for falls prevention in Care Homes (GtACH) programme.

Design: A multicentre, cluster, parallel, 1 : 1 randomised controlled trial with embedded process evaluation and economic evaluation.

Universal late pregnancy ultrasound screening to predict adverse outcomes in nulliparous women: a systematic review and cost-effectiveness analysis.

Background: Currently, pregnant women are screened using ultrasound to perform gestational aging, typically at around 12 weeks' gestation, and around the middle of pregnancy. Ultrasound scans thereafter are performed for clinical indications only.

Objectives: We sought to assess the case for offering universal late pregnancy ultrasound to all nulliparous women in the UK.

Practical help for specifying the target difference in sample size calculations for RCTs: the DELTA five-stage study, including a workshop.

Background: The randomised controlled trial is widely considered to be the gold standard study for comparing the effectiveness of health interventions. Central to its design is a calculation of the number of participants needed (the sample size) for the trial. The sample size is typically calculated by specifying the magnitude of the difference in the primary outcome between the intervention effects for the population of interest.

Surveillance arterioveNous fistulAs using ultRasound (SONAR) trial in haemodialysis patients: a study protocol for a multicentre observational study.

Introduction: Arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) are considered the best and safest modality for providing haemodialysis in patients with end-stage renal disease. Only 20% of UK centres achieve the recommended 80% target for achieving dialysis of the prevalent dialysis population via permanent access (as opposed to a central venous catheter). This is partly due to the relatively poor maturation rate of newly created fistulas, with as many as 50% of fistulas failing to mature.

PreImplantation Trial of Histopathology In renal Allografts (PITHIA): a stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial protocol.

Introduction: Most potential kidney transplant donors in the UK are aged over 60 years, yet increasing donor age is associated with poorer graft survival and function. Urgent preimplantation kidney biopsy can identify chronic injury, and may aid selection of better 'quality' kidneys from this group. However, the impact of biopsy on transplant numbers remains unproven.

Long-Term Costs and Health Consequences of Issuing Shorter Duration Prescriptions for Patients with Chronic Health Conditions in the English NHS.

Background: The National Health Service (NHS) in England spends over £9 billion on prescription medicines dispensed in primary care, of which over two-thirds is accounted for by repeat prescriptions. Recently, GPs in England have been urged to limit the duration of repeat prescriptions, where clinically appropriate, to 28 days to reduce wastage and hence contain costs. However, shorter prescriptions will increase transaction costs and thus may not be cost saving.

Association of psychological distress, quality of life and costs with carpal tunnel syndrome severity: a cross-sectional analysis of the PALMS cohort.

Objectives: The Prediciting factors for response to treatment in carpal tunnel syndrome (PALMS) study is designed to identify prognostic factors for outcome from corticosteroid injection and surgical decompression for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and predictors of cost over 2 years. The aim of this paper is to explore the cross-sectional association of baseline patient-reported and clinical severity with anxiety, depression, health-related quality of life and costs of CTS in patients referred to secondary care.

Methods: Prospective, multicentre cohort study initiated in 2013.

A cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the GoActive intervention to increase physical activity among adolescents aged 13-14 years.

Introduction: Adolescent physical activity promotion is rarely effective, despite adolescence being critical for preventing physical activity decline. Low adolescent physical activity is likely to last into adulthood, increasing health risks. The Get Others Active (GoActive) intervention is evidence-based and was developed iteratively with adolescents and teachers.

A randomised trial of the effect and cost-effectiveness of early intensive multifactorial therapy on 5-year cardiovascular outcomes in individuals with screen-detected type 2 diabetes: the Anglo-Danish-Dutch Study of Intensive Treatment in People with Screen-Detected Diabetes in Primary Care (ADDITION-Europe) study.

Background: Intensive treatment (IT) of cardiovascular risk factors can halve mortality among people with established type 2 diabetes but the effects of treatment earlier in the disease trajectory are uncertain.

Objective: To quantify the cost-effectiveness of intensive multifactorial treatment of screen-detected diabetes.

Design: Pragmatic, multicentre, cluster-randomised, parallel-group trial.

Protocol for the MoleMate UK Trial: a randomised controlled trial of the MoleMate system in the management of pigmented skin lesions in primary care [ISRCTN 79932379].

Background: Suspicious pigmented lesions are a common presenting problem in general practice consultations; while the majority are benign a small minority are melanomas. Differentiating melanomas from other pigmented lesions in primary care is challenging: currently, 95% of all lesions referred to a UK specialist are benign. The MoleMate system is a new diagnostic aid, incorporating a hand-held SIAscopy scanner with a primary care diagnostic algorithm.

Controlling hypertension immediately post stroke: a cost utility analysis of a pilot randomised controlled trial.

Background: Elevated blood pressure (BP) levels are common following acute stroke. However, there is considerable uncertainty if and when antihypertensive therapy should be initiated.

Method: Economic evaluation alongside a double-blind randomised placebo-controlled trial (National Research Register Trial Number N0484128008) of 112 hypertensive patients receiving an antihypertensive regimen (labetalol or lisinopril) within 36 hours post stroke versus 59 receiving placebo.