BDNG NEWS
UK DCTN update Carron Layfield Update on recruiting trials All studies below are funded by National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funding streams. SAFA Only 110 more participants needed by end of August 2021 for this adult female acne study The SAFA (Spironolactone for Adult Female Acne) randomised controlled trial (RCT) has now recruited 288/398 participants, including 161 since the first clinic post lockdown in July 2020. Advertising through social media remains crucial in identifying potential participants quickly. Ten secondary care sites are actively involved in recruitment (Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Epsom, Harrogate, Nottingham, Swansea, St Mary’s London, Poole, and Portsmouth) and the study team are optimistic the new target of 398 participants (revised down from 434) will be met by the recruitment end date of 31st August 2021. Please see the study website for a full update: https://www.southampton. ac.uk/safa/index.page. THESEUS HS study recruits 100+ patients with recruitment end date extended to June 2021 THESEUS – a prospective cohort study aiming to identify the best treatment options for hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) when first line treatment fails – has recruited robustly despite the pandemic, and has now reached 109/150 recruits. Ten sites are now open (Stoke Mandeville, Oxford, Forth Valley, Chelmsford, Newcastle, Cardiff, Barnsley, Guy’s and St Thomas, Salford and Brighton), with the recruitment period extended to the end of June 2021. Interviews with study participants about their experiences are going well, 58
and the de-roofing procedure video has now had over 475,000 views. For further information please see the new study website at: https://www. nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/cebd/ projects/5rareandother/theseus.aspx. ALPHA Just 20 more patients needed for this hand eczema study ALPHA, an RCT comparing the effectiveness of alitretinoin and PUVA for the treatment of severe hand eczema, now needs just 20 patients to meet the final target of 455 participants. Patients can self-refer – please see the website https://ctru.leeds.ac.uk/ alpha (which includes a list of the 20+ recruiting centres) for full details.
Other news UK DCTN 2021 Themed Call – Paediatric Dermatology, closing date Mon 19th July This year, three themed call awards of up to £10,000 each are available thanks to co-funding from the British Society of Paediatric Dermatology (BSPD) and the National Eczema Society (NES). The closing date for applications is Monday 19th July, with full information available at http://www.ukdctn.org/ funding-awards/ukdctn-funding-awards. aspx. Nurse-led applications are welcomed, and if you would like to discuss informally before submitting please get in touch with Network Manager at carron. layfield@nottingham.ac.uk. Exploring training and development needs Many thanks to those BDNG members who joined us at the online meeting on 14th April to explore clinical research training and development needs in dermatology nursing. Following these discussions, a research section has been
Dermatological Nursing, 2021, Vol 20, No 2
added to the resources area of the BDNG website, and as a starting point this includes links to further websites and free of charge online courses. The next webinar, which will discuss the article in this edition exploring different approaches to clinical research, will be held on Wednesday 14th July at 7.00pm – please do join us to discuss and find out more about why different types of clinical research are used to answer different research questions. UK DCTN Nurse or Pharmacist Fellowship Award After a pause due to COVID-19, the UK DCTN Fellowship Awards are back this year. The nurse fellowship is now a joint award (with pharmacists) and the eligibility criteria has been changed to open it out to a wider range of dermatology nurses (you no longer need to be involved in research to apply). The two-year award has £1,750 allocated to cover expenses for several activities including: the BEES Better Evaluation of Evidence and Statistics course, spending time at the UK DCTN Co-ordinating Centre in Nottingham, working on critical appraisal skills with Prof Hywel Williams (UK DCTN Chair) and joining our Steering Committee. It’s easy to apply for the Fellowship Award, with the process consisting of a short application form and there are no interviews. All awards are judged solely on the applications received. The closing date is Monday 25th October. For more information see http://www.ukdctn.org/ ukdctn/awards-and-training/index.aspx. Membership of the UK DCTN is free. If you have an interest in dermatology research sign up at www.ukdctn.org. DN Corresponding author: Carron Layfield. Tel 0115 8468625, e-mail carron.layfield@nottingham.ac.uk www.bdng.org.uk
