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Necrotizing Enterocolitissteroids/NECNCT01156480

Anti-inflammatory Treatment at the Onset of Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) in Preterm Infants

A study testing hydrocortisone in people with Necrotizing Enterocolitis, run by Endeavor Health at 2 sites in United States.

Terminated

Stopped early. The study ended before it was planned to and will not resume.

Official record
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Trial summary

Despite modern medical advances, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) remains a significant problem in neonatal intensive care units (ICUs). Although research has shown NEC to be an inflammatory necrosis of the bowels, to date no study has examined the effect of anti-inflammatory therapy on this dreaded disease once it is… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 0 days to 6 months
Conditions the study is for
Necrotizing Enterocolitis
What is being tested?
hydrocortisone
Type of treatment
Injection or infusion
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
2 participants
Where
2 sitesUnited States
Study dates
Sep 2009to Nov 2012
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 0 days to 6 months
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child

Who may be able to join

  • Infant born at gestational age less than 34 weeks
  • Birth weight less than 2500 grams
  • Diagnosis of stage II or III NEC made by attending neonatologist, neonatology fellow, or pediatric hospitalist
  • Legally authorized representative is able to provide written informed consent prior to the performance of an protocol-specified evaluations or procedures
  • Consent can be obtained and study drug can be administered within 6 hours of diagnosis

Who cannot join

  • congenital gastrointestinal anomaly
  • subject is already receiving parenteral steroid therapy or subject has received parenteral steroids within one week prior to study entry
  • subject has received indomethacin therapy within 48 hours prior to being diagnosed with NEC

Trial locations and contacts

2 sites in 1 country.

United States2 sites
  • University of Chicago Comer Childrens Hospital

    Chicago, Illinois

  • NorthShore University HealthSystem

    Evanston, Illinois, 60201

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Anti-inflammatory Treatment at the Onset of NEC in Preterm Infants- a Pilot Study

Despite modern medical advances, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) remains a significant problem in neonatal intensive care units (ICUs). Although research has shown NEC to be an inflammatory necrosis of the bowels, to date no study has examined the effect of anti-inflammatory therapy on this dreaded disease once it is diagnosed. The investigators propose a multi-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded pilot study to examine the effect of hydrocortisone in infants diagnosed with stages II and III NEC. The investigators will follow C-reactive protein (CRP) levels as a marker of systemic inflammation for the primary outcome in this study.

Read the detailed description

Given the extensive inflammatory response inherent to NEC, anti-inflammatory treatment may be of benefit, to both reduce inflammation and as a potential therapy to improve outcome. To date, there is no specific therapy for NEC that has been found to improve outcome, but corticosteroids have yet to be investigated in that capacity. Therefore, we propose to examine the effect of hydrocortisone for treatment of NEC in a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled pilot study, focusing on a primary outcome of C-reactive protein levels at 3 and 7 days of therapy as a measure of inflammation. In addition, we will follow several secondary outcome measures to determine the possibility of improved outcome in those infants assigned to hydrocortisone.

The investigators hypothesize that infants diagnosed with NEC who receive hydrocortisone will have significantly lower C-reactive protein levels at 3 and 7 days of treatment versus infants who receive placebo.

Being tested
hydrocortisone, placebo
Keywords
necrotizing enterocolitis, NEC, premature, hydrocortisone, steroids, anti-inflammatory
Medical subject headings
Enterocolitis, Necrotizing, Premature Birth

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • hydrocortisoneDrug

    Subjects in hydrocortisone group will receive 3mg/kg/day divided every 8 hours via IV route for 3 days, followed by 2mg/kg/day divided every 8 hours IV for 1 day, followed by 1.5mg/kg/day divided every 8 hours IV for 1 day, followed by 1mg/kg/day divided every 12 hours for 1 day, followed by 0.5mg/kg/day in single dose for one day. The first dose of study drug will be given within 6 hours of diagnosis of NEC, once informed consent is obtained, and subjects will continue to receive study drug until all doses have been given (total of 18 doses) or consent is withdrawn.

  • placeboDrug

    Subjects in placebo group will receive a volume of placebo equal to the hydrocortisone group, on the same dosing schedule, with doses given every 8 hours via IV route for 3 days, followed by placebo every 8 hours IV for 1 day, followed by placebo every 8 hours IV for 1 day, followed by placebo every 12 hours for 1 day, followed by placebo in single dose for one day. The first dose of study drug will be given within 6 hours of diagnosis of NEC, once informed consent is obtained, and subjects will continue to receive study drug until all doses have been given (total of 18 doses) or consent is withdrawn.

Study groups in NCT01156480
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
hydrocortisoneExperimentalSubjects in hydrocortisone group will receive 3mg/kg/day divided every 8 hours via intravenous (IV) route for 3 days, followed by 2mg/kg/day divided every 8 hours IV for 1 day, followed by 1.5mg/kg/day divided every 8 hours IV for 1 day, followed by 1mg/kg/day divided every 12 hours for 1 day, followed by 0.5mg/kg/day in single dose for one day. Subjects in placebo group will receive equal volume of placebo on the same dosing schedule. The first dose of study drug will be given within 6 hours of diagnosis of NEC, once informed consent is obtained, and subjects will continue to receive study drug until all doses have been given (total of 18 doses) or consent is withdrawn.
Receives: Drug: hydrocortisone
PlaceboPlacebo comparatorSubjects in placebo group will receive equal volume of placebo (as compared to hydrocortisone arm) on the same dosing schedule. The first dose of study drug will be given within 6 hours of diagnosis of NEC, once informed consent is obtained, and subjects will continue to receive study drug until all doses have been given (total of 18 doses) or consent is withdrawn.
Receives: Drug: placebo

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. CRP Level

    C-reactive protein is a non-specific marker of inflammation, noted to be elevated in infants diagnosed with NEC.

    Measured: 3 days

  2. CRP Level

    C-reactive protein (CRP) is a non-specific measure of inflammation, usually elevated in infants diagnosed with NEC

    Measured: 7 days

Secondary outcomes (9)
  1. Gastrointestinal (GI) Failure (Defined as Not Being on Full Enteral Feeds of 120kcal/kg/Day at 36 Weeks Corrected Age)

    GI failure

    Measured: 36 weeks corrected gestational age

  2. Spontaneous Intestinal Perforation

    Whether or not infants had perforation.

    Measured: at 36 weeks corrected gestational age

  3. Need for Gastrointestinal Surgery

    Whether or not the infants required GI surgery by 36 weeks CGA

    Measured: at 36 weeks corrected gestational age

  4. Incidence of Sepsis

    Whether or not enrolled subjects had sepsis before 40 weeks CGA

    Measured: at 40 weeks corrected gestational age

  5. Time on Parenteral Nutrition

    Total time on parenteral nutrition

    Measured: at 40 weeks corrected gestational age

  6. Time to Full Enteral Feeds

    this will be assessed as the time needed to achieve full enteral feeds following the diagnosis of NEC. On average, it will be assessed at 40 weeks CGA, near the time of discharge, but there is a subset of infants who will not yet have achieved full enteral feeds at that time, so it may need to be assessed later than 40 weeks CGA

    Measured: at 40 weeks corrected gestational age

  7. Length of Stay

    this will be assessed at the time of discharge, around 40 weeks CGA on average. A subset of infants may be discharged later than 40 weeks corrected gestational age (CGA), however, so these infants will need to have length of stay assessed later than 40 weeks CGA.

    Measured: at 40 weeks corrected gestational age

  8. Growth Velocity

    Growth velocity after NEC diagnosis, in g/kg/day.

    Measured: at 40 weeks CGA

  9. Mortality

    Measured: at 40 weeks corrected gestational age

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted2 Jul 2010 (estimated)
  2. Study startSep 2009
  3. Primary completionNov 2012
  4. Study completionNov 2012

Why it stopped: low enrollment

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Quadruple blind
Who is masked
Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
2 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01156480
Sponsor's protocol ID
EH09-196
Acronym
steroids/NEC
Status last verified
Aug 2020
First submitted
1 Jul 2010
Last updated
9 Sep 2020
Data monitoring committee
Yes

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing hydrocortisone in people with Necrotizing Enterocolitis, run by Endeavor Health at 2 sites in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: stopped early, as of the sponsor's last update on 9 Sep 2020. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 2 sites in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 24 Mar 2014). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

CRP Level (time frame: 3 days). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 9 Sep 2020.

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