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CellulitisNCT02087527

Use of Corticosteroids in Children With Cellulitis

A study testing Dexamethasone and Normal Saline in people with Cellulitis, run by Hospital General de Niños Pedro de Elizalde at 1 site in Argentina.

Terminated

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

Official record
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Trial summary

The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of addition of corticosteroid therapy to antibiotic treatment during the first 48 hours of admission to the hospital in patients with cellulitis and its impact in the duration of the stay. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 1 month to 18 years
Conditions the study is for
Cellulitis
What is being tested?
Dexamethasone and Normal Saline
Type of treatment
Injection or infusion
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
19 participants
Where
1 siteArgentina
Study dates
Jun 2014to Mar 2016
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

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 1 month to 18 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child, Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Children Aged 1 month to 18 years
  • Hospitalized due to cellulitis
  • Patients who have given their written informed consent to participate

Who cannot join

  • Skin chronic diseases
  • Immunodeficiency (primary or acquired)
  • Chronic use of systemic corticosteroids
  • Sepsis
  • Varicella
  • History of adrenal insufficiency
Show all 12Show fewer
  • Pregnancy or breast feeding
  • Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus
  • Known hypersensitivity to systemic or topical corticosteroids
  • Patient undergoing immunosuppressive therapy for another disease
  • Participation in another drug biomedical research
  • Any other contraindication for treatment with corticosteroids

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Argentina1 site
  • Hospital General de NIños Pedro de Elizalde

    Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires F.D., C1270AAN

Other trials in Argentina

About this study

Official title: Use of Corticosteroids in Children Hospitalized With Cellulitis: Randomized, Double Blind, Placebo Controlled Trial

The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of addition of corticosteroid therapy to antibiotic treatment during the first 48 hours of admission to the hospital in patients with cellulitis and its impact in the duration of the stay.

Read the detailed description

Cellulitis is a common skin and soft tissue infection in the pediatric population.

Although most of the time treatment could be administered on an ambulatory setting , sometimes it may require hospitalization and parenteral antibiotic administration. Using corticosteroids during antibiotic treatment may reduce inflammation and length of stay.

Objective: to evaluate the efficacy of using corticosteroids as adjuvant treatment during the first 48 hours of treatment after hospitalization in patients with cellulitis.

Patients and methods: this is a double blind, randomized, controlled trial that will take place at pediatric hospital, during one year. It will include children aged 1 month to 18 years, admitted due to cellulitis. Once included in the clinical trial, the patients will be randomized to receive dexamethasone 0,6 mg/kg/day or placebo (saline solution) during the first 48 hours. Considering an average stay of 4 ± 2 days, we calculated a sample size of 124 children (62 children per group) to detect a 25% difference (1 day reduction) in the length of stay, with a power of 80% and a confidence of 95%.

Conditions
Cellulitis
Being tested
Dexamethasone, Normal Saline
Keywords
Cellulitis, Soft Tissue Infections, Skin Diseases, Infectious, Corticosteroids, Glucocorticoids, Dexamethasone
Medical subject headings
Cellulitis, Soft Tissue Infections, Skin Diseases, Infectious

What participants receive

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

  • DexamethasoneDrug

    Also called Decadron

    IV Dexamethasone 0.15 mg/kg every 6 hours for 48 hours

  • Normal SalineDrug

    Also called ClNa 0.9%

    IV normal saline every 6 hours for 48 hours

Study groups in NCT02087527
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
CORTICOSTEROIDExperimentalIn addition to standard care for cellulitis, subject will receive intravenous Dexamethasone (8mg/2ml) 0.15 mg/kg/dose every 6 hours for the first 48 hours
Receives: Drug: Dexamethasone
NORMAL SALINEPlacebo comparatorIn addition to standard care for cellulitis, subject will receive normal saline solution administered intravenously using the same volume as the active drug group every 6 hours for the first 48 hours
Receives: Drug: Normal Saline

What is being measured

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

  1. Length of stay

    Measured: participants will be followed for the duration of hospital stay, an expected average of 5 days

Secondary outcomes (4)
  1. Fever duration

    Measured: participants will be followed for the duration of hospital stay, an expected average of 5 days

  2. Change in erythema size

    Measured: Measured at admission and after 48 hours (at the end of corticosteroids treatment)

  3. Need to change antibiotic treatment

    Measured: participants will be followed for the duration of hospital stay, an expected average of 5 days

  4. Abscessation or spontaneous drainage

    Measured: participants will be followed for the duration of hospital stay, an expected average of 5 days

Timeline

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

  1. First posted14 Mar 2014 (estimated)
  2. Study startJun 2014
  3. Primary completionMar 2016
  4. Study completionMar 2016

Why it stopped: Calculated sample size not achieved

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
19 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT02087527
Sponsor's protocol ID
HGNPE-128-2013
Status last verified
Mar 2017
First submitted
19 Feb 2014
Last updated
13 Mar 2017
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
Individual data sharing
Undecided

Publications

  • Bergkvist PI, Sjobeck K. Antibiotic and prednisolone therapy of erysipelas: a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study. Scand J Infect Dis. 1997;29(4):377-82. doi: 10.3109/00365549709011834.

    PubMed 9360253
  • McGowan JE Jr, Chesney PJ, Crossley KB, LaForce FM. Guidelines for the use of systemic glucocorticosteroids in the management of selected infections. Working Group on Steroid Use, Antimicrobial Agents Committee, Infectious Diseases Society of America. J Infect Dis. 1992 Jan;165(1):1-13. doi: 10.1093/infdis/165.1.1. No abstract available.

    PubMed 1727879
  • Thompson J. Role of glucocorticosteroids in the treatment of infectious diseases. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 1993;12 Suppl 1:S68-72. doi: 10.1007/BF02389882.

    PubMed 8477768
  • Fritz KA, Weston WL. Systemic glucocorticosteroid therapy of skin disease in children. Pediatr Dermatol. 1984 Jan;1(3):236-45. doi: 10.1111/j.1525-1470.1984.tb01123.x.

    PubMed 6387668
  • Jaussaud R, Kaeppler E, Strady C, Beguinot I, Waldner A, Remy G. [Should NSAID/corticoids be considered when treating erysipelas?]. Ann Dermatol Venereol. 2001 Mar;128(3 Pt 2):348-51. French.

    PubMed 11319363
  • Kilburn SA, Featherstone P, Higgins B, Brindle R. Interventions for cellulitis and erysipelas. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2010 Jun 16;2010(6):CD004299. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004299.pub2.

    PubMed 20556757
  • Pushker N, Tejwani LK, Bajaj MS, Khurana S, Velpandian T, Chandra M. Role of oral corticosteroids in orbital cellulitis. Am J Ophthalmol. 2013 Jul;156(1):178-183.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2013.01.031. Epub 2013 Apr 24.

    PubMed 23622565
  • Kornelsen E, Mahant S, Parkin P, Ren LY, Reginald YA, Shah SS, Gill PJ. Corticosteroids for periorbital and orbital cellulitis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Apr 28;4(4):CD013535. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013535.pub2.

    PubMed 33908631

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Dexamethasone and Normal Saline in people with Cellulitis, run by Hospital General de Niños Pedro de Elizalde at 1 site in Argentina.

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 3 inclusion and 12 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 13 Mar 2017. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Argentina. 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?

The study was stopped early (reason given: Calculated sample size not achieved). Results are not available in the source record.

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?

Length of stay (time frame: participants will be followed for the duration of hospital stay, an expected average of 5 days). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT02087527, which also lists 8 linked publications.

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 13 Mar 2017.

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