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Suicidal IdeationPhase 3NCT03539887

Trial of the Rapid Antisuicidal Effects of Intranasal Ketamine in Comorbid Depression and Alcohol Abuse

A Phase 3 study testing Intranasal ketamine in people with Suicidal Ideation and Depression, run by The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

This project aims to evaluate the potential rapid and sustained antisuicidal and antidepressant effects of a single intranasal dose of ketamine in inpatients during a mood episode in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) or Bipolar Disorder (BD) with or without comorbid recent abuse of alcohol. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 21 to 60 years
Conditions the study is for
Suicidal Ideation, Depression, Alcohol Abuse
What is being tested?
Intranasal ketamine
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
33 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
1 May 2018to 15 Jan 2022
Phase
Phase 3
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 21 to 60 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Voluntary admission to Harris County Psychiatry Center
  • Able to provide written informed consent
  • Current suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders -IV- Text Revision(DSM-IV-TR) depressive episode (also MADRS greater than or equal to 12) and Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) score lower than 8
  • DSM-IV-TR criteria for current alcohol abuse (but not intoxicated/withdrawal, abstinent from drinking for > 5 days prior to admission).
  • Lifetime history of suicide attempt (patient)
  • Not taking any medication in the last 24hs.
  • Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI) score over 4 (first five items) and Columbia scale (C-SSRS) score 4 or 5

Who cannot join

  • Unstable medical condition or medical problem with known central nervous system (CNS) effects, e.g. uncontrolled hypertension systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥170 and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥100) or recent history (6 months) of alcohol-withdrawal seizures or significant abnormal laboratory tests (liver function test (LFT) 3 times higher than normal).
  • Prior diagnosis of a DSM-IV-TR psychotic spectrum disorder, psychotic symptoms, or personality disorder.
  • Currently under the acute effects of an illicit substance.
  • Pregnant or nursing women.
  • Subjects with a history of DSM-IV drug dependency or abuse (except for caffeine or nicotine dependence) within the preceding 3 months

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

    Houston, Texas, 77006

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of the Rapid Antisuicidal Effects of Intranasal Ketamine in Comorbid Depression and Alcohol Abuse

This project aims to evaluate the potential rapid and sustained antisuicidal and antidepressant effects of a single intranasal dose of ketamine in inpatients during a mood episode in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) or Bipolar Disorder (BD) with or without comorbid recent abuse of alcohol.

Read the detailed description

Clinicians have a limited ability to predict imminent suicidal behavior and efficacious treatments are not available to treat suicidal patients. Thus, Rapid-acting treatments for suicidal individuals are truly needed. This project aims to evaluate the potential rapid and sustained antisuicidal and antidepressant effects of a single intranasal dose of ketamine in inpatients during a mood episode (in Major Depressive Disorder, MDD or Bipolar Disorder, BD) with or without comorbid recent abuse of alcohol. These results will elucidate the antisuicidal effects of ketamine using the intranasal route along with the identification of associated mediators or moderators; this approach has the potential for enormous public health impact.

Being tested
Intranasal ketamine, Placebo
Keywords
Ketamine, Depression, Suicidal Ideation, Alcohol Abuse
Medical subject headings
Suicidal Ideation, Depression, Alcoholism

What participants receive

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

  • Intranasal ketamineDrug

    Intranasal ketamine will be prepared as 100mg/ml ketamine in 0.9% saline. An mucosal atomization device will be used to provide 5 intranasal applications of solution (volume 100 μl), separated by 3 minutes, over a total of 15 minutes. Each of five ketamine applications will provide 10 mg of study drug, for a total of 50mg. The dose to be used (0.5-1mg/Kg) is 6 to 18 times lower than the sedation dose (6-9mg/Kg).

  • PlaceboDrug

    Saline alone. An mucosal atomization device will be used to provide 5 intranasal applications of saline (volume 100 μl), separated by 3 minutes, over a total of 15 minutes.

Study groups in NCT03539887
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Intranasal ketamineExperimentalIntranasal ketamine
Receives: Drug: Intranasal ketamine
PlaceboPlacebo comparatornon-active placebo
Receives: Drug: Placebo

What is being measured

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

  1. Suicidal Ideation as Assessed by the Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI)

    The scale contains 19 items rated on a scale from 0 to 2, allowing score range from 0 to 38, score over 4 (first five items) will be considered inclusion criteria. Higher values indicate worsening or presence of suicidal ideation.

    Measured: 24 hours

Secondary outcomes (5)
  1. Depression as Assessed by the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS)

    It has ten items, each item yields a score of 0 to 6. Hence the overall score ranges from 0 to 60. Higher scores indicate more severe depression.

    Measured: 24 hours

  2. Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale

    The Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS) is an assessment of anhedonia, which is the inability to experience pleasure. The SHAPS has 14 items. Each item has four possible responses: strongly disagree, disagree, agree, or strongly agree. A response of "strongly disagree" or "disagree" equals one point, and a response of "strongly agree" or "agree" equals 0 points. Thus, the final score ranges from 0 to 14. A score of 2 or less constitutes a "normal" score, while an "abnormal" score is defined as 3 or more.

    Measured: 24 hours

  3. Alcohol Urge Questionnaire (AUQ)

    Alcohol Urge Questionnaire (AUQ) is a multi-item measure of self-reported urges to drink alcohol, predictor of drinking abuse and relapse. AUQ is an 8-item questionnaire.

    Each item is scored on a 1 to 7 scale (Strongly Disagree = 1 and Strongly Agree = 7). Items 2 and 7 are reverse scored. Total score ranges from 8 to 56, and a higher score reflects greater craving.

    Measured: 24 hours

  4. Manic Symptoms as Assessed by Score on the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS)

    The YMRS has 11 items, and total score ranges from 0 to 88, with a higher score indicating greater mania.

    Measured: 24 hours

  5. Dissociative State as Assessed by Score on Clinician-Administered Dissociative States Scale (CADSS)

    The CADSS consists of 23 items, and each item is rated on a scale from 0 (not at all) to 4 (severe), with the total score ranging from 0 to 92. A higher score indicates greater severity of dissociative state.

    Measured: 24 hours

Timeline

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

  1. First posted29 May 2018
  2. Study start1 May 2018
  3. Primary completion15 Jan 2022
  4. Study completion15 Jan 2022

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 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Model description
Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled
Masking
Quadruple blind
Who is masked
Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
33 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT03539887
Sponsor's protocol ID
HSC-MS-17-0903
Status last verified
Feb 2023
First submitted
16 May 2018
Last updated
1 Mar 2023
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No

Publications

  • Jones GH, Vecera CM, Ruiz AC, Wu HE, McInturff SI, Orejarena MJ, Smith KA, Soares JC, Zarate CA, Lane SD, Machado-Vieira R. A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Trial of the Acute Antisuicidal and Antidepressant Effects of Intranasal (R,S)-Ketamine in Severe Unipolar and Bipolar Depression With and Without Comorbid Alcohol Use Disorder. J Clin Psychiatry. 2024 Apr 24;85(2):23m14974. doi: 10.4088/JCP.23m14974.

    PubMed 38696221

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 3 study testing Intranasal ketamine in people with Suicidal Ideation and Depression, run by The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston at 1 site 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 7 inclusion and 5 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: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 1 Mar 2023. 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 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.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 3 studies compare the treatment with the current standard treatment or a placebo in a large group, to confirm how well it works and watch for side effects.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 1 Mar 2023). 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?

Suicidal Ideation as Assessed by the Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI) (time frame: 24 hours). 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 NCT03539887, which also lists 1 linked publication.

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 1 Mar 2023.

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