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COVID-19MIA-COVID-19NCT04366882

Minimal Invasive Autopsies to Investigate Changes in Deceased COVID-19 Patients

A study testing CT-scan with minimal invasive autopsy in people with COVID-19, run by Jessa Hospital at 1 site in Belgium.

Unknown status

Status not confirmed. The sponsor has not verified this record for over two years, so it may be out of date.

Official record
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Trial summary

Rationale In a very short time corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a pandemic with high morbidity and mortality. The main cause of death is respiratory failure including acute respiratory distress syndrome, however the exact mechanisms and other underlying pathology is currently not yet known. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Any age
Conditions the study is for
COVID-19
What is being tested?
CT-scan with minimal invasive autopsy
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
How many people
48 participants
Where
1 siteBelgium
Study dates
14 Apr 2020to Dec 2023
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 Any age
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child, Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • All patients with COVID-19 that die during hospitalization in Jessa hospital. COVID-19 is defined as either a positive SARS CoV-2 PCR result OR a high clinical suspicion combined with typical radiologic findings in the absence of an alternative explanation for the clinical picture.

Who cannot join

  • None

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Belgium1 site
  • Jessa Hospital

    Hasselt

Other trials in Belgium

About this study

Official title: Increasing Our Understanding of COVID-19: Minimal Invasive Autopsies to Investigate Clinical, Radiological, Microbiological and Histopathological Changes in Deceased COVID-19 Patients

Rationale In a very short time corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a pandemic with high morbidity and mortality. The main cause of death is respiratory failure including acute respiratory distress syndrome, however the exact mechanisms and other underlying pathology is currently not yet known. In the current setting of the COVID-19 pandemic complete autopsies seem too risky due to the risk of SARS CoV-2 transmission. Yet, as so little is known, additional histopathological, microbiological and virologic study of tissue of deceased COVID-19 patients will provide important clinical and pathophysiological information. Minimal invasive autopsy combined with postmortem imaging seems therefore an optimal method combining safety on the one hand yet proving significant information on the other.

This study aims to determine the cause of death and attributable conditions in deceased COVID-19 patients. This will be performed using post-mortem CT-scanning plus CT-guided MIA to obtain tissue for further histological, microbiological and pathological diagnostics. In addition, the pathophysiology of COVID-19 will be examined by further tissue analysis.

Conditions
COVID-19
Being tested
CT-scan with minimal invasive autopsy
Keywords
COVID-19, cause of death, pathophysiology
Medical subject headings
COVID-19

What participants receive

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

  • CT-scan with minimal invasive autopsyProcedure or surgery

    CT-guided biopsies will be performed directly following the diagnostic CT-scan. Biopsies will be taken from heart, liver, lungs, spleen, kidneys and abdominal fat according to a standard operation procedure. Biopsies will be taken for further histological examination and storage in the biobank. Of the lung, additional samples will be taken for microbiological examination. Additional samples will be taken in case of (focal) abnormalities on CT-imaging. In case of pleural, cardiac or abdominal fluid, this will be aspirated for further cytological, biochemical and microbiological examination. Finally, 15 cc blood will be drawn from the heart.

What is being measured

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

  1. Determination of cause of death and contributing factors based on clinical, radiological, microbiological and histopathological data of the deceased patient

    For each individual patient the cause of death and contributing factors will be assessed. For each individual these diagnoses will be made during a meeting of a multidisciplinary team consisting of at least an infectious diseases physician, a radiologist and a pathologist. On a case to case basis, additional medical specialists can be asked to attend, including an intensive care specialist, a geriatrician and/or a microbiologist.

    During the meetings, the clinical, radiological, microbiological and histopathological data will be presented to all attending specialists. The final diagnoses will be based on consensus.

    Outcomes will be reported as proportions with a 95% confidence interval.

    Measured: up to one month

Secondary outcomes (4)
  1. Detailed description of the postmortem radiological changes induced by COVID-19

    The radiological findings will be systematically scored as absent or present. These findings will be reported as proportions with a 95% confidence interval.

    Measured: up to one month

  2. Detailed description of the postmortem histopathological changes induced by COVID-19

    On the basis of clinical observations at this moment in time correlations will be done between the renal histology findings of the patients with and without renal failure at death as well as between the cardiac histology findings of the patients with and without clinical signs of myocarditis. However, in the light of continuous clinical observations and new insights, this may be expanded in the future. Outcomes will be reported as proportions with a 95% confidence interval.

    Measured: up to one month

  3. Postmortem quantity of viral RNA

    Describe the quantity of viral RNA in the different tissues and relate this to the clinical, radiological and histopathological findings.

    Measured: up to one month

  4. Postmortem disease mechanisms at cellular level

    Study in detail the disease mechanisms at cellular level (including ACE-2 receptor expression in relation to quantity of viral RNA) in the different tissues.

    Measured: up to one month

Timeline

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

  1. First posted29 Apr 2020
  2. Study start14 Apr 2020
  3. Primary completion31 Dec 2020
  4. Study completionDec 2023 (estimated)

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
Health services research
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
48 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04366882
Sponsor's protocol ID
JessaH_COVID-19_MIA
Acronym
MIA-COVID-19
Status last verified
Aug 2022
First submitted
22 Apr 2020
Last updated
9 Aug 2022
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Publications

  • Van Cleemput J, van Snippenberg W, Lambrechts L, Dendooven A, D'Onofrio V, Couck L, Trypsteen W, Vanrusselt J, Theuns S, Vereecke N, van den Bosch TPP, Lammens M, Driessen A, Achten R, Bracke KR, Van den Broeck W, Von der Thusen J, Nauwynck H, Van Dorpe J, Gerlo S, Maes P, Cox J, Vandekerckhove L. Organ-specific genome diversity of replication-competent SARS-CoV-2. Nat Commun. 2021 Nov 16;12(1):6612. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-26884-7.

    PubMed 34785663
  • D'Onofrio V, Donders E, Vanden Abeele ME, Dubois J, Cartuyvels R, Achten R, Lammens M, Dendooven A, Driessen A, Augsburg L, Vanrusselt J, Cox J. The clinical value of minimal invasive autopsy in COVID-19 patients. PLoS One. 2020 Nov 11;15(11):e0242300. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242300. eCollection 2020.

    PubMed 33175911

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing CT-scan with minimal invasive autopsy in people with COVID-19, run by Jessa Hospital at 1 site in Belgium.

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 1 inclusion and 1 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: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 9 Aug 2022. 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 Belgium. 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. 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?

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?

Determination of cause of death and contributing factors based on clinical, radiological, microbiological and histopathological data of the deceased patient (time frame: up to one month). 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 NCT04366882, which also lists 2 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 9 Aug 2022.

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