Persistent Lyme Empiric Antibiotic Study Europe (PLEASE)
Persistent Lyme Empiric Antibiotic Study Europe. A Prospective, Randomised Study Comparing Two Prolonged Oral Antibiotic Strategies After Initial Intravenous Ceftriaxone Therapy for Patients With Symptoms of Proven or Possible Persistent Lyme Disease
Study Overview
Status
Status
Conditions
Conditions
Intervention / Treatment
Intervention / Treatment
Study Type
Study Type
Enrollment (Actual)
Enrollment
Phase
Phase
- Phase 4
Contacts and Locations
Study Locations
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-
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Nijmegen, Netherlands, 6500 HB
- Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre
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Nijmegen, Netherlands, 6522 JV
- Sint Maartenskliniek
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-
Participation Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
Ages Eligible for Study
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Genders Eligible for Study
Description
Inclusion Criteria:
- Males or non-pregnant, non-lactating females who are 18 years or older.
- Women of child-bearing potential must agree to use contraception methods other than oral contraceptives during the study therapy period, since failure of oral contraceptives due to long-term antibiotic use has been described and doxycycline might be teratogenic.
Patients with presumed or proven PLD. In this study, clinical suspicion of PLD is defined as complaints of musculoskeletal pain, arthritis or arthralgia, neuralgia or sensory disturbances (such as paresthesias or dysesthesias), neuropsychological or cognitive disorders, and persistent fatigue, that are:
- temporally related to an episode of erythema migrans or otherwise proven symptomatic Lyme disease (defined as within 4 months after erythema migrans as assessed by a physician, or positive biopsy, PCR, culture, intrathecal B. burgdorferi antibodies), OR
- accompanied by a positive B. burgdorferi IgG or IgM immunoblot (as defined by strict criteria in line with the European Union Concerted Action on Lyme Borreliosis (EUCALB)), regardless of prior ELISA IgG/IgM screening results.
- Subjects must sign a written informed consent form.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Subjects with a known history of allergy or intolerance to tetracyclines, macrolides, hydroxychloroquine or ceftriaxone.
- Subjects who have had more than 5 days of antimicrobial therapy with activity against B. burgdorferi within the previous 4 weeks.
- Subjects with a presumed diagnosis of neuroborreliosis (CSF pleocytosis or intrathecal antibody production) for which intravenous antimicrobial therapy is required.
- Subjects with a known diagnosis of HIV-seropositivity or other immune disorders. (No HIV serologic testing is required for the study).
- Subjects with positive syphilis serology or signs of other spirochetal diseases.
- Subjects with moderate or severe liver disease defined as alkaline phosphatase, ALAT, or ASAT greater than 3 times upper limit of normal.
- Subjects who are receiving and cannot discontinue cisapride, astemizole, terfenadine, barbiturates, phenytoin, or carbamazepine (The concentrations of these drugs may increase during clarithromycin therapy and/or lead to reduced availability of doxycycline).
- Subjects who are currently enrolled on other investigational drug trials or receiving investigational agents.
- Subjects who have been previously randomized into this study.
- Severe physical or psychiatric co-morbidity that interferes with participation in the study protocol, including previous medical diagnosis of rheumatic conditions, chronic fatigue syndrome or chronic pain conditions as well as insufficient command of the Dutch language.
- Co-morbidity that could (partially) account for the symptoms of the subject (e.g. vitamin B12 deficiency, anemia, hypothyroidism).
Study Plan
How is the study designed?
Design Details
- Primary Purpose: Treatment
- Allocation: Randomized
- Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
- Masking: Quadruple
Number of Arms
Arms and Interventions
Participant Group / ArmParticipant Group / Arm |
Intervention / TreatmentIntervention / Treatment |
|---|---|
|
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
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After open-label i.v.
ceftriaxone 2000 mg qd via a peripheral i.v.
catheter: 12 weeks' course of double placebo b.i.d.
|
|
Active Comparator: Doxycycline
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After open-label i.v.
ceftriaxone 2000 mg qd via a peripheral i.v.
catheter: oral Doxycycline 100 mg combined with a placebo b.i.d. for 12 weeks
Other Names:
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|
Active Comparator: Clarithromycin and hydroxychloroquine
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After open-label i.v.
ceftriaxone 2000 mg qd via a peripheral i.v.
catheter: clarithromycin 500 mg combined with hydroxychloroquine 200 mg b.i.d. for 12 weeks
Other Names:
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What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
|
Global score 36-item Short-form General Health Survey (SF 36)
Time Frame: Week 14
|
Because different operationalizations of the term 'Global score 36-item Short-form General Health Survey (SF 36)' exist, the primary outcome measure is specified here as the 'physical component summary score' (PCS) of the RAND-36 Health Status Inventory (RAND SF-36, Hays 1998), which is similar to the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) 36-item Short-Form General Health Survey (SF-36).
The PCS is also known as the physical health composite score (PHC).
This specification has been communicated to the local Ethics Committee on March 1, 2011, and was approved on April 6, 2011.
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Week 14
|
Secondary Outcome Measures
Secondary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
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Subscales 36-item Short-form General Health Survey (SF 36)
Time Frame: weeks 0, 14, 26, 40 and 52
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After the last comprehensive outcome assessment at week 40, patients are surveyed by post-study questionnaires at week 52 (protocol version 3.8; dated July 17, 2009; final Ethics Committee approval April 29, 2010).
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weeks 0, 14, 26, 40 and 52
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Actometer recording during 14 days (objective physical activity)
Time Frame: weeks 0, 14 and 40
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weeks 0, 14 and 40
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|
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Measurements of neuropsychological impairment
Time Frame: weeks 0, 14, 26 and 40
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weeks 0, 14, 26 and 40
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|
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Economic evaluation: Questionaire EQ-5D, health consumption and productivity of labour
Time Frame: weeks 0, 14, 26, 40 and 52
|
After the last comprehensive outcome assessment at week 40, patients are surveyed by post-study questionnaires at week 52 (protocol version 3.8; dated July 17, 2009; final Ethics Committee approval April 29, 2010).
|
weeks 0, 14, 26, 40 and 52
|
|
Fatigue subscale of Checklist Individual Strength (CIS)
Time Frame: weeks 0, 14, 26, 40 and 52
|
After the last comprehensive outcome assessment at week 40, patients are surveyed by post-study questionnaires at week 52 (protocol version 3.8; dated July 17, 2009; final Ethics Committee approval April 29, 2010).
|
weeks 0, 14, 26, 40 and 52
|
Collaborators and Investigators
Sponsor
Sponsor
Collaborators
Collaborators
Investigators
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Bart-Jan Kullberg, Prof., M.D., Radboud University Medical Center
Publications and helpful links
General Publications
- Berende A, ter Hofstede HJ, Donders AR, van Middendorp H, Kessels RP, Adang EM, Vos FJ, Evers AW, Kullberg BJ. Persistent Lyme Empiric Antibiotic Study Europe (PLEASE)--design of a randomized controlled trial of prolonged antibiotic treatment in patients with persistent symptoms attributed to Lyme borreliosis. BMC Infect Dis. 2014 Oct 16;14:543. doi: 10.1186/s12879-014-0543-y.
- Berende A, ter Hofstede HJ, Vos FJ, van Middendorp H, Vogelaar ML, Tromp M, van den Hoogen FH, Donders AR, Evers AW, Kullberg BJ. Randomized Trial of Longer-Term Therapy for Symptoms Attributed to Lyme Disease. N Engl J Med. 2016 Mar 31;374(13):1209-20. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1505425.
- van Middendorp H, Berende A, Vos FJ, Ter Hofstede HHM, Kullberg BJ, Evers AWM. Expectancies as predictors of symptom improvement after antimicrobial therapy for persistent symptoms attributed to Lyme disease. Clin Rheumatol. 2021 Oct;40(10):4295-4308. doi: 10.1007/s10067-021-05760-1. Epub 2021 May 24.
- Berende A, Agelink van Rentergem J, Evers AWM, Ter Hofstede HJM, Vos FJ, Kullberg BJ, Kessels RPC. Cognitive impairments in patients with persistent symptoms attributed to Lyme disease. BMC Infect Dis. 2019 Oct 7;19(1):833. doi: 10.1186/s12879-019-4452-y.
- Berende A, Ter Hofstede HJM, Vos FJ, Vogelaar ML, van Middendorp H, Evers AWM, Kessels RPC, Kullberg BJ. Effect of prolonged antibiotic treatment on cognition in patients with Lyme borreliosis. Neurology. 2019 Mar 26;92(13):e1447-e1455. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000007186. Epub 2019 Feb 22.
Study record dates
Study Major Dates
Study Start
Study Start
Primary Completion (Actual)
Primary Completion
Study Completion (Actual)
Study Completion
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
First Submitted
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
First Posted (Estimate)
First Posted
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (Estimate)
Last Update Posted
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
Last Verified
Last Verified
More Information
Terms related to this study
Keywords
Additional Relevant MeSH Terms
- Infections
- Vector Borne Diseases
- Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections
- Bacterial Infections
- Bacterial Infections and Mycoses
- Tick-Borne Diseases
- Spirochaetales Infections
- Lyme Disease
- Borrelia Infections
- Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
- Anti-Infective Agents
- Enzyme Inhibitors
- Antirheumatic Agents
- Anti-Bacterial Agents
- Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A Inhibitors
- Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme Inhibitors
- Protein Synthesis Inhibitors
- Antiprotozoal Agents
- Antiparasitic Agents
- Antimalarials
- Doxycycline
- Clarithromycin
- Hydroxychloroquine
Other Study ID Numbers
Other Study ID Numbers
- PLEASE
- NL-27344.091.09 (Other Grant/Funding Number: ZonMW)
- 2009-010939-40 (EudraCT Number)
Drug and device information, study documents
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product
product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.
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