The Calmer Project

July 16, 2018 updated by: Liisa Holsti, Children's & Women's Health Centre of British Columbia

Calmer: A Novel Approach for Treating Infant Pain

The purpose of this study is to see if the Calmer is more effective at managing acute pain in preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care than the current standard of care in the unit.

Hypothesis: While receiving treatment with Calmer, infants will show lower behavioral pain scores and lower heart rates, and more stable autonomic regulation as measured by heart rate variability indices, than infants given a soother plus facilitated tucking (standard of care) during routine blood collection.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

60 infants will be randomized to either receive the standard of care or the Calmer during a routine blood collection.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
54

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • British Columbia
      • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6H3V4
        • BC Children's and Women's Health Centre

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

6 months to 8 months (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Stable infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children's and Women's Health Centre of British Columbia (C&W)
  • Preterm infants born at 27 to 36+6 completed weeks gestational age (GA) will be included
  • GA is determined on the basis of the first day of the last menstrual period, early gestation ultrasonogram (in most cases) or best estimate based on neonatal examination
  • Mothers must speak enough English to provide consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Infants who have congenital anomalies, active, ongoing infection, or have undergone surgery
  • Infants who have received pharmacological analgesics or sedatives within 72 hours of the assessment
  • History of maternal abuse of controlled drugs and substances; blood collection that occurs beyond the 35th completed week (35 weeks + 6 days) GA
  • Small for GA defined as a birth weight at least 2 standard deviations below mean for GA
  • Higher order multiples (e.g. triplets)
  • Infants in a cot

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Calmer
This therapeutic platform, called the Calmer interacts with the infant to help reduce stress to help promote better outcomes. It is being tested to see if it mimics Kangaroo care, maternal skin to skin, to help promote better health outcomes. Infants would be placed on it prior, during and after bloodwork to see if it elicits a favorable response.
Device: The Calmer
This platform, called the Calmer, interacts with the infant to help reduce stress to help promote better outcomes. Infants can be placed on it for care to mimic Kangaroo Care, maternal skin to skin.
Placebo Comparator: Standard Care
Standard of care during bloodwork is receiving a soother and facilitated tucking.
Other: Standard of Care
Infant would receive the standard of care for bloodwork, provided a soother and facilitated tucking.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Behavioral Indicators of Infant Pain (BIIP) Score
Time Frame: During the assessment period in the study, estimated to occur around one hour.
The Behavioral Indicators of Infant Pain (BIIP) is a reliable and valid scale for assessing acute procedural pain in preterm infants.
During the assessment period in the study, estimated to occur around one hour.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Secondary Outcome Measures: Heart Rate
Time Frame: During and after the assessment period in the study, estimated to be 6 hours.
Heart rate will be recorded during the assessment period, one hour, to denote changes. Additionally, the heart rate will be recorded after the assessment period, for approximately 5 hours.
During and after the assessment period in the study, estimated to be 6 hours.
Secondary Outcome Measures: Heart Rate Variability
Time Frame: During and after assessment period in the study, estimated to be 6 hours.
Heart rate variability during the assessment period will be recorded, monitored and reviewed for changes, estimated to occur over the course of an hour. Additionally, the heart rate variability will be recorded after the assessment period, for approximately 5 hours.
During and after assessment period in the study, estimated to be 6 hours.
Secondary Outcome Measures: NIRS
Time Frame: During the assessment period in the study, estimated to occur over less than an hour.
Brain blood oxy- and de-oxyhemoglobin, TSI, total hemoglobin, using near infra-red spectroscopy. During the assessment period in the study, estimated to occur around one hour.
During the assessment period in the study, estimated to occur over less than an hour.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Children's & Women's Health Centre of British Columbia

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Liisa Holsti, PhD, Developmental Neurosciences and Child Health, Child and Family Research Institute and Dept. of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, UBC

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 1, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 1, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 9, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 13, 2011

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 14, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 17, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 16, 2018

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • CALMERP

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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