Use of Probiotics to Prevent Influenza

October 25, 2018 updated by: McMaster University

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Probiotics to Prevent Influenza and Other Respiratory Infections in Residents of Long-term Care Facilities: A Pilot Study

The goal of this study is to assess the feasibility of randomizing residents of long-term care facilities to either probiotics or placebo to assess whether probiotics can reduce influenza and other viral laboratory confirmed respiratory infection.

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

The goal of this study is to assess the feasibility of randomizing residents of long-term care facilities to either probiotics or placebo to assess whether probiotics can reduce influenza and other viral laboratory confirmed respiratory infection. The investigators will determine whether it is feasible to enroll residents and randomize them to a daily course of probiotics or placebo and monitor for influenza and other respiratory tract infections. In addition, the investigators will asses the feasibility of obtaining a nasal specimen for evaluation of the upper respiratory microbiome, measure antimicrobials, and deterioration in functional status. All aspects of the proposed trial will be assessed, including enrollment, randomization, respiratory infection surveillance, methods for outcome assessment, and event rates. The investigators will test the use of our data collection forms and data management strategy and will generate date to derive an appropriate sample size.

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 (Anticipated)

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.
1440

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
    • Ontario
      • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8G 1E7
        • The Clarion
      • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8G 1G6
        • Pine Villa
      • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8G 1J3
        • Arbour Creek
      • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8P 1C1
        • Parkview Nursing centre
      • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8R 3L8
        • Dundurn Place
      • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8S 3S1
        • Shalom Village
      • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L9A 5H5
        • The Wellington
      • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L9C2A9
        • Idlewyld Manor
      • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L9C5E3
        • Regina Gardens
      • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L9C7W9
        • St. Peter's Chedoke
      • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L9H 4C4
        • Wentworth Lodge
      • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L9H 5G7
        • Blackadar Continuing Care
      • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L9H 5G7
        • St. Joseph's Villa

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

65 years and older (Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • nursing home residents, 65 years of age or older, in the Hamilton ON area

Exclusion Criteria:

  • residents who are immunosuppressed (steroids or other immunosuppressives), have a hematologic malignancy, structural heart disease, gastroesophageal or intestinal injury and those are at increased risk of an endovascular infection will be excluded

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: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

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: Probiotics
Participants randomized to probiotics will receive 2 capsules supplemented with 10 billion cfu of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG on a daily basis for six months
Dietary supplement: Probiotics
Active comparator Arm. XXmls of XXX supplemented with XX of L. rhamnosus GG on a daily basis for six months
Placebo Comparator: Probiotic placebo
Participants randomized to placebo will receive 2 capsules of matching placebo on a daily basis for six months
Other: probiotic placebo
Placebo comparator arm -Participants randomized to placebo will receive XXmls of XXX G on a daily basis for 6 months.

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
laboratory-confirmed influenza or other respiratory viral infection in participants in intervention arm of study
Time Frame: Participants will be assessed twice weekly for symptoms for 6 months. This will begin after they have been randomized to probiotics or placebo arms of the study
this will be confirmed on the basis of reverse transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction(PCR)
Participants will be assessed twice weekly for symptoms for 6 months. This will begin after they have been randomized to probiotics or placebo arms of the study

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
influenza like illness
Time Frame: Participants will be assessed twice weekly for 6 months after they have been randomized into probiotics or placebo
influenza-like illness will be defined by the presence of fever, sore throat, and cough and will measure symptom severity
Participants will be assessed twice weekly for 6 months after they have been randomized into probiotics or placebo
antimicrobial prescriptions
Time Frame: To be reviewed at the twice weekly assessments for 6 months following randomization
courses of antimicrobials (name, does and duration) will be recorded by research nurse using information on the medication container or by contacting the prescribing physician if necessary. We will measure antibiotic associated diarrhea which we define as ≥ 3 liquid stools/d for at least two day.
To be reviewed at the twice weekly assessments for 6 months following randomization
physician visits for respiratory illness
Time Frame: The participant's MD patient record will be reviewed for visits during the 12 months following randomization
information will be obtained from the attending physician
The participant's MD patient record will be reviewed for visits during the 12 months following randomization
hospitalizations for lower respiratory infection or pneumonia
Time Frame: Patient will be asked during the twice weekly assessments about any hospitalizations, as well as consulting their MD, during the 6 months following randomization
cause of hospitalizations will be assessed by the research nurse through interviews with the participants and reviews of hospital medical records. Deaths will be recorded using medical records
Patient will be asked during the twice weekly assessments about any hospitalizations, as well as consulting their MD, during the 6 months following randomization

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.
McMaster University

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: Mark Loeb, MD, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

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.
July 1, 2013

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.
August 1, 2017

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.
October 1, 2017

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).
October 15, 2012

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.
October 31, 2012

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.
November 2, 2012

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.
October 26, 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.
October 25, 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.
October 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • PPI-2012

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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