A Randomized-controlled Study of a Cognitive-behavioral Intervention for Children With Functional Abdominal Pain (Stop-FAP)

January 15, 2018 updated by: Petra Warschburger, University of Potsdam

"Stop the Pain"-A Multicenter, Randomized-controlled Study of a Cognitive-behavioral Intervention for Children With Functional Abdominal Pain

This trial aims to compare two training programs for children suffering functional abdominal pain. These two programs are comparable in number of sessions and group sizes, but show differences in content (very focused on pain management vs. more general information and support). Focus of the trial is the evaluation of "Stop the pain", which has shown high effectiveness in one first trial. This time, five clinics, experienced in diagnosis and treatment of childhood chronic abdominal pain, will take part. Children aged 7-12 years are eligible. The programs imply six weekly group sessions for the children and 2 parent evenings. The study group assumes that participation in "Stop the pain" will reduce pain experience and will improve the children's quality of life and coping strategies - up to 12 months after training.

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 trial aims to assess the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral self-management program (intervention group, IG) compared to an equally extensive information-only control group (CG). The interventions contain 6 weekly group sessions and 2 parent meetings according to the cognitive-behavioral, manualized program "Stop the pain with Happy Pingu". Follow up per patient: 3- and 12 months. Children aged 7-12 years suffering functional abdominal pain (according to Rome III criteria H2a, H2b, H2d, H2d1) are eligible. Our primary hypothesis is that for patients in the IG the frequency and intensity of pain will be reduced more successfully and more sustainable than for children in the CG. Secondary hypotheses state that the IG will experience a higher increase in quality of life and psychosocial well-being compared to the active CG.

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.
127

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

  • Germany
      • Berlin, Germany, 13353
        • University Medical Center, Pediatric Gastroenterology
      • Darmstadt, Germany, 64287
        • Children's Hospital "Prinzessin Margaret", Pediatric Gastroenterology
      • Düsseldorf, Germany, 40225
        • University Medical Center, Pediatric Gastroenterology
      • Hamburg, Germany, 22149
        • Catholic Children's Hospital Hamburg Wilhelmstift
      • Paderborn, Germany, 33098
        • St. Vincenz Hospital
      • Ulm, Germany, 89075
        • University Medical Center, Pediatric Gastroenterology

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

7 years to 12 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion criteria for medical screening:

  • aged 7-12 years
  • abdominal pain for at least 2 months
  • abdominal pain at least once per week
  • unclear cause for abdominal pain

exclusion criteria for medical screening:

  • very limited German language skills
  • mental retardation
  • adjuvant psychological treatment at point of medical screening
  • participation in a trainingsprogram for abdominal pain in the 6 months prior to medical screening
  • participation in a clinical trial which possibly may have effects on abdominal pain in the 4 weeks prior to medical screening
  • at point of medical screening: therapy or medication for abdominal pain
  • presentation of sibling aged 7-12 years

Inclusion Criteria for study participation:

  • pain-predominant functional gastrointestinal disorders according to Rome-III
  • criteria (H2a, H2b, H2d, H2d1)
  • informed consent for study particiaption
  • informed consent for audiotaping of trainings sessions
  • no time constraints for participation in training groups

Exclusion Criteria for study participation:

  • psychiatric disorder (internalizing) with primary treatment indication
  • severe externalizing disorder

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

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.
Experimental: Intervention group
IG participation in the cognitive-behavioral program "Stop the pain with Happy Pingu". The program compromises six weekly sessions for the children in small groups (90 min each) and 2 sessions for the parents (90 min each).
Behavioral: Intervention group
Cognitive-behavioral intervention
Other Names:
  • Stop the pain with Happy Pingu
Active Comparator: Active control group
CG participation in an information and education control group (physical well-being, health and gastrointestinal tract). The program of the control group compromises six weekly sessions for the children in small groups (90 min each) and 2 sessions for the parents (90 min each).
Behavioral: Active control group
Education and information

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 Pain Symptoms
Time Frame: up to 21 days pre intervention, up to 21 days post intervention, 3 month-follow-up, 12 month-follow-up
Primary efficacy endpoint is the frequency and intensity of pain (composite score) over the course of treatment and follow-up (pre, post, 3 and 12 months follow-up). This primary outcome will be assessed by pain diary in children's self-report (over 2 weeks).Statistically, the primary endpoint of the study is defined as the change of the logarithm of the area under the pain-intensity curve over one week from start of treatment to 12 month follow-up. The area under the pain intensity curve (auc) is a measure that reflects pain intensity as well as pain duration and pain frequency and thus can be understood as a composite measure of pain.
up to 21 days pre intervention, up to 21 days post intervention, 3 month-follow-up, 12 month-follow-up

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
Pain-related impairment
Time Frame: up to 21 days pre intervention, up to 21 days post intervention, 3 month-follow-up, 12 month-follow-up
A measure for child's functional disability due to pain. The measure is one scale score and covers the level of impairment in everyday activitites due to abdominal pain by 12 items, e.g. reading, meeting friends, family life. The secondary outcome variable will be assessed by self-report questionnaire (pre, post, 3- and 12 months follow-up).
up to 21 days pre intervention, up to 21 days post intervention, 3 month-follow-up, 12 month-follow-up
Health-related quality of life
Time Frame: up to 21 days pre intervention, up to 21 days post intervention, 3 month-follow-up, 12 month-follow-up
The secondary outcome variable will be assessed by self-report questionnaire (pre, post, 3- and 12 months follow-up).
up to 21 days pre intervention, up to 21 days post intervention, 3 month-follow-up, 12 month-follow-up
Pain-related coping and cognitions
Time Frame: up to 21 days pre intervention, up to 21 days post intervention, 3 month-follow-up, 12 month-follow-up
The secondary outcome variable will be assessed by self-report questionnaire (pre, post, 3- and 12 months follow-up).
up to 21 days pre intervention, up to 21 days post intervention, 3 month-follow-up, 12 month-follow-up

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.
University of Potsdam

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: Petra Warschburger, Professor, University of Potsdam, Counselling Psychology

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 (Actual)

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.
March 31, 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.
July 7, 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.
July 7, 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 28, 2013

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.
January 6, 2014

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.
January 8, 2014

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.
January 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.
January 15, 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.
January 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.
  • WA1143/9-1
  • DRKS00005038 (Registry Identifier: DRKS)

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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