Chlorhexidine Cord Care for Newborn Infants in Kenya

May 9, 2018 updated by: Angelo Tomedi, University of New Mexico

A Comparison Between Mothers and Community Health Workers on Use of Chlorhexidine for Umbilical Cord Care: A Randomized Noninferiority Trial

Studies in several countries with a high rate of death of infants during the first week of life have found a reduction in infection and mortality when chlorhexidine is applied to the umbilical cord stump by a health worker within 24 hours of birth. This study will evaluate if providing chlorhexidine to pregnant women during a prenatal care visit for application to the cord stump after birth will be as effective for preventing omphalitis (infection of the umbilical cord stump) as sending a community health worker into the home to apply the chlorhexidine.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

Neonatal mortality continues to be unacceptably high in Kenya and other Sub-Saharan African countries, with little improvement over the past several decades. Neonatal infections and sepsis are a leading cause of neonatal deaths. Three fourths of these deaths occur in the first week of life. Many deliveries in rural Kenya take place at home in unhygienic conditions and the umbilical cord is cut with unsterile instruments, increasing the risk of infection. Studies in several countries with a high neonatal mortality rate have found a reduction in infection and mortality when chlorhexidine is applied to the umbilical cord stump by a health worker within 24 hours of birth. This randomized noninferiority study in rural Kenya will compare the effectiveness of a newborn home visitation program that includes application of chlorhexidine to the umbilical cord by a visiting community health worker (CHW) to the provision of chlorhexidine to the mother during a prenatal care visit for cord application on the rate of omphalitis (infection of the umbilical cord stump) during the first week of life. Pregnant women will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ration to be given or not be given chlorhexidine digluconate 7.1% gel during a prenatal care visit with instruction to apply the product as soon as possible after birth. The pregnant women who do not receive the chlorhexidine will be assigned a CHW with instruction to apply the product during a home visit within 24 hours of birth. The rate of omphalitis will be determined during home visits by the CHW on days three and seven after birth, and by a visiting research nurse on the seventh day. The time from birth to chlorhexidine application will also be recorded and compared in the two groups.

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.
576

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

  • United States
    • New Mexico
      • Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, 87131
        • UNM

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

18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria: All pregnant women who are 18 years of age or older (based on their stated date of birth) who attend the two selected health care facilities (Kisesini Dispensary and Katangi Health Center) for their prenatal care will be eligible to participate if they reside in one of the villages of the five sublocations of the target region (Kyua, Makusya, Katangi, Mekilingi, Syokisinga) and they plan to deliver within the target region -

Exclusion Criteria: Pregnant women who plan to deliver outside of the target area or plan to be away from the area during the newborn infant's first week of life 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
  • Masking: NONE

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: CHW applies chlorhexidine
Intervention: Chlorhexidine gel 7.1% topical 3 gm applied to the umbilical cord stump in one application. The community health worker is given the chlorhexidine to apply to the umbilical cord stump within 24 hours of delivery of the newborn infant.
Procedure: Chlorhexidine application by CHW
Experimental: Mother applies chlorhexidine
Intervention: Chlorhexidine gel 7.1% topical 3 gm applied to the umbilical cord stump in one application. Mother is given the chlorhexidine during the first prenatal care visit to apply to the umbilical cord stump within 24 hours of delivery of the newborn infant.
Procedure: Chlorhexidine application to cord by mother

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
Number of infants age 0 to 7 days who develop omphalitis
Time Frame: 7 days after birth
Omphalitis is defined as redness of the umbilical stump that extends to the skin of the abdomen with or without purulent exudate (pus).
7 days after birth

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
The average time in minutes from birth to chlorhexidine application (total time for all participants in the arm divided by total participants in the arm).
Time Frame: 7 days
The duration in minutes from the recorded birth time until the recorded time that chlorhexidine is applied to the umbilical cord stump
7 days

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 New Mexico

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University of Nairobi

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: ANGELO TOMEDI, MD, University of New Mexico

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 1, 2015

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.
January 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.
January 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).
December 3, 2015

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.
December 3, 2015

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.
December 8, 2015

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.
May 11, 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.
May 9, 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.
May 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.
  • UNM HRRC 14-356

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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