Probiotics Supplementation and Intestinal Microbiome in Neonates With Gastrointestinal Surgery (ProPS)

July 17, 2024 updated by: Belal Alshaikh, University of Calgary

Congenital defects of the gastrointestinal tract commonly require surgical intervention in the neonatal period. Intestinal surgery during this critical period of microbiome acquisition results in aberrant colonization of the gastrointestinal tract by several pathways. Surgical stress is known to cause disruption of the gut barrier and increase intestinal permeability and bacterial translocation. This process triggers exaggerated immune responses that lead to inflammation and sometimes infectious complications. Post-operative use of antibiotics has been shown to potentiate the growth of pathogenic bacterial species Adults with abdominal surgery who received post-op probiotics reported a significant reduction in surgical site infection, urinary tract infection, and combined infection. Currently, probiotics used only in the non-surgical population of infants.

The main objective of this study is to determine the impact of probiotics administration on the intestinal microbiome in neonates undergoing intestinal surgery.

Study Overview

Status

Terminated

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Research Objectives/Question:

The main objective of this study is to determine the impact of probiotics administration on the intestinal microbiome in neonates undergoing gastrointestinal surgery.

Primary question:

Diversity and abundance of stool microbiome at after 1 and 3 weeks of initiation of probiotics

Secondary outcomes:

1. Length of hospital stay

Methodology:

Study design This study will be a randomized controlled double-blinded trial in the NICU at Alberta Children's Hospital. Probiotics or placebo will be administered orally or via naso- or orogastric feeding tube. Intestinal microbiome data will be compared between the two groups. The study duration will be 24 months.

Study Population Infants born between 23 - 41 weeks of gestation, admitted to NICU at Alberta Children's Hospital for gastrointestinal surgery.

  1. Inclusion Criteria:

    1. Infants born between 23 - 41 weeks of gestation
    2. Required gastrointestinal surgery in the first week of life (including spontaneous intestinal perforation, bowel atresia, mechanical bowel obstruction, volvulus, gastroschisis)
    3. Ready to start enteral feeding
  2. Exclusion Criteria:

    1. Infants with major congenital anomalies excluding gastrointestinal tract 3. Palliative care patients 4. Septic babies with positive blood, CSF or urine culture

    Sample Size and feasibility:

    Connivant sample of 20 patients (10 in each group)

    Study protocol. Infants will be identified within 48 hours of surgery and parents will be approached for informed consent. Once consent is obtained, subjects will be randomly assigned to receive either probiotics or placebo. Investigators will conduct the randomization using a computer-generated table of random numbers generated at the University of Calgary.

    Preparation and Administration of Study Drug The study supplementation will be started at the when oral feeds will reach 24 mL/kg/day after surgery after collecting a stool/ostomy sample. The decision to start feeding will be made by the neonatal and surgical team. After the first stool/ostomy sample is obtained, one study sachet to a minimum of 1 mL of Expressed Breast Milk (EBM) (mothers own milk or donor human milk) once a day.

    Placebo sachet will be made of 0.3 g maltodextrin and be administered to the control group in the same manner. If the infant is placed NPO, the study drug will be stopped and restarted together with refeeding. Both probiotics and placebo will be packaged as a single-dose sachet. The study probiotic/placebo will be given till discharge. If the infant is transferred outside NICU, the study drug will be dispensed with the infant and clinical outcomes will be ascertained in collaboration with the local Pediatrician at the time of infants' discharge home.

    Sample collection Nurses will collect the stool samples at 3-time points: prior to initiation, 1 week after and 3 weeks after probiotic or placebo administration is commenced. "Stool" will be collected directly from the infant's ostomy bag and diaper with a sterile spatula. As soon as a sample is collected, the nurse will contact the investigators. The samples will then be placed in a laboratory freezer (-80°C) within 24 hours of collection. Batched samples will be transported to the University of Calgary Genomics laboratory for subsequent microbiome processing.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

2

Phase

  • 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 Contact

Study Locations

    • Alberta
      • Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T3M1M4
        • University of Calgary

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Infants born between 23 - 41 weeks of gestation
  2. Required gastrointestinal surgery (including spontaneous intestinal perforation, bowel atresia, mechanical bowel obstruction, volvulus, gastroschisis)
  3. Ready to start enteral feeding

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Infants with major congenital anomalies excluding gastrointestinal tract
  2. Palliative care patients

4. Septic babies with positive blood, CSF or urine culture

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: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Probiotics
subjects will be randomly assigned to receive FloraBaby
1 sachet will be added to a minimum of 1 mL of brest milk, sterile water or formula (in formula fed babies) once a day
Other Names:
  • Probiotics
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
subjects will be randomly assigned to receive placebo
1 sachet will be added to a minimum of 1 mL of brest milk, sterile water or formula (in formula fed babies) once a day

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Intestinal microbiome
Time Frame: 3 weeks after surgury
Stool microbiome
3 weeks after surgury

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Length of hospital stay
Time Frame: 6 months
Time between birth and hospital discharge
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Alixe Howlett, MD, University of Calgary
  • Principal Investigator: Belal N Alshaikh, MD, University of Calgary

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)

December 3, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 15, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

July 15, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 24, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 25, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

August 30, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 18, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 17, 2024

Last Verified

July 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • REB16-2401

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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