The University of the Philippines Hydroxychloroquine PEP Against COVID-19 Trial

November 4, 2020 updated by: University of the Philippines

Efficacy and Safety of Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 Post-Exposure Prophylaxis of Healthcare Workers in the Philippine General Hospital and UP Manila National Institutes of Health: A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial

This COVID-19 pandemic warrants urgent strategies to protect people at high risk of infection, particularly the healthcare workers. Secondary prevention through post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and early treatment of infection are needed to prevent severe cases and cut secondary transmission. Hydroxycholoroquine (HCQ) is an inexpensive anti-malarial drug with immunomodulatory effects that are currently used as an off-label treatment for symptomatic COVID-19 patients. In vitro studies have shown that it can efficiently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection and has potential as a post-exposure prophylaxis drug.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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Withdrawn

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

To compare the efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine with an oral loading dose of 400 mg two times a day on D1 followed by 400mg/day from Day 2-10 plus standard preventive measures and standard preventive measures alone as post-exposure prophylaxis for healthcare workers in a Metro Manila COVID Referral Center

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

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.
  • Phase 3

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

  • Philippines
      • Manila, Philippines
        • Philippine General Hospital - University of the Philippines Manila

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 to 59 years (ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • any medical or non-medical personnel of the Philippine General Hospital and the UP Manila National Institutes of Health to include physicians (consultants, fellows-in-training, residents-in-training); nurses and other nursing staff (nursing aide, institutional or utility worker); janitors and cleaning staff, medical technologists and personnel of the laboratory where the COVID PCR testing is done; technicians of the radiology department, electrocardiography (ECG) station, arterial blood gas (ABG) stations and other personnel employed by the hospital on a tenured, part-time or full-time,and temporary. Because of the sample size, there is also a plan to include also health care workers in the community quarantine centers in the Manila area such as the Rizal Coliseum or the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, or at the World Trade Center
  • aged 18-59 years
  • exposure to a probable or confirmed COVID19 case within 4 days prior to study enrollment that is considered to be medium or high risk as defined by the HICU
  • asymptomatic (no acute respiratory, flu-like, gastrointestinal signs and symptoms at the time of enrollment
  • negative baseline COVID19 RT-PCR test result*

  • for female participants of child bearing potential they must agree to effective birth control methods during the clinical trial or abstinence from any sexual activity during the duration of the study.

    • Since RT-PCR result may not be released right away, volunteers who test positive after preliminary enrollment will be screen-failed and will not be included in the analysis.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • active COVID19 disease: positive RT-PCR COVID19 test
  • prior COVID19 disease
  • weight less than 40kg or a BMI less than 18kg/m2
  • current or recent hospitalization within the past year
  • known allergy to or intolerance of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) or chloroquine (CQ)
  • current use of HCQ or CQ for whatever indications (malaria, lupus)
  • current use of other medication with known antiviral effects
  • current or known use in the last two weeks of known arrhythmogenic drugs or drugs that prolong the QT interval in the ECG, including but not limited to quinolones, macrolides, amiodarone, digoxin, flecainide, propafenone
  • any previous known or suspected retinopathy; in case of doubt, an ophthalmology clearance be secured prior to enrollment
  • known G6PD deficiency discovered through the newborn screening program or known intolerance or allergies to beans and any food that contains beans
  • women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, or a positive pregnancy test at baseline for women of child bearing age
  • history of known seizures or treatment with anti-epileptic medications
  • history of known existing arrhythmia
  • intake or use of anti diabetic agents especially sulfonylureas or any type of insulin

  • presence of abnormalities in baseline tests:

    1. ECG abnormalities that are exclusionary: Baseline QTc > 500 msec or QTc > 550 msec in patients with wide QRS; any form of tachy- or bradyarrythmias NB: sinus arrhythmia is not exclusionary
    2. CBC abnormalities showing anemia with hemoglobin value less than 12.5 g/dL or low platelet count or thrombocytopenia with platelet count less than 150,000 platelets per microliter
    3. Creatinine levels above normal values: 60 to 110 micromoles per liter (0.7 to 1.2 mg/dL for men and 45 to 90 micromoles per liter (0.5 to 1.0 mg/dL) for women
    4. ALT test that is elevated above 2x the upper limit of the normal: NV is 7 to 56 units per liter

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: 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.
EXPERIMENTAL: Hydroxychloroquine plus standard preventive measures
Hydroxychloroquine oral loading dose of 400mg two times per day on Day 1 then 400 mg once a day for Day 2-10 plus standard preventive measures as defined by PGH Hospital Infection Control Unit (HICU)
Drug: Hydroxychloroquine plus standard preventive measures
Hydroxychloroquine and standard preventive measures
Other Names:
  • Hydroxychloroquine and standard preventive measures
PLACEBO_COMPARATOR: Placebo plus standard preventive measure
Placebo tablet plus standard preventive measures as defined by PGH-HICU
Drug: Placebo plus standard preventive measures
Placebo tablet plus standard preventive measures as defined by PGH-HICU

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
Efficacy of HCQ Prophylaxis in Preventing COVID-19 infection
Time Frame: 30 days
Incidence of COVID-19 infection confirmed by RT-PCR COVID-19 test within the PEP treatment period (28 days) with or without symptoms of COVID-19 infection
30 days

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
Efficacy of study drug as post-exposure prophylaxis in preventing COVID-19 related symptoms (to be reported as absolute number and frequency of events)
Time Frame: 30 days
Incidence of patient self-reported COVID-19 related symptoms anytime during follow up period as measured by a standardized patient diary
30 days
Time to COVID-19 infection in patients receiving study drug (in days)
Time Frame: 30 days
Interval from exposure to COVID-19 case Interval from first dose of study drug
30 days
Safety and tolerability of study drug (to be reported as absolute number and frequency of events)
Time Frame: 30 days
Incidence of study drug discontinuation Incidence of all adverse events based on patients a) self-report using daily symptom diary and b) study physicians
30 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 the Philippines

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: Belen L Dofitas, MD, Philippine General Hospital

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 (ANTICIPATED)

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.
December 1, 2020

Primary Completion (ANTICIPATED)

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, 2021

Study Completion (ANTICIPATED)

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, 2021

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).
April 22, 2020

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.
April 24, 2020

First Posted (ACTUAL)

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.
April 28, 2020

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.
November 6, 2020

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.
November 4, 2020

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.
November 1, 2020

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.
  • RGAO-2020-0339

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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