GM-CSF for Reversal of Immunoparalysis in Pediatric Sepsis-induced MODS (GRACE-2)

April 8, 2026 updated by: Mark Hall, Nationwide Children's Hospital
The GRACE-2 study is a prospective, multi-center, double-blind, randomized controlled trial of the drug GM-CSF vs placebo in children with sepsis-induced multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) who have immunoparalysis with mild to moderate inflammation.

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 GRACE-2 study is a is a prospective, multi-center, double-blind, randomized controlled trial of the drug GM-CSF vs placebo in children with sepsis-induced multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) who have immunoparalysis with mild to moderate inflammation. Eligible subjects will undergo centralized immunophenotyping on MODS Day 2. Those who are found to have immunoparalysis (a whole blood LPS-induced TNF-alpha production capacity < 200 pg/ml) with mild to moderate inflammation (serum ferritin level < 2000 ng/ml) will be randomized to receive intravenous (IV) GM-CSF at a dose of 125 mcg/m2/day x 7 days or placebo. The primary outcome variable is the cumulative 28-day Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction (PELOD)-2 score. Secondary outcomes include measures of health-related quality of life and function status at 3 months from randomization.

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.
141

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 Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Arkansas
      • Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, 72202
        • Arkansas Children's Hospital
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90027
        • Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
      • Oakland, California, United States, 64609
        • Benioff Children's Hospital - Oakland
      • Orange, California, United States, 92868
        • Children's Hospital of Orange County
      • Sacramento, California, United States, 95618
        • University Of California - Davis
      • San Francisco, California, United States, 94143
        • Benioff Children's Hospital - Mission Bay
    • Colorado
      • Aurora, Colorado, United States, 80045
        • Children's Hospital Colorado
    • District of Columbia
      • Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States, 20010
        • Children's National Medical Center
    • Michigan
      • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109
        • CS Mott Children's Hospital
      • Detroit, Michigan, United States, 48202
        • Children's Hospital of Michigan
    • Minnesota
      • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55455
        • University of Minnesota
      • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55404
        • Children's Hospital of Minnesota
    • Missouri
      • Kansas City, Missouri, United States, 64108
        • Mercy Children's Hospital
    • North Carolina
      • Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27705
        • Duke University
    • Ohio
      • Cleveland, Ohio, United States, 44106
        • Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital
      • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43205
        • Nationwide Children's Hospital
    • Pennsylvania
      • Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States, 17033
        • Pennsylvania State University
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
        • Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15260
        • Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
    • South Carolina
      • Charleston, South Carolina, United States, 29425
        • Medical University of South Carolina
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • Texas Children's Hospital
      • San Antonio, Texas, United States, 78207
        • Children's Hospital of San Antonio
    • Utah
      • Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84158
        • Primary Children's Hospital
    • Virginia
      • Richmond, Virginia, United States, 23298
        • Virginia Commonwealth University
    • Wisconsin
      • Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, 53233
        • Medical College of Wisconsin

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

1 day to 17 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • ≥ 40 weeks corrected gestational age to < 18 years; AND
  • Admission to the PICU or CICU; AND
  • Onset of ≥ 2 new organ dysfunctions within the last 3 calendar days (compared to pre-sepsis baseline) as measured by the modified Proulx criteria; AND
  • Documented or suspected infection as the MODS inciting event.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Weight <3kg; OR
  • Limitation of care order at the time of screening; OR
  • Patients at high likelihood of progression to brain death in opinion of the clinical team; OR
  • Moribund condition in which the patient is unlikely to survive the next 48 hours in opinion of the clinical team; OR
  • History of myeloid leukemia, myelodysplasia, or autoimmune thrombocytopenia; OR
  • Current or prior diagnosis of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis or macrophage activation syndrome; OR
  • Peripheral white blood cell count < 1,000 cells/mm3 as the result of myeloablative therapy OR receipt of myeloablative therapy within the previous 14 days; OR
  • Known allergy to GM-CSF; OR
  • Known pregnancy; OR
  • Lactating females; OR
  • Receipt of anakinra or GM-CSF within the previous 28 days; OR
  • Resolution of MODS by MODS Day 2; OR
  • Previous enrollment in the GRACE-2 study.

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: Quadruple

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: GM-CSF
Intravenous GM-CSF 125 mcg/m2/day x 7 days
Drug: GM-CSF
same as arm/group description
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Intravenous placebo x 7 days
Other: Placebo
same as arm/group description

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
Cumulative 28-day Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction (PELOD)-2 score
Time Frame: 28 days from randomization
Cumulative Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction (PELOD)-2 score through 28 days post-randomization. The range of PELOD-2 score for a given day is 0 - 33 with a higher number being worse.
28 days from randomization

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
3-month health-related quality of life
Time Frame: 3 months post-randomization
Change in Pediatric Quality of Life inventory (PedsQL) score from baseline to 3 months post-randomization. The range of PedsQL scores is from 0 - 100, with higher values corresponding to better quality of life.
3 months post-randomization
3-month functional status
Time Frame: 3 months post-randomization
Change in Functional Status Score from baseline to 3 months post-randomization. The range of possible FSS score for a given subject is 6 - 30 with a higher score indicating worse function.
3 months post-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.
Nationwide Children's Hospital

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.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

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

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.
June 14, 2022

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.
September 10, 2025

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.
September 10, 2025

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).
February 23, 2022

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.
March 2, 2022

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.
March 4, 2022

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.
April 9, 2026

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.
April 8, 2026

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.
April 1, 2026

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.
  • GRACE-2

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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