Feasibility and Safety Study of Parent-to-Child Nasal Microbiota Transplant (ParentsTREAT)

December 4, 2025 updated by: Johns Hopkins University

Feasibility and Safety Study of Parent-to-Child Nasal Microbiota Transplant to Promote Colonization Resistance to Staphylococcus Aureus

This feasibility and safety pilot study looks to determine whether transferring a parents healthy, diverse nasal microbiota to the participant's infant(s) will create a healthy, diverse neonatal nasal microbiome.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

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 parent-to-child NMT study is a pilot study to test the feasibility of a parent-to-child nasal microbiome transplant. The investigators will test parent-to-neonate nasal microbiome transplantation as an intervention to reduce S. aureus acquisition in neonates. Neonates admitted to the Johns Hopkins Hospital neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) will be screened and parents will be approached for enrollment in the study. After consent and baseline screening of parents and neonates, eligible neonates will undergo a nasal microbiome transplant. This pilot study looks to determine whether transferring a parents healthy, diverse nasal microbiota to the infant(s) will create a healthy, diverse neonatal nasal microbiome. The investigators are planning an upcoming randomized controlled trial of this intervention and hope to establish feasibility during this pilot study.

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.
34

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 1

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
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21287
        • Johns Hopkins University

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

No older than 60 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Neonate:

  1. Neonate has anticipated NICU length of stay > 7 days
  2. Neonate ≥25 weeks gestation
  3. At least one parent/adult provider not colonized with S. aureus (as determined by baseline screening)
  4. Neonate is not colonized with S. aureus on baseline screening

Parent/adult provider:

1. Parent/adult provider is able to provide informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

Neonate:

  1. Neonate has had a prior clinical or surveillance culture grow S. aureus
  2. Neonate is a ward of the State
  3. Neonate with antenatal suspicion for immunodeficiency (e.g. sibling with known immunodeficiency, genetic syndrome with known associated immunodeficiency)
  4. Neonate cannot have nasal swabs collected (due to anatomic or other clinical intervention, including nasal packing)

Parent/adult Provider:

  1. Parent/adult provider had positive COVID-19 test in prior 21 days
  2. Parent/adult provider with signs or symptoms of respiratory illness (e.g. runny nose, congestion, fever, cough)
  3. Parent/adult provider has been in close contact with someone in the last 7 days who had a respiratory viral infection, like the cold or the flu?
  4. Parent/adult provider tests positive on baseline screening test for S. aureus nasal colonization.
  5. Parent/adult provider tests positive on baseline screening test for a respiratory pathogen.
  6. Parent/adult provider is not able to provide written informed consent
  7. Parent/adult provider is not able to be present at the bedside at the time of intervention.
  8. Parent/adult provider has history of chronic sinusitis, cystic fibrosis, or an infection with a multi-drug resistant organism.
  9. Inability or unwillingness to complete the Donor questionnaire or a positive response to any question on the Donor questionnaire

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: None (Open Label)

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: direct NMT
swab parent nares then insert swab directly into neonate nares
Biological: nasal microbiota transplant (NMT)
nasal microbiota transplant
Experimental: indirect NMT
swab parent nares, inoculate swab into saline, instill liquid into neonate nares
Biological: nasal microbiota transplant (NMT)
nasal microbiota transplant
Placebo Comparator: placebo
instill sterile saline into neonate nares
Biological: Placebo
Placebo sterile saline

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
Neonatal nasal microbiome diversity after intervention
Time Frame: Day 4, 7, 10, 14 days post-intervention
This outcome will be determined by analysis of periodic surveillance swabs collected after intervention.
Day 4, 7, 10, 14 days post-intervention

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.
Johns Hopkins University

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.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

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: Aaron Milstone, Johns Hopkins University

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.
October 25, 2023

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.
May 6, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
December 1, 2026

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).
January 12, 2023

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 12, 2023

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.
January 23, 2023

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.
December 11, 2025

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.
December 4, 2025

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.
December 1, 2025

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.
  • IRB00361302
  • R21AI179644 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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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