Thermosensitive Gel Nasal Spray With Exosomes, Azelastine, and Interferon for Acute Phase of Chronic Sinusitis (CRS)

June 7, 2026 updated by: The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical College

A Single-Centre, Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Exploratory Clinical Study of a Thermosensitive Gel Nasal Spray Containing Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes, Azelastine and Recombinant Human Interferon α-2b for the Treatment of Chronic Rhinosinusitis (Acute Phase)

This study tests a new nasal spray for adults (18-65 years) with chronic sinusitis experiencing an acute phase. The spray contains a temperature-sensitive gel that turns into a soft gel inside the nose to slowly release three active ingredients: stem cell exosomes (to repair nasal lining), azelastine (an antihistamine and anti-inflammatory drug), and interferon alpha-2b (an antiviral agent). The study aims to evaluate safety and see if the spray can reduce symptoms, fight viruses, and improve quality of life. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: triple spray, dual spray (without exosomes), or placebo (gel only). Treatment is twice daily for 4 weeks, with follow-up visits up to day 90.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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

This exploratory, single-centre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study enrolls 108 participants (allowing 20% dropout) in a 1:1:1 ratio. Group A receives thermosensitive gel + exosomes (1×10^10 particles/mL) + azelastine (0.1%) + interferon α-2b (1×10^5 IU/mL). Group B receives gel + azelastine + interferon (without exosomes). Group C receives blank gel. The gel matrix (Poloxamer 407 18% + chitosan hydrochloride 0.5%) is liquid at room temperature and gels at nasal temperature (33-35°C). Treatment duration is 28 days (twice daily, 2 sprays per nostril). Single-spray doses: exosomes 2×10^9 particles, azelastine 0.2 mg, interferon 2000 IU. Follow-up at day 42 and day 90. Primary outcome: safety (adverse events, CTCAE v5.0). Secondary outcomes: Lund-Kennedy score, SNOT-22, VAS, response rate, SF-36. Exploratory: viral clearance, inflammatory cytokines, bacterial load, mucosal barrier markers. The study is conducted at The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical College. Ethics approval obtained. Results will be published.

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 (Estimated)

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.
108

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.
  • Early 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 Contact Backup

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18 to 65 years, both genders
  • Diagnosis of chronic rhinosinusitis according to Chinese guidelines (2018) or EPOS 2020, duration >12 weeks
  • Lund-Kennedy endoscopic score ≥4
  • SNOT-22 score ≥30
  • Nasal symptoms stable in past month, or acute flare-ups not requiring systemic antibiotics/steroids
  • Voluntary signed informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Sinus surgery within past 6 months or anatomical abnormalities requiring reoperation
  • Allergic fungal rhinosinusitis, odontogenic rhinosinusitis, or nasal polyps
  • Primary ciliary dyskinesia, cystic fibrosis, or severe immunodeficiency
  • Use of systemic glucocorticoids, immunosuppressants, or antibiotics within past 4 weeks
  • Use of intranasal glucocorticoids, antihistamines, or leukotriene receptor antagonists within past 2 weeks
  • Hypersensitivity to poloxamer, chitosan, azelastine, or interferon
  • Pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to become pregnant
  • Uncontrolled severe systemic diseases (diabetes, hypertension, autoimmune diseases)
  • Malignancy within past 5 years
  • Participation in other clinical trials

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.
Experimental: Triple Combination (Exosomes + Azelastine + Interferon)
Thermosensitive gel nasal spray containing umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell exosomes (1×10^10 particles/mL), azelastine (0.1%), and recombinant human interferon α-2b (1×10^5 IU/mL). Two sprays per nostril, twice daily for 28 days.
Drug: Exosomes, Azelastine, and Interferon alpha-2b
Thermosensitive gel nasal spray containing hUC-MSC-Exos (1×10^10 particles/mL), azelastine hydrochloride 0.1%, and interferon α-2b 1×10^5 IU/mL.
Other Names:
  • Triple combination spray
Active Comparator: Dual Combination (Azelastine + Interferon)
Thermosensitive gel nasal spray containing azelastine hydrochloride (0.1%) and recombinant human interferon α-2b (1×10^5 IU/mL). Two sprays per nostril, twice daily for 28 days.
Drug: Azelastine and Interferon alpha-2b
Thermosensitive gel nasal spray containing azelastine hydrochloride 0.1% and interferon α-2b 1×10^5 IU/mL.
Other Names:
  • Dual combination spray
Placebo Comparator: Placebo (Gel Matrix Only)
Blank thermosensitive gel matrix (Poloxamer 407 18% + chitosan hydrochloride 0.5% in PBS) without active ingredients. Two sprays per nostril, twice daily for 28 days.
Drug: Placebo Gel Matrix
Thermosensitive gel matrix (Poloxamer 407 18% + chitosan hydrochloride 0.5% in PBS) only.
Other Names:
  • Blank thermosensitive gel

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 Participants with Treatment-Related Adverse Events
Time Frame: From baseline up to day 90 (long-term follow-up)
Local adverse events (epistaxis, nasal irritation, burning sensation, dryness, ulceration), systemic adverse events (drowsiness, fatigue, headache, nausea, allergic reactions), taste abnormalities (bitter taste), and changes in laboratory parameters (CBC, ALT/AST, Cr/BUN) graded by CTCAE v5.0.
From baseline up to day 90 (long-term follow-up)

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
Change in Lund-Kennedy Endoscopic Score
Time Frame: Baseline, Day 29, and Day 42
Lund-Kennedy Endoscopic Score. Minimum value 0 (normal), maximum value 20 (most severe inflammation). Higher scores mean a worse outcome. This scale assesses polyps, oedema, discharge, scarring, and crusting.
Baseline, Day 29, and Day 42
Change in SNOT-22 Score
Time Frame: Baseline, Day 29, Day 42, and Day 90
Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22) Score. Minimum value 0 (no symptoms), maximum value 110 (worst possible symptoms). Higher scores mean a worse outcome.
Baseline, Day 29, Day 42, and Day 90
Change in VAS Symptom Score (nasal congestion, rhinorrhoea, facial pressure, smell loss)
Time Frame: Daily during treatment (Days 1-28) and follow-up up to Day 90
Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for nasal symptoms. Minimum 0 (no distress), maximum 10 (worst imaginable distress). Higher scores mean a worse outcome.
Daily during treatment (Days 1-28) and follow-up up to Day 90
Response Rate (SNOT-22 improvement ≥15 points or ≥50%)
Time Frame: Day 29
Day 29
Change in Quality of Life (SF-36)
Time Frame: Baseline and Day 29
36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Scores range from 0 to 100. Higher scores indicate better quality of life.
Baseline and Day 29

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.
The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical College

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 (Estimated)

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.
July 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
June 30, 2027

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.
June 30, 2027

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).
May 30, 2026

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.
June 7, 2026

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.
June 9, 2026

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.
June 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.
June 7, 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.
May 1, 2026

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.
  • HAHMU-CRS-AP-001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

This is a single-centre exploratory study with a small sample size (N=108). The data contain sensitive participant information and are subject to local privacy regulations. No formal data sharing agreement is planned.

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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