Systemic Traditional Chinese Medicine in Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial Pneumonia (MDRBP-TCM)

July 26, 2026 updated by: Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

A Multicenter Prospective Observational Cohort Study of Systemic Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment in Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial Pneumonia

This is a multicenter prospective observational cohort study of hospitalized patients with multidrug-resistant bacterial pneumonia. The study will compare patients who receive systemic traditional Chinese medicine treatment during routine clinical care with those who do not receive systemic traditional Chinese medicine treatment. Systemic traditional Chinese medicine treatment may include Chinese herbal decoctions, oral Chinese patent medicines, or Chinese medicine injections.

The primary objective is to evaluate whether systemic traditional Chinese medicine treatment is associated with a lower risk of lower respiratory tract infection events within 180 days after hospital discharge. Secondary outcomes include mortality, rehospitalization, bacterial clearance, clinical cure at hospital discharge, duration of antibacterial therapy, pneumonia-related clinician-reported and patient-reported outcome scores, health-related quality of life, inflammatory markers, imaging changes, safety outcomes, and direct medical costs.

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.

Detailed Description

Multidrug-resistant bacterial pneumonia remains a major clinical challenge because of limited effective antimicrobial options, an increased risk of treatment failure and recurrent infection, and prolonged antimicrobial exposure. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is commonly used as an adjunctive treatment in clinical practice in China; however, the association between systemic TCM treatment and the prognosis of patients with multidrug-resistant bacterial pneumonia has not been adequately evaluated in real-world settings.

This multicenter prospective observational cohort study will enroll hospitalized patients with multidrug-resistant bacterial pneumonia. The study is designed to evaluate the association between systemic TCM treatment received during routine clinical care and subsequent patient outcomes. Systemic TCM treatment is defined as physician-prescribed treatment with Chinese herbal decoctions, oral Chinese patent medicines, or Chinese medicine injections during hospitalization.

The study will not assign, mandate, or modify any clinical treatment. Decisions regarding antimicrobial therapy, supportive care, and TCM treatment will be made independently by the treating physicians according to the patient's clinical condition, routine clinical practice, and relevant clinical guidelines. Participants will be categorized according to whether they receive systemic TCM treatment during hospitalization, and outcomes will be compared between the exposed and unexposed groups.

This study is intended to generate real-world evidence regarding the potential role of systemic TCM treatment as an adjunct to routine clinical management in patients with multidrug-resistant bacterial pneumonia, particularly in relation to subsequent respiratory infection events, clinical recovery, antimicrobial exposure, and longer-term prognosis.

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.
Observational

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.
528

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.
  • Name: Zhenzhen Feng, Doctor
  • Phone Number: +86 15890658268
  • Email: huxifzz@163.com

Study Locations

  • China
    • Henan
      • Zhengzhou, Henan, China, 450000
        • First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
        • Contact:
          • Zhenzhen Feng, Doctor
          • Phone Number: +86 15890658268
          • Email: huxifzz@163.com

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

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Hospitalized adults with clinically diagnosed pneumonia and microbiologically confirmed multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens will be enrolled from participating centers. Eligible participants may include patients with community-acquired pneumonia, hospital-acquired pneumonia, or ventilator-associated pneumonia. Multidrug-resistant bacterial pneumonia will be defined as pneumonia in which at least one bacterial isolate demonstrates acquired non-susceptibility to at least one antimicrobial agent in each of three or more antimicrobial categories, as determined by standard antimicrobial susceptibility testing. The isolate must be considered a causative pathogen of the current pneumonia episode rather than colonization or contamination, based on clinical manifestations, imaging findings, microbiological results, and the available clinical course.

Description

Inclusion Criteria

  1. Hospitalized patients aged 18 years or older with a clinical diagnosis of pneumonia.
  2. Microbiological testing identifies at least one bacterial isolate that meets the definition of multidrug resistance, defined as acquired non-susceptibility to at least one antimicrobial agent in each of three or more antimicrobial categories, based on standard antimicrobial susceptibility testing.
  3. The multidrug-resistant bacterial isolate is judged to be a causative pathogen of the current pneumonia episode rather than colonization or contamination, based on clinical manifestations, imaging findings, microbiological results, and the clinical course.
  4. Willing to participate in the study and able to provide written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Patients who are unable to complete data collection due to unconsciousness, dementia, impaired consciousness, psychiatric illness, or other conditions, and for whom relevant information cannot be obtained through a legally authorized representative or family member.

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Cohort
Participants who receive systemic traditional Chinese medicine treatment after enrollment during routine clinical care. Systemic traditional Chinese medicine treatment includes Chinese herbal decoctions, oral Chinese patent medicines, and Chinese medicine injections. External traditional Chinese medicine therapies will be recorded separately. The study does not assign treatment.
Non-Systemic Traditional Chinese Medicine Cohort
Participants who do not receive systemic traditional Chinese medicine treatment after enrollment during routine clinical care. Conventional diagnosis, antimicrobial therapy, supportive care, and other clinical management will be determined by treating physicians according to routine clinical practice and relevant guidelines. The study does not assign treatment.

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
Time to First Lower Respiratory Tract Infection Event
Time Frame: From hospital discharge to 180 days after discharge
Time from hospital discharge to the first lower respiratory tract infection event. Lower respiratory tract infection events include relapse of drug-resistant bacterial pneumonia, new pneumonia, acute lower respiratory tract infection, or acute exacerbation of chronic airway disease complicated by lower respiratory tract infection. Events will be assessed based on symptoms, signs, inflammatory biomarkers, chest imaging, microbiological findings, and response to antimicrobial treatment.
From hospital discharge to 180 days after discharge

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
Mortality
Time Frame: At hospital discharge (up to 90 days after enrollment), and at 30, 90, and 180 days after hospital discharge.
Number and proportion of participants who die during hospitalization or follow-up.
At hospital discharge (up to 90 days after enrollment), and at 30, 90, and 180 days after hospital discharge.
Rehospitalization
Time Frame: At 30, 90, and 180 days after discharge
Number and proportion of participants who are rehospitalized after discharge.
At 30, 90, and 180 days after discharge
Upper Respiratory Tract Infection Events
Time Frame: From discharge to 180 days after discharge
Number and proportion of participants with upper respiratory tract infection events, including common cold, acute viral pharyngitis, or laryngitis.
From discharge to 180 days after discharge
Bacterial Clearance
Time Frame: At discharge from the initial hospitalization or completion of antimicrobial therapy (up to 90 days after enrollment).
Number and proportion of participants with confirmed or presumed clearance of the target causative pathogen. Confirmed clearance is defined as no detection of the target pathogen on follow-up microbiological testing. Presumed clearance is defined as clinical improvement without evidence of infection progression or relapse when follow-up microbiological testing is unavailable.
At discharge from the initial hospitalization or completion of antimicrobial therapy (up to 90 days after enrollment).
Clinical Cure
Time Frame: At discharge from the initial hospitalization (up to 90 days after enrollment)
Number and proportion of participants with clinical cure at discharge. Clinical cure is defined as resolution or return to pre-infection status of pneumonia-related symptoms and signs, improvement or normalization of non-microbiological laboratory indicators, radiographic absorption or partial absorption, and no further need for antibacterial therapy for the index pneumonia.
At discharge from the initial hospitalization (up to 90 days after enrollment)
Antibiotic Treatment Days
Time Frame: From enrollment through discontinuation of antibacterial therapy or hospital discharge, whichever occurs first (up to 90 days after enrollment).
Total number of days of antibacterial therapy from enrollment to discharge or end of treatment, including broad-spectrum or special-grade antibiotic use and combination therapy.
From enrollment through discontinuation of antibacterial therapy or hospital discharge, whichever occurs first (up to 90 days after enrollment).
Modified Community-Acquired Pneumonia Clinician-Reported Outcome Score
Time Frame: At enrollment, discharge (up to 90 days after enrollment), and 30, 90, and 180 days after discharge
Pneumonia-related clinical status will be assessed using the Modified Community-Acquired Pneumonia Clinician-Reported Outcome Scale. The scale contains 11 clinician-reported items evaluating pneumonia-related symptoms and signs during the previous 24 hours and the clinician's overall assessment of disease improvement. Each item is scored from 0 to 4, and the item scores are summed to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 44. Higher scores indicate more severe pneumonia-related symptoms and signs and less clinical improvement.
At enrollment, discharge (up to 90 days after enrollment), and 30, 90, and 180 days after discharge
Modified Community-Acquired Pneumonia Patient-Reported Outcome Score
Time Frame: At enrollment, discharge(up to 90 days after enrollment), and 30, 90, and 180 days after discharge
Pneumonia-related symptoms and patient-perceived health status will be assessed using the Modified Community-Acquired Pneumonia Patient-Reported Outcome Scale. The scale contains 17 patient-reported items evaluating pneumonia-related symptoms during the previous 24 hours, the effects of the illness on daily activities and work or study, and satisfaction with health status and treatment effectiveness. Each item is scored from 0 to 4, and the item scores are summed to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 68. Higher scores indicate more severe pneumonia-related symptoms, greater impairment in daily functioning, and lower satisfaction with health status and treatment effectiveness.
At enrollment, discharge(up to 90 days after enrollment), and 30, 90, and 180 days after discharge
36-Item Short Form Health Survey Score
Time Frame: At enrollment, discharge (up to 90 days after enrollment), and 30, 90, and 180 days after discharge
Health-related quality of life will be assessed using the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey. The instrument evaluates eight health domains. Each domain score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better health-related quality of life.
At enrollment, discharge (up to 90 days after enrollment), and 30, 90, and 180 days after discharge

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.
Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

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.
  • Study Chair: Jiansheng Li, Doctor, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

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.
August 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.
December 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, 2028

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).
July 7, 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.
July 20, 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.
July 24, 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.
July 28, 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.
July 26, 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.
July 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.
  • TCM for MDRBP

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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