Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) Administration and Length of Gestation: a Feasibility Study

March 4, 2015 updated by: Kaiser Permanente

DHA Administration and Length of Gestation: a Feasibility Study

This is a feasibility study to determine if it will be possible to conduct a larger study of the effect of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega fatty acid, on increased length of gestation among women who have had a previous preterm delivery.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

We propose to conduct an 18-month feasibility study to determine (a) how many women we could approach during a 4-month period, (b) how many of these women would be eligible for a future RCT, (c) how many would consent to participate in the RCT, and (d) how many would be subsequently rendered ineligible due to poor compliance. Women enrolled during the 4-month recruitment period would be followed until 1 month after delivery using telephone contact (for assessing compliance) and scanning of KPMCP electronic databases (for quantifying outcomes). We hope to enroll 50 to 75 women during our fixed time (4 months) recruitment period. Half of these 50-75 women would receive DHA; half would receive placebo.

We will identify potential subjects based on their response to the Preterm Birth Prevention Program questionnaire (a screening instrument administered by the Regional Perinatal Service Center [RPSC] to all women in the KPMCP entering prenatal care). Eligible women are those pregnant women entering prenatal care who, based on their response to the abovementioned RPSC questionnaire, are identified as having had a previous preterm delivery (delivery prior to 37 completed weeks of gestation).

Results of this study will (a) permit us to determine whether an RCT is feasible at a reasonable cost, and (b) assuming the answer to (a) is positive, it would then be possible for us to design an RCT that could address our primary study question.

Study Type

Interventional

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Previous preterm delivery (delivery prior to 37 completed weeks of gestation)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • None

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: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: 2
Placebo
placebo once per day starting at 22-24 weeks gestation until delivery.
Active Comparator: 1
600 mg per day of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
600 mg per day of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) starting at 22-24 weeks gestation until delivery.
Other Names:
  • omega fatty acid

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Is daily intake of 600 mg per day of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid, beginning at 22-24 weeks gestation, associated with increased length of gestation among women who have had a previous preterm delivery?
Time Frame: 18 months
18 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Gabriel Escobar, MD, Kaiser Permanente

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

July 1, 2008

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2009

Study Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 3, 2008

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 4, 2008

First Posted (Estimate)

June 5, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

March 6, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 4, 2015

Last Verified

March 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.

Clinical Trials on Premature Birth

Clinical Trials on docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)

3
Subscribe