Evaluation of Corticosteroid Therapy in Childhood Severe Sepsis - a Randomised Pilot Study (StePS)

Evaluation of Corticosteroid Therapy in Childhood Severe Sepsis (Steroids in Paediatric Sepsis, StePS) - a Randomised Pilot Study

Severe bacterial infections affecting multiple body organs, called severe sepsis (including meningococcal sepsis), remain an important cause of death and disability among children. Although early recognition, powerful antibiotics, and good intensive care have improved outcome, we need new ways to further reduce the number of deaths. Research in adults has shown that steroid replacement therapy might be useful. However, children are known to respond differently to adults and a definitive trial in children is needed because of the potentially harmful as well as beneficial effects of steroids.

This pilot study will provide the necessary information to allow the rational design of a large trial conducted at multiple hospitals investigating the role of corticosteroid replacement therapy in childhood sepsis. The study will provide information on how to measure the effects of steroids, information on length of therapy and a better understanding of how steroids work in children. The results emerging from this study will ultimately allow paediatric intensive care clinicians to know whether or not steroids are safe and/or useful.

The primary objective of this open-label study is therefore to gather clinical and laboratory data with which to inform the design of a large phase 3 double blind randomised controlled trial (RCT). The study will provide basic limited safety data, information on length of therapy and an assessment of possible clinical and laboratory endpoints to be used in addition to mortality.

Definition of sepsis:

Presence of a documented infection (eg clinical evidence of pneumonia, skin or soft tissue infection, purpura fulminans, urinary tract infection, abdominal infection) or a diagnostic positive blood culture (community or hospital acquired) within the last 72 hours and at least two of the following, one of which must be abnormal temperature or leucocyte count[3] core temperature of >38.5°C or <36°C; tachycardia (mean heart rate >2 SD above normal for age); mean respiratory rate > 2 SD above normal for age; leucocyte count elevated or depressed for age.

Definition of severe sepsis:

Sepsis plus cardiovascular organ dysfunction (the need for at least 5mcg/kg/min dopamine or dobutamine, or any amount of adrenaline or noradrenaline support), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), or 2 or more other organ dysfunctions.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Sepsis
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: hydrocortisone

Detailed Description

1. PURPOSE: The Need for a Paediatric Trial of Steroids in Sepsis - potential benefits and risks Numerous targets for new therapies in sepsis have been identified, none of which have been shown to have been of benefit in children. The results of adult studies cannot therefore be extrapolated directly to childhood disease. Corticosteroids alter the inflammatory balance in both beneficial and harmful ways in severe sepsis. Recent adult studies have demonstrated transient adrenal insufficiency is associated with adverse outcome and that corticosteroids increase survival in specific patient groups, and steroid replacement has become a standard of care. There is little uniformity in the approach to steroid replacement therapy amongst leading paediatric centres in the UK. Expert opinion has emphasised that guidance is interim while awaiting appropriate paediatric studies. Steroids are perceived as "safe" and "cheap" but should not be introduced into paediatric practice without further research. Sepsis in childhood differs in terms of mortality (around 10% overall in children vs in excess of 40% in adults), background immunity, co-morbidity, and causative organisms. Given the lower overall mortality in childhood sepsis, steroids have the potential to disrupt the inflammatory balance in children causing greater harm than benefit. It is not known which patients should be targeted for therapeutic intervention; what are the most appropriate endpoints; whether the length of steroid therapy can be shorter in children; or whether immunological rebound will occur.
2. DESIGN and METHODOLOGY:

This is an open randomised prospective pilot exploratory study of corticosteroid replacement therapy in three centres. Adrenal function measurements will be assessed on entry to the study. To investigate the inflammatory profile and the impact of corticosteroid replacement, blood will be taken for cytokine and coagulation protein analysis. This study will provide the pilot data necessary for the design of a definitive trial of corticosteroid replacement therapy with the identification of variables likely to improve our ability to stratify patients for intervention and the mechanistic characterisation of the modulatory effects of steroids on inflammation in children with severe sepsis. Enrolment will be undertaken in two stages (see flowsheet diagrams in protocol). Forty five eligible children will be randomly allocated to steroid replacement therapy for 2 days (n=30) or intensive investigation without intervention (n=15) in a 2:1 randomisation (stage 1); 45 subjects (stage 2) will then be randomly allocated to steroid replacement therapy for 5 days (n=30) or intensive investigation without intervention (n=15). Randomisation will the undertaken in accordance with a computer-generated list and will be stratified by age (<1 years; 1 year or more). Progression from stage 1 to stage 2 will follow an interim analysis by a Trial Monitoring Group to ensure safety. This escalating approach will provide safety data, information on length of therapy and an assessment of possible clinical and laboratory endpoints in addition to mortality, reducing the potential for adverse events in the pilot phase while providing data relevant to this population. A large excess of serious adverse events in stage 1 will result in study termination. After careful consideration by the investigators and during the peer review process, placebo will not be used in this study, which will inform a future large phase 3 randomised controlled trial.

RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS WILL RECEIVE THE FOLLOWING INTERVENTIONS THAT ARE NOT PART OF ROUTINE CLINICAL CARE (Please also refer to figures 1-4 in the protocol that we are unable to reproduce here): Children will be screened on admission to PICU. Entry into the study following consent involves a clinical test of endocrine function involving 2 blood tests. The list of procedures conducted in the study is as follows:

1. confirm eligibility requirements, assess pre-existing conditions and medical history, record weight, height, vital signs, data to inform clinical severity scores, complete infection assessment, clinically relevant laboratory investigations
2. corticotrophin stimulation test
3. multiple study samples (endocrine, cytokine and coagulation tests)
4. corticosteroid treatment if randomised to treatment group
5. follow-up in routine clinic

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 21
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • UK
    • Bristol, UK, United Kingdom, BS2 8BJ
      • Bristol Royal Hospital for Children
    • London, UK, United Kingdom, W2 1NY
      • Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
    • Southampton, UK, United Kingdom, SO16 6YD
      • Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 3 months to 14 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Severe sepsis where enrolment can occur within 20 hours of first contact with paediatric intensive care, or within 20 hours of the diagnosis of severe sepsis when this diagnosis is made on PICU. Randomisation should occur within 24 hours of first contact with paediatric intensive care, or within 24 hours of the diagnosis of severe sepsis when this diagnosis is made on PICU.
• Requiring mechanical ventilation (The subjects must be mechanically ventilated for entry into the study but this is not time limited. It is routine practice at study centres to pre-emptively ventilate children with evolving sepsis)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Concomitant steroid therapy, vasopressor treatment >24 hrs or use of etomidate (not recommended for use in children less than 10 years and selectively inhibits 11 beta-hydroxylase)
• Patients who have a recognised indication for steroids
• Other immunosuppressive/immunomodulatory therapy (not including intravenous immunoglobulin which is considered standard therapy in toxic shock syndrome and may be given for this indication)
• Significant immunocompromise (eg HIV infection)
• Advanced malignancy
• Burns
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
• Children not likely to survive the time period of the maximum study intervention (5 days)
• Patients who have undergone organ transplantation (including bone marrow transplantation)
• Patients undergoing plasma exchange or whole blood exchange transfusion
• Treatment with an investigational drug or device within the last 30 days prior to enrolment.
• Patients who have experienced a prior episode of infection or sepsis during the current hospitalisation.
• Patients who are pregnant (a pregnancy test will be carried out for females of 11 years and above as is standard practice for clinical trials).
• Immediate families of investigators or site personnel directly affiliated with the study. Immediate family is defined as child or sibling, whether biological or legally adopted.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Treatment; Patients in this arm will be given the following IMP intraveneously at 6 hour intervals - hydrocortisone (100mg/m2/24 hours)	Drug: hydrocortisone; Patients will be assigned to treatment with hydrocortisone at 100mg/m2/24 hours in 4 divided doses (25 mg/m2/q 6 hourly) for 8 doses (48 hours) in phase 1 of study (45 patients, 30 receive IMP) or 20 doses (120 hours) in phase 2 (45 patients, 30 receive IMP).; Other Names: Hydrocortisone sodium succinate; Solu-Cortef®
No Intervention: Control; in each phase of study 15 patients will receive no IMP as control arm

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
primary efficacy endpoint is all cause mortality	28 days
primary toxicity endpoint is Serious Adverse Events, excluding sepsis-related events specified as secondary outcomes	28 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
ICU mortality	28 days
PIM2	entry
PELOD	daily to 28 days or PICU discharge
time until shock reversal, defined as cessation of inotropic support for 24 hours	28 days
time to resolution of multiorgan dysfunction	28 days
time to resolution of base deficit	28 days
time to resolution of lactate	28 days
time to decision to discharge from ICU	28 days
laboratory analysis of adrenal function	6 days and convalescence
laboratory analysis of inflammatory parameters (defined in protocol)	6 days and convalescence
laboratory analysis of coagulation parameters (defined in protocol)	6 days and convalescence

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
• Collaborators: Imperial College London; University of Bristol; University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust; St Mary's NHS Trust
• Investigators: Study Chair: Saul N Faust, MBBS PhD, University of Southampton; Principal Investigator: Simon Nadel, MB BS, Imperial College London; Study Director: Robert S Heyderman, MBBS PhD, University of Liverpool; Study Director: Diana M Gibb, MBChB MD, Medical Research Council; Study Director: Michael Levin, MBBCH PhD, Imperial College London; Principal Investigator: Andrew Wolf, MBBChir MD, Univeristy of Bristol; Study Director: John V Pappachan, MB BChir, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust; Study Director: Sarah Walker, MA PhD, Medical Research Council; Study Director: Carrol Gamble, PhD, University of Liverpool / MCRN Clinical Trials Unit

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

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Helpful Links

• UK NIHR Medicines For Children Research Network

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: April 1, 2008
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 1, 2012
• Study Completion (Actual): April 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 7, 2008
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 8, 2008
• First Posted (Estimate): August 11, 2008

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): May 6, 2016
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 5, 2016
• Last Verified: May 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: pediatric; children; sepsis; paediatric; septicemia; septicaemia
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Infections; Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome; Inflammation; Sepsis; Toxemia; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Hydrocortisone; Hydrocortisone 17-butyrate 21-propionate; Hydrocortisone acetate; Hydrocortisone hemisuccinate
• Other Study ID Numbers: RHM CHI 434; 2007-002788-28 (EudraCT Number); 07/H0504/139 (Other Identifier: Southampton & South West Hampshire REC)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No