Treatment of acute respiratory viral infections: results of a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 178-189
Author(s):  
V.V. Rafalsky ◽  
◽  
R.F. Khamitov ◽  
T.I. Martynenko ◽  
M.V. Chernogorova ◽  
...  

This multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted to obtain additional data on the efficacy and safety of Anaferon for the treatment of acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI) during seasonal increase in their incidence (RCT of the Ministry of Health of Russia No 356 dated 24.07.2018; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03707912). Patients and methods. Between October 2018 and March 2019, a total of 204 patients aged 18 to 70 years with ARVI symptoms were included in this study within the first 24 hours of symptom onset. Patients were randomized into 2 groups: 104 individuals received oral Anaferon (should be kept in the mouth until completely dissolved and without food) according to the following scheme: 1 tablet every 30 minutes during the first 2 hours; then 3 more doses at regular intervals during the first day; then 1 tablet 3 times a day on days 2–5; 100 individuals received placebo according to the same scheme. The primary endpoint was time to resolution of symptoms of clinically diagnosed and/or PCR (polymerase chain reaction) – confirmed ARVI. Addithional endpoints included: time to resolution of symptoms of ARVI confirmed by PCR; proportion of patients with resolution of symptoms of clinically diagnosed and/or PCR-confirmed ARVI and separately PCR-confirmed ARVI; severity of clinically diagnosed and/or PCR-confirmed ARVI (assessed by ‘area under the curve’ for the total severity index); the number of antipyretic doses taken according to indications on days 1–3 of treatment (checked in the patient's diary); proportion of patients who required antibiotic treatment on days 4–7 of follow-up. To assess safety, we analyzed the incidence and type of adverse events (AEs), their severity, association with drug use, and treatment outcome. The following statistical methods were used: Fisher's exact test, Cochran–Mantel–Haenszel test, Wilcoxon test, and repeated measures ANOVA, PROC MIXED. Results. A total of 203 patients were included in the intention-to-treat (ITT) and per protocol (РР) analysis: 103 [95] individuals in the Anaferon arm and 100 [93] individuals in the Placebo arm. Patients receiving Anaferon had significantly shorter time to resolution of all ARVI symptoms than patients receiving placebo: 4.1 ± 1.6 days vs 4.5 ± 1.5 days (p = 0.032). The disease was on average 1 day shorter in patients from the experimental group compared to controls: 3.6 ± 1.5 days vs 4.6 ± 1.5 days (p = 0.007). The proportion of patients who had resolution of symptoms of clinically diagnosed and/or PCR-confirmed ARVI was significantly higher in the Anaferon arm compared to Placebo arm (p = 0.0012). Among patients with PCR-verified ARVI, treatment with Anaferon resulted in twice as frequent recovery as in the control group on day 4 (53.7% vs 26.3%) and day 7 (70.7% vs 36.8%). In the Anaferon arm, we observed shorter disease duration and higher proportion of patients recovered compared to the Placebo arm; however, patients in both groups had a similar need for antipyretic drugs on days 1–3 of treatment, as well as for antibiotic therapy. The incidence of AEs in the Anaferon and Placebo groups did not vary significantly. No AEs with a reliable association with Anaferon were registered. Conclusion. Our findings suggest high efficacy and safety of Anaferon in patients with ARVI. The best results were obtained in patients with PCR-verified diagnosis, which can be attributed to the involvement of the interferon system in the action of the drug. The results of this RCT confirm the data obtained in previous studies and long-term clinical experience of using Anaferon. Key words: acute respiratory viral infections, ARVI, treatment, effective therapy, placebo-controlled study, Anaferon, randomized clinical trial, comprehensive therapy, efficacy, safety

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 3794
Author(s):  
Yu Hwa Park ◽  
Do Hoon Kim ◽  
Jung Suk Lee ◽  
Hyun Il Jeong ◽  
Kye Wan Lee ◽  
...  

This study sought to investigate the antihyperuricemia efficacy and safety of DKB114 (a mixture of Chrysanthemum indicum Linn flower extract and Cinnamomum cassia extract) to evaluate its potential as a dietary supplement ingredient. This clinical trial was a randomized, 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. A total of 80 subjects (40 subjects with an intake of DKB114 and 40 subjects with that of placebo) who had asymptomatic hyperuricemia (7.0–9.0 mg/dL with serum uric acid) was randomly assigned. No significant difference between the DKB114 and placebo groups was observed in the amount of uric acid in serum after six weeks of intake. However, after 12 weeks of intake, the uric acid level in serum of subjects in the DKB114 group decreased by 0.58 ± 0.86 mg/dL and was 7.37 ± 0.92 mg/dL, whereas that in the placebo group decreased by 0.02 ± 0.93 mg/dL and was 7.67 ± 0.89 mg/dL, a significant difference (p = 0.0229). In the analysis of C-reactive protein (CRP) change, after 12 weeks of administration, the DKB114 group showed an increase of 0.05 ± 0.27 mg/dL (p = 0.3187), while the placebo group showed an increase of 0.10 ± 0.21 mg/dL (p = 0.0324), a statistically significant difference (p = 0.0443). In the analysis of amount of change in apoprotein B, after 12 weeks of administration, the DKB114 group decreased by 4.75 ± 16.69 mg/dL (p = 0.1175), and the placebo group increased by 3.13 ± 12.64 mg/dL (p = 0.2187), a statistically significant difference between the administration groups (p = 0.0189). In the clinical pathology test, vital signs and weight measurement, and electrocardiogram test conducted for safety evaluation, no clinically significant difference was found between the ingestion groups, confirming the safety of DKB114. Therefore, it may have potential as a treatment for hyperuricemia and gout. We suggest that DKB114 as a beneficial and safe food ingredient for individuals with high serum uric acid. Trial registration (CRIS.NIH. go. Kr): KCT0002840.


Author(s):  
Domingo Jesús Quintana Hernández ◽  
María del Pino Quintana Montesdeoca

We conducted a randomized, controlled study in order to investigate the feasibility, security as well as the effects of the practice of mindfulness upon the evolution of AD. The efficacy of a Mindfulness-based Cognitive Stimulation program for Alzheimer’s patients was tested in this double-blind, randomized clinical trial, using repeated measures of CAMDEX (CAMCOG y MMSE) every six months during two years. A total of 168 patients, presenting a Probable Alzheimer Disease according to NINCDS-ADRDA criteria and treated with donepezil, were randomly assigned to the four following non-pharmacological treatments: standard cognitive stimulation, progressive muscular relaxation, mindfulness-based Alzheimer stimulation and control group, which received no intervention. Each experimental group worked in 90-minute sessions, three times per week during two years (a total of 96 weeks). Results indicated that the Mindfulness-based Alzheimer Stimulation group did not show as much a significant decline of cognitive function as the other groups did. Therefore, it seems that mindfulness practice, as implemented in this program, can have a preventive role against the progression of cognitive impairment in AD. These results support the use of mindfulness as a non-pharmacological treatment.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Berta Grau-Pujol ◽  
Daniel Camprubí ◽  
Helena Marti-Soler ◽  
Marc Fernández-Pardos ◽  
Clara Carreras-Abad ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a promising strategy to break COVID-19 transmission. Although hydroxychloroquine was evaluated for treatment and post-exposure prophylaxis, it is not evaluated for COVID-19 PrEP yet. The aim of this study was to evaluate efficacy and safety of PrEP with hydroxychloroquine against placebo in healthcare workers at high risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection during an epidemic period.Methods: We conducted a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial in three hospitals in Barcelona, Spain. From 350 adult healthcare workers screened, we included 269 participants with no active or past SARS-CoV-2 infection (determined by a negative nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 PCR and a negative serology against SARS-CoV-2). Participants allocated in the intervention arm (PrEP) received 400mg of hydroxychloroquine daily the first four consecutive days and subsequently, 400mg weekly during the study period. Participants in the control group followed the same treatment schedule with placebo tablets. Results: 52.8% (142/269) of participants were in the hydroxychloroquine arm and 47.2% (127/269) in the placebo arm. Both groups showed similar proportion of participants experiencing at least one adverse event (AE) (p=0.548). No serious AEs were reported. Almost all AEs (96.4%, 106/110) were mild. Only mild gastrointestinal symptoms were significantly higher in the hydroxychloroquine arm compared to the placebo arm (27.4% (39/142) vs 15.7% (20/127), p=0.041). Given the national epidemic incidence decay, only one participant in each group was COVID-19 diagnosed. Consequently, our study design deemed underpowered to evaluate any benefit regarding PrEP efficacy.Conclusions: First month follow-up analysis displayed that PrEP with hydroxychloroquine at low doses is safe.Trial registration: This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04331834) on April 2nd 2020. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04331834?term=NCT04331834&draw=2&rank=1


Author(s):  
N. A. Geppe ◽  
A. V. Gorelov ◽  
O. V. Shamsheva ◽  
I. G. Sitnikov ◽  
E. P. Sitnikova ◽  
...  

The authors conducted an international multicenter double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study to obtain additional data on the efficacy and safety of a 12-week course of Anaferon for children for the prevention of acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI), including influenza, in children during the rise in seasonal morbidity (RCT of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation: №356 dated June 29, 2017; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03301155).Materials and methods. The study involved 1,036 children (1 month – 6 years 11 months 29 days) during two epidemiological seasons. The patients were divided into 2 groups: 528 patients received Anaferon for children 1 tablet a day for 12 weeks, 508 patients received placebo according to Anaferon for children scheme. The primary end point was the duration of the period from the first dose of the drug until manifestation of ARVI/influenza. Additional end points were percentage of children not falling with ARVI/influenza during 4-, 8- and 12-week course of preventive therapy; percentage of children with respiratory or ear-nose-throat bacterial infections requiring antibiotics within 12 week; percentage of children hospitalized with ARVI/influenza or their complications within 12 week. To assess safety, the authors analyzed the presence and nature of the adverse events (AEs), their severity, connection with the medication, outcome. The authors used the following statistical methods: calculation of hazard ratio, median time to the manifestation of symptoms of ARVI / influenza, 95% confidence intervals.Results. The Intention-to-treat (ITT) and Per Protocol [РР] analysis included the data of 1,021 [975] patients: 520 [494] – Anaferon for children group and 501 [481] –Placebo group. The average duration of the period from the first dose of the drug to the development of ARVI/influenza symptoms obtained as a result of the analysis of the statistical model was 428.8 [434.1] days for Anaferon for children group, that is 1.5 times higher than in Placebo group (275.8 [274.9] days; p=0.001 [p=0.0009]). The percentage of children without ARVI/influenza was 99.2% [99.2%] in Anaferon for children group (versus 90.2% [90.0%] in Placebo group; p=0.0003 [p=0.0003]) within 4 weeks, 92.7% [92.3%] (versus 82.8% [82.7%]; p=0.0003 [p=0.0003]) within 8 weeks, and 81.5% [81.8%] (versus 73.4% [73.4%], respectively; p=0.0021 [p=0.0021]). None of the patients was hospitalized for ARVI/influenza or complications. The frequency of AEs in Anaferon for children and Placebo groups had no differ. No one AE definitely related to the study drug was registered.Conclusion. The results confirm the efficacy and safety of a 12-week course of Anaferon for children to prevent ARVI and influenza during seasonal rise of morbidity in children.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (12) ◽  
pp. 5871-5879
Author(s):  
Rajesh V. Lalla ◽  
Sebastián Solé ◽  
Sergio Becerra ◽  
Claudia Carvajal ◽  
Piero Bettoli ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of Dentoxol mouthrinse in reducing the severity of oral mucositis (OM) secondary to radiation therapy (RT) for head and neck cancer. Methods A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter phase II clinical trial was conducted. Subjects were asked to use Dentoxol (n = 55) or control (n = 53) mouthrinse 5 times/day during RT. Twice a week, OM was assessed clinically using the WHO scale and the Oral Mucositis Daily Questionnaire (OMDQ) was completed. Results The incidence of severe OM was 40.7% in the Dentoxol group and 51% in the control group (p = 0.265). Comparing all recorded clinical assessments, severe OM was seen in 13.3% of all assessments in the Dentoxol group vs. 21.8% in the control group (p = 0.000). There was a statistically significant lower proportion of assessments showing severe OM in the Dentoxol group at weeks 4, 5, and 6 of RT. The mean duration of severe OM was 11.95 days in the Dentoxol group vs. 14.59 days in the control group (p = 0.502). There was no difference between groups in mouth pain and its impact on function. The use of Dentoxol was safe and was not linked to any serious adverse events. Conclusion The use of Dentoxol 5 times/day is safe and resulted in significantly fewer time-points with severe OM and a delay in the onset of severe OM, compared with a control rinse. A phase III clinical trial is warranted to confirm efficacy and address the limitations of this study.


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