Labor, PrematureNCT00059683
Ultrasound-indicated Cerclage to Prevent Premature Birth in High-risk Women
A study testing cervical cerclage in people with Labor, Premature, run by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
Pregnant women who have a shortened cervix and have previously had a premature baby are at increased risk for having another premature baby. This study will determine whether reinforcing the cervix with a surgical stitch can reduce the chance of a premature birth. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 16 years and older, women only
- Conditions the study is for
- Labor, Premature
- What is being tested?
- cervical cerclage
- Type of treatment
- Surgery or procedure
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 300 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- Jan 2003to Oct 2009
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 16 years and older
- Women only
- No healthy volunteers
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Pregnant with a singleton gestation
- History of at least 1 prior spontaneous preterm birth at or before 32 weeks' gestation
Who cannot join
- Cervical cerclage planned for this pregnancy
- Clinical history of cervical incompetence
- Untreated C. trachomatis or N. gonorrhoeae infection or symptomatic vaginitis
- Unable to obtain mid-trimester ultrasound to confirm no major fetal anomaly (i.e., aneuploidy, major organ system defect) or fetal demise prior to enrollment
- Multiple gestation
- Prolapsed or ruptured membranes noted on initial speculum examination
Show all 16Show fewer
- Cervical os dilation > 2 cm noted on initial speculum examination
- Oligohydramnios
- Complete placenta previa
- Chronic hypertension or vascular disease requiring therapy
- Maternal red cell alloimmunization
- Insulin dependent diabetes
- Significant renal or cardiopulmonary disease
- Delivery or prenatal care outside clinical center
- Enrolled in this study in a previous pregnancy
- Participation in a randomized trial with interventions or endpoints in conflict with the cerclage randomized trial
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama, 35249
About this study
Official title: Vaginal Ultrasound Cerclage Trial
Pregnant women who have a shortened cervix and have previously had a premature baby are at increased risk for having another premature baby. This study will determine whether reinforcing the cervix with a surgical stitch can reduce the chance of a premature birth.
Read the detailed description
Women with a prior early spontaneous preterm birth and a shortened mid-trimester cervical length (less than 25 mm) are at very high risk for having another premature baby. The Vaginal Ultrasound Cerclage Trial is a multicenter, randomized clinical trial designed to determine the efficacy of cerclage (a purse-string suture placed around the uterine cervix) for the prevention of spontaneous preterm birth prior to 35 weeks' gestation. The study will evaluate women at significant risk for recurrent spontaneous preterm birth (those with a prior spontaneous birth at 17 to 32 weeks' gestation) and who have an increased risk based on mid-trimester ultrasound findings of a cervical length less than 25 mm.
The trial will have an observational portion and an interventional portion. In the observational portion, 1,000 women with a history of a spontaneous preterm birth at 17 to 32 weeks' gestation will undergo biweekly vaginal ultrasounds beginning at 16 to 18 weeks' gestation and ending by 22 weeks. Prior research indicates that one third of these women will either have or develop a cervix less than 25 mm long. Women will be seen at a frequency determined by the cervical length (as determined by ultrasound examination starting at 16 weeks' gestation). If cervical length remains greater than 30 mm, the next visits will occur in 2 week intervals until 22.6 weeks' gestation. If the cervical length is 25 mm to 29 mm, the visits will be scheduled weekly. If the cervical length shortens to less than 25 mm, the woman is eligible for randomization, and will undergo one more study visit.
In the interventional portion of the trial, women will be randomized to either cerclage or no cerclage (control group). Randomized women will have weekly contact with a nurse either by phone or in person, whichever is convenient for the woman, until delivery occurs. The woman is followed during the course of her pregnancy and delivery of her infant. Her infant is followed until discharge from the hospital.
- Conditions
- Labor, Premature
- Being tested
- cervical cerclage
- Keywords
- Preterm Birth, Premature Birth, Cervical cerclage, Vaginal ultrasound, Cervical length
- Medical subject headings
- Obstetric Labor, Premature, Premature Birth
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
cervical cerclageProcedure or surgery
Cerclage is a circumferential stitch of non-absorbable suture placed around the cervix
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Cervical Cerclage Group | Experimental | Women randomized to receive cerclage should receive cervical cerclage Receives: Procedure: cervical cerclage |
| Control Group | No intervention | Women randomized to not receive cerclage represent the control arm |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Incidence of preterm birth less than 35 weeks' gestation
Measured: Birth
Secondary outcomes (1)
Gestational age at birth
Measured: birth
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted5 May 2003 (estimated)
- Study startJan 2003
- Primary completionNov 2007
- Study completionOct 2009
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Labor, PrematureStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 300 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
- Sponsor type
- US National Institutes of Health
- Collaborators
- University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, John Owen, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
- Investigators
- John Owen, MD, Principal investigator, University of Alabama at Birmingham
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00059683
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- U01HD039939-01A1
- Status last verified
- Sep 2014
- First submitted
- 1 May 2003
- Last updated
- 30 Sep 2014
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
Publications
Owen J, Hankins G, Iams JD, Berghella V, Sheffield JS, Perez-Delboy A, Egerman RS, Wing DA, Tomlinson M, Silver R, Ramin SM, Guzman ER, Gordon M, How HY, Knudtson EJ, Szychowski JM, Cliver S, Hauth JC. Multicenter randomized trial of cerclage for preterm birth prevention in high-risk women with shortened midtrimester cervical length. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2009 Oct;201(4):375.e1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2009.08.015.
PubMed 19788970
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 30 Sep 2014. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Vaginal Ultrasound Cerclage Trial
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00059683
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- U01HD039939-01A1
- Conditions
- Labor, Premature
- Keywords
- Preterm Birth, Premature Birth, Cervical cerclage, Vaginal ultrasound, Cervical length
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 300 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)US National Institutes of Health
- Collaborators
- University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Study start
- Jan 2003
- Primary completion
- Nov 2007 (actual)
- Study completion
- Oct 2009 (actual)
- First posted
- 5 May 2003 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Pregnant women who have a shortened cervix and have previously had a premature baby are at increased risk for having another premature baby. This study will determine whether reinforcing the cervix with a surgical stitch can reduce the chance of a premature birth.
Detailed description
Women with a prior early spontaneous preterm birth and a shortened mid-trimester cervical length (less than 25 mm) are at very high risk for having another premature baby. The Vaginal Ultrasound Cerclage Trial is a multicenter, randomized clinical trial designed to determine the efficacy of cerclage (a purse-string suture placed around the uterine cervix) for the prevention of spontaneous preterm birth prior to 35 weeks' gestation. The study will evaluate women at significant risk for recurrent spontaneous preterm birth (those with a prior spontaneous birth at 17 to 32 weeks' gestation) and who have an increased risk based on mid-trimester ultrasound findings of a cervical length less than 25 mm.
The trial will have an observational portion and an interventional portion. In the observational portion, 1,000 women with a history of a spontaneous preterm birth at 17 to 32 weeks' gestation will undergo biweekly vaginal ultrasounds beginning at 16 to 18 weeks' gestation and ending by 22 weeks. Prior research indicates that one third of these women will either have or develop a cervix less than 25 mm long. Women will be seen at a frequency determined by the cervical length (as determined by ultrasound examination starting at 16 weeks' gestation). If cervical length remains greater than 30 mm, the next visits will occur in 2 week intervals until 22.6 weeks' gestation. If the cervical length is 25 mm to 29 mm, the visits will be scheduled weekly. If the cervical length shortens to less than 25 mm, the woman is eligible for randomization, and will undergo one more study visit.
In the interventional portion of the trial, women will be randomized to either cerclage or no cerclage (control group). Randomized women will have weekly contact with a nurse either by phone or in person, whichever is convenient for the woman, until delivery occurs. The woman is followed during the course of her pregnancy and delivery of her infant. Her infant is followed until discharge from the hospital.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Cervical Cerclage Group | Experimental | Procedure: cervical cerclageWomen randomized to receive cerclage should receive cervical cerclage |
| Control Group | No intervention | –Women randomized to not receive cerclage represent the control arm |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 16 years and older
- Sex
- Female only
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Pregnant with a singleton gestation
- History of at least 1 prior spontaneous preterm birth at or before 32 weeks' gestation
Key exclusion criteria (16 listed)
- Cervical cerclage planned for this pregnancy
- Clinical history of cervical incompetence
- Untreated C. trachomatis or N. gonorrhoeae infection or symptomatic vaginitis
- Unable to obtain mid-trimester ultrasound to confirm no major fetal anomaly (i.e., aneuploidy, major organ system defect) or fetal demise prior to enrollment
- Multiple gestation
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| cervical cerclageCerclage is a circumferential stitch of non-absorbable suture placed around the cervix | Procedure or surgery | Cervical Cerclage Group |
Primary outcome
Incidence of preterm birth less than 35 weeks' gestation
Time frame: Birth
1 secondary outcome
Gestational age at birth
Time frame: birth
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 30 Sep 2014.
- Results publication: PubMed 19788970Owen J, Hankins G, Iams JD, Berghella V, Sheffield JS, Perez-Delboy A, Egerman RS, Wing DA, Tomlinson M, Silver R, Ramin SM, Guzman ER, Gordon M, How HY, Knudtson EJ, Szychowski JM, Cliver S, Hauth JC. Multicenter randomized trial of cerclage for preterm birth prevention in high-risk women with shortened midtrimester cervical length. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2009 Oct;201(4):375.e1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2009.08.015.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
John Owen, MD principal investigator
University of Alabama at Birmingham
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing cervical cerclage in people with Labor, Premature, run by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 16 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 30 Sep 2014. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Incidence of preterm birth less than 35 weeks' gestation (time frame: Birth). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00059683, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 30 Sep 2014; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 8 Nov 2026.