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Morning SicknessNCT01668940

Freezie Remedy to Alleviate Morning Sickness

A study testing Lillipops Iced Soothies (4 flavours), Mr. Freeze Freezies and Lillipop Iced Soothies (Ginger flavour) in people with Morning Sickness, run by The Hospital for Sick Children at 1 site in Canada.

Terminated

Stopped early. The study ended before it was planned to and will not resume.

Official record
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Trial summary

The primary objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of Lillipops in the improvement of morning sickness symptoms. Secondary objectives are to assess if there are any changes to concurrent symptoms that may intensify NVP, such as metallic taste or gastrointestinal issues (e.g. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 45 years, women onlyHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Morning Sickness
What is being tested?
Lillipops Iced Soothies (4 flavours), Mr. Freeze Freezies and Lillipop Iced Soothies (Ginger flavour)
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
54 participants
Where
1 siteCanada
Study dates
Aug 2012to Jul 2015
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

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 18 to 45 years
  • Women only
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Pregnancy between 4 and 12 weeks gestation.
  • Pregnant women with NVP, regardless of treatment (if any) for their NVP.
  • Provide the signed informed consent form prior to initial interview.
  • Able to come in person to Sick Kids or meet at an agreed location.

Who cannot join

  • Gestational age beyond 12 weeks of pregnancy.
  • Pregnant women less than 18 years of age.
  • Women who are not proficient in the English language.
  • Unable to consume any of the ingredients listed in Lillipops or Mr. Freeze freezies due to allergies, medication interactions or other reasons.
  • Women refusing to avoid sources of ginger products for the duration of the study.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Canada1 site
  • The Hospital for Sick Children

    Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X8

Other trials in Canada

About this study

Official title: Effectiveness of a Natural Non-medicinal Freezie Remedy to Alleviate Morning Sickness

The primary objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of Lillipops in the improvement of morning sickness symptoms. Secondary objectives are to assess if there are any changes to concurrent symptoms that may intensify NVP, such as metallic taste or gastrointestinal issues (e.g. heartburn, acid reflux, indigestion and gas), as well as preference for freezie flavours.

Read the detailed description

Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) is the most common medical condition of pregnancy, also known as morning sickness which affects up to 80% of pregnant women. Lillipops Iced Soothies are naturally flavoured freezies developed in the United Kingdom for women with morning sickness. They are available in 5 different flavours: grapefruit and tangerine, lemon and mint, chamomile and orange, lime and vanilla, and ginger. The flavours are derived from steam distillation of the peels (grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, orange, lime), mint leaves, and chamomile flowers to release and collect their essential oils. Vanilla pods and ginger are macerated and their resin is used. These flavours are chosen because they may provide relief of symptoms as they are either traditional remedies for NVP, such as ginger, or soothing and refreshing flavours, such as chamomile, vanilla and citrus.

This study hypothesizes that using Lillipops Iced Soothies will reduce the severity of NVP symptoms according to the PUQE-24 (pregnancy-unique quantification of emesis and nausea) scoring system for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. In addition, we hypothesize concurrent symptoms that may intensify NVP, such as metallic taste or gastrointestinal disorders (e.g. heartburn, acid reflux, indigestion and gas), will be alleviated. We hypothesize that improvements to NVP and concurrent symptoms will be greater with Lillipop freezies compared to another commercially available freezie.

Being tested
Lillipops Iced Soothies (4 flavours), Mr. Freeze Freezies, Lillipop Iced Soothies (Ginger flavour)
Keywords
Morning Sickness, Lillipops Iced Soothies, Pregnancy, Obstetrics
Medical subject headings
Morning Sickness

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Lillipops Iced Soothies (4 flavours)Other

    Lillipops Iced Soothies are naturally flavoured freezies developed in the United Kingdom for women with morning sickness. They are available in 5 different flavours: grapefruit and tangerine, lemon and mint, chamomile and orange, lime and vanilla, and ginger. The flavours are derived from steam distillation of the peels (grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, orange, lime), mint leaves, and chamomile flowers to release and collect their essential oils. Vanilla pods and ginger are macerated and their resin is used. These flavours were chosen because they may provide relief of symptoms as they are either traditional remedies for NVP, such as ginger, or soothing and refreshing flavours, such as chamomile, vanilla and citrus.

  • Mr. Freeze FreeziesOther

    There are other commercially available freezies, such as Mr. Freeze. Mr. Freeze freezies contain simulated flavours of watermelon, cherry, blue raspberry and cream soda. However, there have been no reports, studies or claims that they are effective as a remedy for the treatment of NVP.

  • Lillipop Iced Soothies (Ginger flavour)Other

    Lillipops Iced Soothies are naturally flavoured freezies developed in the United Kingdom for women with morning sickness. They are available in 5 different flavours: grapefruit and tangerine, lemon and mint, chamomile and orange, lime and vanilla, and ginger.The flavours are derived from steam distillation of the peels (grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, orange, lime), mint leaves, and chamomile flowers to release and collect their essential oils. Vanilla pods and ginger are macerated and their resin is used. These flavours were chosen because they may provide relief of symptoms as they are either traditional remedies for NVP, such as ginger, or soothing and refreshing flavours, such as chamomile, vanilla and citrus.

Study groups in NCT01668940
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Lillipops Iced Soothies (4 flavours)ExperimentalInitially, women will be given 1 multiflavour box of Lillipop samples minus the ginger flavour (4 flavours). Each box contains 24 freezies (20 mL each), 6 of each flavor. They will be told to eat the freezies as needed to alleviate symptoms, up to a maximum of 12 per day, and to not have any other popsicles, freezies or any ginger products throughout the duration of the study (7 days). They can request an additional multiflavour box of freezies at each follow-up, as needed. All participants will initially receive counselling and advice by the Motherisk NVP Counsellor about symptom management. This includes advice about dietary, non-medicinal and medical treatments as per the Motherisk NVP protocol
Receives: Other: Lillipops Iced Soothies (4 flavours)
Lillipop Iced Soothies (Ginger flavour)ExperimentalInitially, women will be given 1 Ginger flavor box of Lillipop samples. Each box contains 24 freezies (20 mL each). Each 20ml contains 80mg of dried ginger root. They will be told to eat the freezies as needed to alleviate symptoms, up to a maximum of 12 a day and to not have any other popsicles, freezies or other ginger products throughout the duration of the study (7 days). Due ginger's antiemetic property, a maximum daily dose is up to 1000mg/day of dried ginger root powder in pregnancy.They can request an additional box of freezies at each follow-up, as needed.All participants will initially receive counselling and advice by the Motherisk NVP Counsellor about symptom management. This includes advice about dietary, non-medicinal and medical treatments as per the Motherisk NVP protocol.
Receives: Other: Lillipop Iced Soothies (Ginger flavour)
Mr. Freeze Freezies (4 flavours)Active comparatorInitially, women will be given 1 multiflavour box of Mr. Freeze samples. Each box contains 24 freezies (20 mL each), 6 of each flavor. They will be told to eat the freezies as needed to alleviate symptoms, up to a maximum of 12 per day, and to not have any other popsicles, freezies or any ginger products throughout the duration of the study (7 days). They can request an additional multiflavour box of freezies at each follow-up, as needed. All participants will initially receive counselling and advice by the Motherisk NVP Counsellor about symptom management. This includes advice about dietary, non-medicinal and medical treatments as per the Motherisk NVP protocol
Receives: Other: Mr. Freeze Freezies
Natural Course GroupNo interventionWomen will not receive any freezies and will be asked to not have any other popsicles, freezies or any ginger products throughout the duration of the study (7 days). All participants will initially receive counselling and advice by the Motherisk NVP Counsellor about symptom management. This includes advice about dietary, non-medicinal and medical treatments as per the Motherisk NVP protocol

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Improvement of Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy (NVP)

    To assess the effectiveness of Lillipops in the improvement of NVP symptoms. The primary endpoint of interest is the severity of NVP as compared between the 4 groups, defined according to the PUQE-24 (pregnancy-unique quantification of emesis and nausea) scoring system for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy that was developed and validated by Motherisk.

    Measured: Baseline, +1, +3, +5, +7 days

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. Concurrent Symptoms

    To assess if there are any changes to concurrent symptoms that may intensify NVP, such as metallic taste or gastrointestinal issues (e.g. heartburn, acid reflux, indigestion and gas). The secondary endpoint of interest is the effect of the 4 groups on the status of concurrent symptoms that may intensify NVP, such as metallic taste or gastroesophageal reflux disease, as well as preference for freezie flavours, according to the PUQE-24 (pregnancy-unique quantification of emesis and nausea) scoring system for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy that was developed and validated by Motherisk.

    Measured: Baseline, +1, +3, +5, +7 days

  2. Freezie Flavour Preference

    To assess preference for freezie flavours.

    Measured: Baseline, +1, +3, +5, +7 days

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted20 Aug 2012 (estimated)
  2. Study startAug 2012
  3. Primary completionJul 2015
  4. Study completionJul 2015

Why it stopped: The study PI left the institution in early 2015.

Resources

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
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Model description
Four parallel groups: 1) Lillipops Group (4 flavours): 2) Ginger Lillipops Group; 3) Mr. Freeze Control Group; 4) Natural Course Group. The main comparison is Group 1 vs Group 3.
Masking
Quadruple blind
Who is masked
Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
54 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01668940
Sponsor's protocol ID
1000031589
Status last verified
Jan 2020
First submitted
16 Aug 2012
Last updated
10 Jan 2020
Data monitoring committee
Yes
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Lillipops Iced Soothies (4 flavours), Mr. Freeze Freezies and Lillipop Iced Soothies (Ginger flavour) in people with Morning Sickness, run by The Hospital for Sick Children at 1 site in Canada.

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 4 inclusion and 5 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: stopped early, as of the sponsor's last update on 10 Jan 2020. 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 Canada. 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?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 10 Jan 2020). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

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?

Improvement of Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy (NVP) (time frame: Baseline, +1, +3, +5, +7 days). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
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 10 Jan 2020.

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