InfluenzaNCT03004040
Protection From Influenza: Determining the Impact of Prior Infection
An observational study of Influenza, run by Health Sciences North Research Institute at 1 site in Canada.
Trial summary
The investigators propose a unique methodology of studying infection and vaccination history and immune responses. As most studies in infection history are conducted on mice, limitations are inherent on their applicability to humans. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 65 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Influenza
- What is being tested?
- Flu Vaccine
- Type of treatment
- Vaccines
- How many people
- 45 participants
- Where
- 1 siteCanada
- Study dates
- Dec 2016to 1 Apr 2020
- How long will I take part?
- 1 Year
- Phase
- Observational
- 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 65 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Older adult
Study population: Older adult patients (over the age of 65) admitted to Health Sciences North with laboratory confirmed influenza illness (LCII) and matched control subjects (non-LCII).
Who may be able to join
- Written informed consent provided by the participant.
- Age 65 years of age or older admitted to Health Sciences North with at least one the following:
- Laboratory confirmed influenza illness
- Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD).
- Any respiratory or influenza-like symptoms (dyspnea, cough, sore throat, myalgia, arthralgia, fever, delirium/altered level of consciousness) that a test for influenza was negative.
- Willing to receive influenza vaccination in the subsequent flu season
Who cannot join
- Patients whose reason for hospital admission was unrelated to influenza or (for example patients admitted due to trauma, elective surgery, or patients who have an alternative diagnosis that is clearly not respiratory).
- Chest x-ray positive for pneumonia.
- Study participants who cannot be vaccinated due to previous severe reaction to influenza vaccine, egg, latex, or thimerosol allergies, or refusal of vaccination.
- Immunosuppressive disorders or medications (including oral prednisone in doses >10 mg daily).
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
Canada1 site
Health Sciences North Research Institute
Greater Sudbury, Ontario, P3E 5J1
About this study
The investigators propose a unique methodology of studying infection and vaccination history and immune responses. As most studies in infection history are conducted on mice, limitations are inherent on their applicability to humans. A longitudinal comparison study following older adults (over the age of 65) hospitalized for influenza are followed through to their hospital discharge and vaccination in the following season. This will allow for the investigation of the course of infection, as well as impact on the response to vaccination.
Read the detailed description
Significance: This study will provide critical information on the best technique in vaccine candidate testing and improve influenza treatment approaches. The long-term goal of this research is to identify the T-cell responses that are surrogates (biomarkers) of serious complications of influenza in older adults and predict vaccine efficacy (prevention of influenza illness) and vaccine effectiveness (prevention of serious complications). Further, translating new insights into age-related immune dysfunction to the design of new influenza vaccines is critical to addressing this unmet need in the population aged 65 and older.
Innovation: The study will help in the validation of clinical tools and biomarkers as prognostic indicators of influenza illness severity in vaccinated older adults, point-of-care diagnostics that would direct other preventive strategies to reduce the impact of influenza illness in vaccinated older adults, and correlates of protection to evaluate the potential of new influenza vaccines to enhance protection against the serious complications of influenza illness. The investigators have established that GrzB activity and the IFNg: IL-10 ratio in influenza-stimulated PBMC correlate with protection against influenza, and preliminary data to show that low GrzB activity in influenza-stimulated PBMC correlates with more severe disease and higher levels of frailty. The innovations of this project are the established methods for developing correlates of protection, the clinical insights into how frailty affects immune-mediated protection against influenza, and the direct translation of this research to provide a reasonable method for primary care clinicians to estimate vaccine effectiveness in an individual older person. These results will translate to the practical design of clinical trials to evaluate the potential for new influenza vaccines to better protect against the serious complications of influenza and complement those based on antibody titers and/or clinical outcomes alone.
- Conditions
- Influenza
- Being tested
- Flu Vaccine
- Medical subject headings
- Influenza, Human
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Flu VaccineBiological
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Case | older adult patients (over the age of 65) admitted to Health Sciences North with laboratory confirmed influenza illness (LCII) Receives: Biological: Flu Vaccine | |
| Control | matched control subjects (non-LCII) Receives: Biological: Flu Vaccine |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
High expression of CTL associated cytokines and granzymes in PBMC's are predictors of influenza infection severity.
PBMCs from adults hospitalized for laboratory confirmed influenza illness (LCII) will be collected at admission and 30 days post hospitalization. These samples will be matched with hospitalized non-LCII adult controls. T-cells will be isolated from whole blood samples and gene expression of IFNg, IL10 and GrzB will be measured and compared between time points and subjects. These levels do not have a separate unit of measure.
Measured: 2 years
Secondary outcomes (1)
Vaccination in previously infected individuals increases the protection provided by subsequent vaccination and will be higher than those receiving vaccination alone (with no previous infection)
Older adults hospitalized for influenza illness the previous season will be compared to matched, hospitalized older adults with influenza-like illness (non-LCII). PBMCs will be collected from each group, before receiving influenza vaccination and 4 weeks after vaccination. PBMCs will be challenged ex vivo with influenza virus and gene expression of CTL related genes will be measured and compared between each group.
Measured: 2 years
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted28 Dec 2016 (estimated)
- Study startDec 2016
- Primary completion1 Apr 2020
- Study completion1 Apr 2020
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for InfluenzaStudies 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
- Observational
- Observational model
- Case-control
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Enrolment
- 45 participants (actual)
- Target duration
- 1 Year
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Health Sciences North Research Institute
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- NORTHERN ONTARIO ACADEMIC MEDICINE ASSOCIATION (NOAMA)
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03004040
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- Protection from Influenza
- Status last verified
- Feb 2021
- First submitted
- 19 Dec 2016
- Last updated
- 5 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 5 Oct 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Protection From Influenza: Determining the Impact of Prior Infection
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03004040
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- Protection from Influenza
- Conditions
- Influenza
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 45 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Health Sciences North Research InstituteUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- NORTHERN ONTARIO ACADEMIC MEDICINE ASSOCIATION (NOAMA)
- Study start
- Dec 2016
- Primary completion
- 1 Apr 2020 (actual)
- Study completion
- 1 Apr 2020 (actual)
- First posted
- 28 Dec 2016 (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.
The investigators propose a unique methodology of studying infection and vaccination history and immune responses. As most studies in infection history are conducted on mice, limitations are inherent on their applicability to humans. A longitudinal comparison study following older adults (over the age of 65) hospitalized for influenza are followed through to their hospital discharge and vaccination in the following season. This will allow for the investigation of the course of infection, as well as impact on the response to vaccination.
Detailed description
Significance: This study will provide critical information on the best technique in vaccine candidate testing and improve influenza treatment approaches. The long-term goal of this research is to identify the T-cell responses that are surrogates (biomarkers) of serious complications of influenza in older adults and predict vaccine efficacy (prevention of influenza illness) and vaccine effectiveness (prevention of serious complications). Further, translating new insights into age-related immune dysfunction to the design of new influenza vaccines is critical to addressing this unmet need in the population aged 65 and older.
Innovation: The study will help in the validation of clinical tools and biomarkers as prognostic indicators of influenza illness severity in vaccinated older adults, point-of-care diagnostics that would direct other preventive strategies to reduce the impact of influenza illness in vaccinated older adults, and correlates of protection to evaluate the potential of new influenza vaccines to enhance protection against the serious complications of influenza illness. The investigators have established that GrzB activity and the IFNg: IL-10 ratio in influenza-stimulated PBMC correlate with protection against influenza, and preliminary data to show that low GrzB activity in influenza-stimulated PBMC correlates with more severe disease and higher levels of frailty. The innovations of this project are the established methods for developing correlates of protection, the clinical insights into how frailty affects immune-mediated protection against influenza, and the direct translation of this research to provide a reasonable method for primary care clinicians to estimate vaccine effectiveness in an individual older person. These results will translate to the practical design of clinical trials to evaluate the potential for new influenza vaccines to better protect against the serious complications of influenza and complement those based on antibody titers and/or clinical outcomes alone.
Study design
- Observational model
- Case-control
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Target follow-up
- 1 Year
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Case | – | Biological: Flu Vaccineolder adult patients (over the age of 65) admitted to Health Sciences North with laboratory confirmed influenza illness (LCII) |
| Control | – | Biological: Flu Vaccinematched control subjects (non-LCII) |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 65 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Older adult
- Study population
- Older adult patients (over the age of 65) admitted to Health Sciences North with laboratory confirmed influenza illness (LCII) and matched control subjects (non-LCII).
Key inclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Written informed consent provided by the participant.
- Age 65 years of age or older admitted to Health Sciences North with at least one the following:
- Willing to receive influenza vaccination in the subsequent flu season
Key exclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Patients whose reason for hospital admission was unrelated to influenza or (for example patients admitted due to trauma, elective surgery, or patients who have an alternative diagnosis that is clearly not respiratory).
- Chest x-ray positive for pneumonia.
- Study participants who cannot be vaccinated due to previous severe reaction to influenza vaccine, egg, latex, or thimerosol allergies, or refusal of vaccination.
- Immunosuppressive disorders or medications (including oral prednisone in doses >10 mg daily).
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Flu Vaccine | Biological | Case, Control |
Primary outcome
High expression of CTL associated cytokines and granzymes in PBMC's are predictors of influenza infection severity.
Time frame: 2 years
PBMCs from adults hospitalized for laboratory confirmed influenza illness (LCII) will be collected at admission and 30 days post hospitalization. These samples will be matched with hospitalized non-LCII adult controls. T-cells will be isolated from whole blood samples and gene expression of IFNg, IL10 and GrzB will be measured and compared between time points and subjects. These levels do not have a separate unit of measure.
1 secondary outcome
Vaccination in previously infected individuals increases the protection provided by subsequent vaccination and will be higher than those receiving vaccination alone (with no previous infection)
Time frame: 2 years
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 5 Oct 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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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.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Influenza, run by Health Sciences North Research Institute 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 6 inclusion and 4 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 5 Oct 2026. 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?
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?
High expression of CTL associated cytokines and granzymes in PBMC's are predictors of influenza infection severity. (time frame: 2 years). 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 5 Oct 2026.