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Pulmonary Arterial HypertensionPhase 2NCT03401476

Effect of Morphine on Dyspnea and 6-Minute Walk Distance in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

A Phase 2 study testing Morphine Sulfate in people with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, run by John Granton at 1 site in Canada.

Unknown status

Status not confirmed. The sponsor has not verified this record for over two years, so it may be out of date.

Official record
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Trial summary

Despite advances in treatment and corresponding improvements in survival, patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) remain highly symptomatic. In one survey of 315 patients with PAH, sixty-eight percent had moderate or severe dyspnea on exertion and 40% had a profound and clinically significant deficit in… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
What is being tested?
Morphine Sulfate
Type of treatment
Pill or oral medicine
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
15 participants
Where
1 siteCanada
Study dates
8 May 2017to 31 Dec 2019
Phase
Phase 2
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 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Aged 18 or older
  • Diagnosis of Group 1 pulmonary hypertension including idiopathic PAH, heritable PAH, and PAH that is drug- or toxin-induced, associated with connective tissue disease, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, congenital heart disease, or schistosomiasis23
  • PAH confirmed by means of a right heart catheterization demonstrating:24
  • Mean pulmonary arterial pressure of ≥ 25 mmHg
  • Pulmonary capillary wedge pressure ≤ 15 mmHg
  • Pulmonary vascular resistance of ≥ 3 Wood units
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  • World Health Organization (WHO) Functional Class III or ambulatory Class IV
  • Six-minute walk test performed within the past 6 months demonstrating a distance of at least 50 metres.
  • Unchanged PAH medication regimen for 30 days prior to enrolment. Therapy may include endothelin-receptor antagonists, phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors, soluble guanylate cyclase stimulators, or oral or parenteral prostacyclin analogues. Diuretic doses may change.

Who cannot join

  • Group 1 pulmonary hypertension due to portal hypertension
  • Group 1 pulmonary hypertension due to pulmonary veno-occlusive disease or pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis
  • Groups 2, 3, 4, or 5 pulmonary hypertension
  • Severe renal impairment (estimated glomerular filtration rate < 30 mL/minute/1.73m2 measured within 6 months)
  • Severe hepatic impairment (INR > 2.0 in absence of vitamin K antagonist therapy, serum bilirubin > 50mmol/L, cirrhosis on imaging or liver biopsy, prior hepatic encephalopathy, or Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score > 19, measured within 6 months, as required based on clinical suspicion)
  • Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding (beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) to confirm non-pregnant status in all females below age 50)
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  • Hypersensitivity to opioid analgesic, concomitant use with Monoamine Oxidase (MAO) inhibitor or within 14 days of such treatment, concomitant use with barbiturates. Concomitant use with benzodiazepines and/or antipsychotics is permissible provided doses are stable over preceding 1 month.
  • Daily use of an opioid-containing medication
  • Unstable condition that is a contraindication to opioid use: Central Nervous System (CNS) depression, acute respiratory disease or impairment (acute hypoxia or hypercapnia), acute asthma or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) exacerbation, untreated symptomatic obstructive sleep apnea, unstable cardiac arrhythmias, suspected hypovolemia, recent seizures (within 1 month), active drug abuse, abdominal disease and/or recent GI surgery (within 1 month), active gallbladder disease/biliary colic, untreated depression/suicidality, recent head injury (within 1 month), pre-existing intracranial lesion or increased intracranial pressure, untreated urinary tract obstruction, untreated hypothyroidism, hypopituitarism or Addison's disease.
  • Hypotension (resting systolic blood pressure less than or equal to 80mmHg)
  • Active or unstable coronary artery disease

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Canada1 site
  • University Health Network, Toronto General Hospital

    Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2N2

Other trials in Canada

About this study

Despite advances in treatment and corresponding improvements in survival, patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) remain highly symptomatic. In one survey of 315 patients with PAH, sixty-eight percent had moderate or severe dyspnea on exertion and 40% had a profound and clinically significant deficit in quality of life. Palliative care is being increasingly investigated in life-limiting cardiovascular diseases to alleviate symptoms. In PAH, its implementation is frequently delayed until end-of-life. Opioids are a common palliative care intervention, however the efficacy and safety of opioids for symptom relief in PAH has not been evaluated.

Read the detailed description

There is biologic plausibility for opioids in the treatment of dyspnea in PAH. Opioids have widespread effects including venodilation, vasodilation, reducing sympathetic outflow, blunting hypercapnic and hypoxic ventilatory responses, and altering the central perception of dyspnea. Although the origins of dyspnea in PAH are incompletely understood and multifactorial, right ventricular dysfunction reduces exercise capacity and likely also plays a role in the development of dyspnea. Mechanoreceptors situated in the right atrium and right ventricle sense elevated pressures and via sympathetic afferents may lead to an augmentation of ventilatory response and hence dyspnea. Morphine may specifically antagonize this feedback loop by causing venodilation and blunting sympathetics. Morphine also reduces central chemosensitivity and perceptions of dyspnea. Therefore, the drug may antagonize both peripheral and central drivers of dyspnea in PAH.

Investigators will conduct a single-center feasibility study of morphine for treatment of dyspnea and exercise intolerance in PAH. Participants will complete two 6-minute walk tests (6MWT) within one week. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive morphine prior to either the first or second 6MWT. Symptoms and 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) will be compared between the two tests.

Being tested
Morphine Sulfate
Medical subject headings
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

What participants receive

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

  • Morphine SulfateDrug

    Also called Statex

    Morphine Sulfate Tablets

Study groups in NCT03401476
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Morphine sulfate - Visit 1Active comparatorPatients who are randomized to this group will be administered a fixed 5mg dose of oral morphine sulfate prior to performing their 6MWT at Visit 1.
Receives: Drug: Morphine Sulfate
Morphine sulfate - Visit 2Active comparatorPatients who are randomized to this group will be administered a fixed 5mg dose of oral morphine sulfate prior to performing their 6MWT at Visit 2.
Receives: Drug: Morphine Sulfate

What is being measured

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

  1. Change in Borg Dyspnea Score

    Change in peak Borg dyspnea score (morphine versus control)

    Measured: The Peak Borg Dyspnea Score will be determined over 6 minutes of observation during the conduct of each 6-minute walk test. The 6-minute walk tests and assessments of the peak Borg Dyspnea Score will be recorded within 1 and 7 days of each other.

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Change in 6-Minute Walk Distance

    Change in six-minute walk distance (morphine versus control)

    Measured: The distance travelled during each 6 minute walk will be determined at completion of the 6-minute walk test. The distance travelled during the 6-minute walk test will be recorded within 1 and 7 days of each other.

Timeline

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

  1. First posted17 Jan 2018
  2. Study start8 May 2017
  3. Primary completion31 Dec 2018 (estimated)
  4. Study completion31 Dec 2019 (estimated)

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 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Crossover
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
15 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT03401476
Sponsor's protocol ID
MorPHine
Status last verified
Jan 2018
First submitted
30 Apr 2017
Last updated
18 Jan 2018
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 2 study testing Morphine Sulfate in people with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, run by John Granton 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 9 inclusion and 11 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: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 18 Jan 2018. 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.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

Results are not available in the source record.

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?

Change in Borg Dyspnea Score (time frame: The Peak Borg Dyspnea Score will be determined over 6 minutes of observation during the conduct of each 6-minute walk test. The 6-minute walk tests and assessments of the peak Borg Dyspnea Score will be recorded within 1 and 7 days of each other.). 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 18 Jan 2018.

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