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Alcohol Use DisorderNCT04038021

Phosphatidylethanol-Based Contingency Management for Housing

A study testing Phosphatidylethanol-based Contingency Management in people with Alcohol Use Disorder, run by Washington State University at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

The investigators will evaluate the efficacy of contingency management (CM) in reducing alcohol use in individuals experiencing unstable housing but who are currently housed in shelters. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Alcohol Use Disorder
What is being tested?
Phosphatidylethanol-based Contingency Management
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
17 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
13 Jan 2020to 27 Oct 2022
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 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Two heavy drinking episodes (Assigned Male at Birth > 4 standard drinks (SDs), Assigned Female at Birth > 3 SDs) in the prior 14 days OR >14 drinks in the past 2 weeks, confirmed by a PEth level >=20 ng/ml
  • DSM-5 diagnosis of a current Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) as assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 (DSM-5);
  • Age >=18 years;
  • Currently housed at Catholic Charities Spokane or other locations in the Pacific and Mountain time zones; and
  • Previously, literally homeless or unstably housed (e.g., couch surfing) for > 1 month

Who cannot join

  • Current diagnosis of substance use disorder (other than AUD and tobacco), severe;
  • Inability to provide informed consent based on the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Clinical Research (MacCAT-CR) and/or age over 65 and Inability to provide informed consent based on the mini-Montreal Cognitive Assessment (mini-MoCA);
  • Alcohol withdrawal-related seizure or hospitalization in prior 12 months; and
  • Psychiatrically or medically unsafe to participate, as assessed by the PI.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington

    Spokane, Washington, 99202

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Phosphatidylethanol-Based Contingency Management to Reduce Alcohol Use and Improve Housing Outcomes

The investigators will evaluate the efficacy of contingency management (CM) in reducing alcohol use in individuals experiencing unstable housing but who are currently housed in shelters. Participants will be 20-30 adults diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and has a history or unstable housing or literal homelessness in the last year but is currently receiving housing through Catholic Charities Spokane or other locations. Individuals who demonstrate AUD and have measurable PEth >ng/mL at the baseline visit will be randomized to receive Phosphatidylethanol-based CM treatment or non-contigent treatment.

Read the detailed description

The objective of this study is to determine whether CM intervention improves outcomes in the unstably housed population using alcohol biomarker phosphatidylethanol (PEth) and ethyl glucuronide (EtG) to test alcohol abstinence. In CM, participants receive tangible rewards for demonstrating drug abstinence while non-contingent intervention receive the rewards regardless of PEth and EtG results for alcohol.

The investigators propose to examine whether CM intervention, to reduce alcohol use to abstinence, is a feasible and acceptable treatment in supported housing. Additionally, this study will assess group differences (between PEth-based CM and non-contingent control) in alcohol abstinence, as assessed by PEth, EtG, and self-report. Characterization of group differences in housing status and other alcohol associated harms (e.g., physical and mental health, medical care, and incarceration) will also be analyzed.

A total of 20-30 participants receiving treatment as usual through Catholic Charities Spokane or other locations in the Pacific and Mountain Time Zones will take part. Participants with AUD and have PEth biomarker results above >20 ng/mL, which indicates regular alcohol usage will be randomized to

  1. 6 months of PEth-based CM for submitting alcohol-abstinent PEth results of 16:0/18:1 which is associated with abstinence in the past week, which is <20 ng/ml PEth biomarker in the blood when abstinent for 14-28 days. Urine EtG results will be analyzed to verify PEth result findings,
  2. 6 months of non-contingent control for submitting samples each week for the first 4 weeks then every 2 weeks for 4 weeks and then every 4 weeks until week 26. Control participants receive reinforcers regardless of the results of their PEth results. The primary outcomes will assess acceptability measured by attrition, Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 and qualitative interviews at weeks 4, 12, and 26. Other primary outcomes include assessment of the effectiveness of PEth-based CM on reducing alcohol use to abstinence and housing status.

The investigators will also be examining group differences in secondary outcomes including self-reported abstinence and heavy drinking assessed by the alcohol timeline follow back and urine EtG analyses. Other secondary outcomes include a) Addiction Severity Index Lite which assesses impact of alcohol us on psychiatric, legal, medical and family functioning, b) self-reported drug use and its severity.

Being tested
Phosphatidylethanol-based Contingency Management, Non-Contingent Control
Keywords
Unstably Housed, Homeless
Medical subject headings
Alcoholism

What participants receive

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

  • Phosphatidylethanol-based Contingency ManagementBehavioural

    Also called Contingency Management (CM)

    In CM, tangible reinforcers are provided after individuals demonstrate biochemically verified abstinence of various substances. CM is associated with increased abstinence from illicit drugs, nicotine, and alcohol and is the most powerful psychosocial treatment for initiating abstinence of these substances. When participants submit a negative result for alcohol (via blood phosphatidylethanol biomarkers), the subject will receive rewards (gift cards). In contrast, they will not receive rewards when their samples test positive for alcohol.

  • Non-Contingent ControlBehavioural

    In the non-contingent control intervention, participants will receive rewards (gift cards) regardless of the alcohol biomarker results in their samples. Once the samples have been received, the subjects will receive reinforcers that is consistent with the average from the CM group's earnings.

Study groups in NCT04038021
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
PEth-based CMExperimentalPEth-based CM participants will receive gift cards (starting at $30) each time they submit a blood spot sample (via finger prick ) with a negative alcohol result. They will receive an additional $5 (building on the previous amount) for each additional negative alcohol result in a row. There is a cap at $100 for each negative result.
Receives: Behavioral: Phosphatidylethanol-based Contingency Management
Non-contingent ControlActive comparatorNon-contingent control participants will receive gift cards each visit if they provide a pinprick blood sample regardless of whether the results are positive or negative for alcohol. Their level of reinforcement (amount in gift cards) will be equal to the average weekly CM earnings from the previous month.
Receives: Behavioral: Non-Contingent Control

What is being measured

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

  1. Rate of Attrition to measure acceptability of PEth-based CM Intervention

    Tolerability of PEth-based CM procedures (pinprick blood sample) measured by attendance, or attrition, with CM noted as acceptable if attrition is less than or equal to 30%. Attrition will be defined as 1 month of no contact with study team.

    Measured: 26 weeks of treatment (repeated measure) through study completion

  2. Acceptability of PEth-based CM: Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8

    Administration of Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8, a brief measure of client satisfaction that has been validated in addiction treatment. The scale ranges from 1 to 4 with 4 indicating higher satisfaction. Total scores therefore range from 8 (least satisfaction) to 32 (highest satisfaction).

    Measured: Weeks 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 26; repeated measure to assess change in satisfaction through study completion

  3. Qualitative interviews to assess satisfaction, feasibility and acceptability of PEth-based CM Intervention using Theory Domains Framework (TDF)

    Assessed by TDF to encode interviews to provide comprehensive, theory-informed data to identify determinants of satisfaction, feasibility and acceptability of intervention

    Measured: Weeks 4, 12, and 26; repeated measure to assess change in satisfaction, feasibility, and tolerability through study completion

  4. Incidence of alcohol abstinence assessed by PEth biomarker

    Efficacy of PEth-based CM in reduction of alcohol consumption to abstinence assessed by measurement of PEth in blood samples. PEth biomarker assessed at 16:0/18:1 for 7 days or < 20 ng/ml which is consistent with 14-28 days of abstinence

    Measured: Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 24, and 26; repeated measure to assess change through study completion

  5. Efficacy of PEth-based CM in Stabilization of Housing Status

    Measured by self-report of housing status using the Residential Timeline Follow Back; includes number of days stably housed, temporarily housed, institutionally housed or literally homeless. Residential Timeline Follow Back classifies location description of housing into literal homelessness, institutional housing, temporary housing, or stable housing.

    Measured: Weeks 1, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 26; repeated measure to assess change of housing through study completion

Secondary outcomes (3)
  1. Self-Reported Alcohol Usage

    Days self-reported abstinence, drinking or heavy drinking measured by the Alcohol Timeline Follow Back

    Measured: 26 weeks of treatment (repeated measure) through study completion

  2. Alcohol Usage as measured by Urine Ethyl Glucuronide (uEtG)

    uEtG collected and measured to determine alcohol usage in last 1-4 days; uEtG greater or equal to 300 ng/ml is identified as recent drinking occurrence

    Measured: 26 weeks of treatment (repeated measure) through study completion

  3. The Addiction Severity Index Lite

    Assesses alcohol use on psychiatry, legal, medical, and family functioning, as well as self-reported drug use and its severity. Scale ranges from 0 (no craving at all) to 4 (extreme cravings)

    Measured: Weeks 1, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 26 (repeated measure) through study completion

Timeline

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

  1. First posted30 Jul 2019
  2. Study start13 Jan 2020
  3. Primary completion23 Aug 2022
  4. Study completion27 Oct 2022

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
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
17 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04038021
Sponsor's protocol ID
17752
Other IDs
R21AA027045-01A1
Status last verified
Apr 2023
First submitted
24 Jul 2019
Last updated
27 Apr 2023
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Jett JD, Beck R, Tyutyunnyk D, Sanchez J, Weeks DL, Javors MA, Hill-Kapturczak N, Lopez-Cruzan M, Kriegel L, Ginsburg BC, Cabassa L, McDonell MG. Feasibility of a telehealth-based contingency management intervention for alcohol use disorders using the phosphatidylethanol (PEth) 16:0/18:1 alcohol biomarker: a pilot randomized trial. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2024 Mar 3;50(2):162-172. doi: 10.1080/00952990.2023.2283691. Epub 2024 Jan 29.

    PubMed 38284925

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Phosphatidylethanol-based Contingency Management in people with Alcohol Use Disorder, run by Washington State University 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 5 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 27 Apr 2023. 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?

Rate of Attrition to measure acceptability of PEth-based CM Intervention (time frame: 26 weeks of treatment (repeated measure) through study completion). The study lists 5 primary outcomes in all. 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 NCT04038021, 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 27 Apr 2023.

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