Vaginal MicrobiomeNCT04489056
Microbiome in Preterm Birth
An observational study of Vaginal Microbiome, run by Medical University of Vienna at 1 site in Austria.
Trial summary
The aims of this prospective longitudinal case-control pilot-study are (1) to characterize the changes of the vaginal, uterine and placental microbiome in pregnant women experiencing pPROM with immediate hospitalization and consecutive caesarean section at preterm, in comparison to uneventful term births with elective… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Any age, women only
- Conditions the study is for
- Vaginal Microbiome
- What is being tested?
- Swabs for microbiome analysis
- How many people
- 100 participants
- Where
- 1 siteAustria
- Study dates
- 27 Jul 2020to Dec 2021
- 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 Any age
- Women only
- No healthy volunteers
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Study population: A total of 100 study participants, meeting all inclusion and non exclusion criteria, will be included, assigned to one of the following groups: Study group: • This group will consist of 50 pregnant women, who experienced pPROM between 22+5 and 28+0 gestational weeks, either presenting at the primary study site, or being referred from other hospitals, and delivered at preterm by cesarean section. Control group: • This group will consist of 50 pregnant women, who are scheduled for elective cesarean section at the outpatient department of the primary study site, between a 32+0 and 37+0 gestational weeks, and delivered at term by cesarean section.
Who may be able to join
- Maternal age ≥18 years at the time of study enrollment
- Singleton pregnancy
- Signed informed consent
- Confirmed preterm premature rupture of membranes (pPROM) or elective cesarean section for term birth (depending on study group)
- Gestational age at the time of pPROM between 22+5 and 28+0 weeks or ≥37+0 gestational weeks at the time of term cesarean section (depending on study group)
Who cannot join
- Maternal age <18 years at the time of study enrollment
- Multiple pregnancy
- Inability to consent to the participation in the study
- Ongoing antibiotic treatment or antibiotic treatment ≤2 weeks before study enrollment
- Vaginal sexual intercourse within 48 hours before study enrollment
- Fresh vaginal bleeding within 48 hours before study enrollment
Show all 9Show fewer
- Maternal Hepatitis-B or Hepatitis-C infection (i.e., positive on PCR)
- Maternal HIV-infection (i.e., positive on PCR)
- Maternal diabetes mellitus or gestational diabetes
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
Austria1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Medical University of Vienna, Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Vienna, 1090
Philipp Foessleitner, MD BSc, +43140400 ext. 28220, philipp.foessleitner@muv.ac.at
Alex Farr, MD PhD, +43140400 ext. 28220, alex.farr@muv.ac.at
About this study
Official title: The Human Microbiome in pPROM, Preterm Birth and the Neonatal Infant: a Prospective Longitudinal Pilot-study
The aims of this prospective longitudinal case-control pilot-study are (1) to characterize the changes of the vaginal, uterine and placental microbiome in pregnant women experiencing pPROM with immediate hospitalization and consecutive caesarean section at preterm, in comparison to uneventful term births with elective cesarean section, as well as (2) to evaluate the influence of the maternal on the neonatal microbiome and the early neonatal outcome in pPROM preterm cases, in comparison to uneventful term births.
The first aim will be achieved by collecting vaginal and rectal swabs for microbiome analysis in women experiencing pPROM, followed by uterine and placental swabs that are collected during the caesarean section. Control samples will be collected at the same time points from women undergoing elective caesarean section at term. The second aim will be achieved by microbiome analysis of rectal, oral/buccal, and skin swabs taken from newborns that are either born preterm after pPROM, or at term, both by caesarean section.
Read the detailed description
A total of 100 study participants will be included, assigned to one of the following groups:
Study group:
- This group will consist of 50 pregnant women, who experienced pPROM between 22+5 and 28+0 gestational weeks, either presenting at the primary study site, or being referred from other hospitals, and delivered at preterm by cesarean section.
Control group:
- This group will consist of 50 pregnant women, who are scheduled for elective cesarean section at the outpatient department of the primary study site, between a 32+0 and 37+0 gestational weeks, and delivered at term by cesarean section.
Recruitment:
Recruitment of all patients will take place at the Medical University of Vienna, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Women in the study group will be referred from outside hospitals or will present for any reason at our department. Verification of pPROM will be performed by speculum examination and detection of amniotic fluid pooling. In case of unclear findings, an enzymatic test (e.g., Amnisure®, QUIAGEN Sciences, LLC; Germantown, MD 20874, USA) will be conducted. Following pPROM verification, women who meet the inclusion criteria will be offered to participate in the study. Those who experience a spontaneous vaginal delivery instead of a cesarean section due to any reason, will be considered as drop-out. Women in the control group will be recruited during their routine presentation for elective cesarean section (for any reason that does not meet the exclusion criteria of the study) that will be scheduled at term. Those who experience preterm birth although being scheduled for elective cesarean at term, will be considered as drop-out. During their consultation at the outpatient department, these women will be offered to participate in the study.
Sampling:
All swabs will be collected from sub-investigators of this study using a standardized procedure. For anonymization, only the collection time point, location and ward will be marked on the swab tubes. After informed consent, vaginal swabs will be collected during speculum examination from the lateral vaginal wall and posterior fornix vaginae using a sterile cotton swab combined with an epithelial brush. A rectal swab will be collected by insertion of a sterile swab into the anal sphincter. Intraoperative swabs of the placenta and uterine cavity will be collected during caesarean section under sterile conditions. Neonatal swabs (buccal mucosa and skin) will be collected directly after delivery and in the neonatal period. Stool samples will be taken from the meconium, defined as first stool of the infant and the stool of the newborn in the neonatal period. All specimens will immediately be stored at -80°C after collection. The epithelial brush will be put into RNAlater® RNA stabilization solution and stored at -80°C.
Microbiome analysis:
Microbiome analysis will be performed at the Joint Microbiome Facility (JMF) of the Medical University of Vienna and the University of Vienna. Testing will be performed by sub- investigators at the JMF. The microbial community composition in collected stool swab samples will be determined by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Briefly, DNA will be extracted with the QIAamp Microbiome Kit or QIAamp DNA Mini Kit (for swab and stool samples, respectively), followed by 16S rRNA gene amplification and barcoding as previously described. Multiplexed amplicon samples sequenced on the Illumina MiSeq platform at the JMF. Negative controls performed during DNA extraction and 16S rRNA gene amplification are routinely included in the sample processing workflow. The obtained sequence data will be quality-filtered and demultiplexed, followed by amplicon sequencing variant (ASV) inference with DADA2,16 enabling analysis at the highest possible taxonomic resolution. Resulting ASV sequences will be taxonomically classified using SINA with the newest release of the the SILVA SSU rRNA database. If necessary, contaminants will be removed in silico using the decontam software package.
Perinatal data:
In addition to swab sampling and analysis, the following perinatal parameters will be collected, using the PIA Fetal Database, version 5.6.16.917 (GE Viewpoint, Munich, Germany): Maternal age [number], parity [number], tertiary education [yes/no], ethnicity [category], relationship status [category], body mass index [number], nicotine abuse [yes/no], history of pPROM [yes/no], history of PTB [yes/no], preexisting diseases [category], vaginal infection screening [yes/no], cervical insufficiency [yes/no], preeclampsia [yes/no], bleeding [yes/no], antenatal steroid prophylaxis [yes/no], ongoing antibiotic treatment [yes/no], tocolysis [yes/no], magnesium prophylaxis [yes/no], gestational week at delivery [number], birthweight [number], Apgar score at 1/5/10 minutes [number], umbilical cord arterial pH [number], transfer to neonatal intensive care unit [yes/no].
- Conditions
- Vaginal Microbiome
- Being tested
- Swabs for microbiome analysis
- Keywords
- Vaginal microbiome, Preterm birth, Neonatal microbiome
- Medical subject headings
- Premature Birth
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Swabs for microbiome analysisGenetic
After informed consent, vaginal swabs will be collected during speculum examination from the lateral vaginal wall and posterior fornix vaginae using a sterile cotton swab combined with an epithelial brush. A rectal swab will be collected by insertion of a sterile swab into the anal sphincter. Intraoperative swabs of the placenta and uterine cavity will be collected during caesarean section under sterile conditions. Neonatal swabs (buccal mucosa and skin) will be collected directly after delivery and in the neonatal period. Stool samples will be taken from the meconium, defined as first stool of the infant and the stool of the newborn in the neonatal period.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Study group | This group will consist of 50 pregnant women, who experienced pPROM between 22+5 and 28+0 gestational weeks, either presenting at the primary study site, or being referred from other hospitals, and delivered at preterm by cesarean section. Receives: Genetic: Swabs for microbiome analysis | |
| Control group | This group will consist of 50 pregnant women, who are scheduled for elective cesarean section at the outpatient department of the primary study site, between a 32+0 and 37+0 gestational weeks, and delivered at term by cesarean section. Receives: Genetic: Swabs for microbiome analysis |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Changes of the vaginal microbiome after pPROM in comparison to term births
Abundance measurements (counts) of the amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), as well as ASV sum counts at higher taxonomic levels will be evaluated, to test for significant overlap or differences in microbial community composition in different sample groups. These parameters will be analyzed within each of the study groups, including longitudinal analyses to detect a potential difference from the onset of pPROM to the time of delivery or later (study group), or from pregnancy to the time of delivery or later (control group). In addition, ASVs and ASV sum counts will be compared between the study and control group at predetermined time points. Detection of significantly more abundant amplicon sequence variants between groups will be performed, and adjusted P-values will be calculated using the Benjamini-Hochberg method and differences supported with P- values <0.05 will be considered significant.
Measured: Till July 2021
Changes of the rectal microbiome after pPROM in comparison to term births
Abundance measurements (counts) of the amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), as well as ASV sum counts at higher taxonomic levels will be evaluated, to test for significant overlap or differences in microbial community composition in different sample groups. These parameters will be analyzed within each of the study groups, including longitudinal analyses to detect a potential difference from the onset of pPROM to the time of delivery or later (study group), or from pregnancy to the time of delivery or later (control group). In addition, ASVs and ASV sum counts will be compared between the study and control group at predetermined time points. Detection of significantly more abundant amplicon sequence variants between groups will be performed, and adjusted P-values will be calculated using the Benjamini-Hochberg method and differences supported with P- values <0.05 will be considered significant.
Measured: Till July 2021
Changes of the placental microbiome after pPROM in comparison to term births
Abundance measurements (counts) of the amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), as well as ASV sum counts at higher taxonomic levels will be evaluated, to test for significant overlap or differences in microbial community composition in different sample groups. These parameters will be analyzed within each of the study groups, including longitudinal analyses to detect a potential difference from the onset of pPROM to the time of delivery or later (study group), or from pregnancy to the time of delivery or later (control group). In addition, ASVs and ASV sum counts will be compared between the study and control group at predetermined time points. Detection of significantly more abundant amplicon sequence variants between groups will be performed, and adjusted P-values will be calculated using the Benjamini-Hochberg method and differences supported with P- values <0.05 will be considered significant.
Measured: Till July 2021
Changes of the uterine microbiome after pPROM in comparison to term births
Abundance measurements (counts) of the amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), as well as ASV sum counts at higher taxonomic levels will be evaluated, to test for significant overlap or differences in microbial community composition in different sample groups. These parameters will be analyzed within each of the study groups, including longitudinal analyses to detect a potential difference from the onset of pPROM to the time of delivery or later (study group), or from pregnancy to the time of delivery or later (control group). In addition, ASVs and ASV sum counts will be compared between the study and control group at predetermined time points. Detection of significantly more abundant amplicon sequence variants between groups will be performed, and adjusted P-values will be calculated using the Benjamini-Hochberg method and differences supported with P- values <0.05 will be considered significant.
Measured: Till July 2021
Changes of the neonatal microbiome of neonates born after pPROM in comparison to neonates experiencing a term birth
Abundance measurements (counts) of the amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), as well as ASV sum counts at higher taxonomic levels will be evaluated, to test for significant overlap or differences in microbial community composition in different sample groups. These parameters will be analyzed within each of the study groups, including longitudinal analyses to detect a potential difference from the onset of pPROM to the time of delivery or later (study group), or from pregnancy to the time of delivery or later (control group). In addition, ASVs and ASV sum counts will be compared between the study and control group at predetermined time points. Detection of significantly more abundant amplicon sequence variants between groups will be performed, and adjusted P-values will be calculated using the Benjamini-Hochberg method and differences supported with P- values <0.05 will be considered significant.
Measured: Till July 2021
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted28 Jul 2020
- Study start27 Jul 2020
- Primary completionJul 2021 (estimated)
- Study completionDec 2021 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (21)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Vaginal MicrobiomeStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Medical University of ViennaThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- 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
- 100 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Medical University of Vienna
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- University of Vienna
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Alex Farr, MD PhD, Medical University of Vienna
- Investigators
- Alex Farr, MD PhD, Principal investigator, Medical University of ViennaHerbert Kiss, MD MBA, Study chair, Medical University of ViennaAngelika Berger, MD MBA, Study chair, Medical University of Vienna
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04489056
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 1668/2020
- Status last verified
- Sep 2020
- First submitted
- 20 Jul 2020
- Last updated
- 2 Sep 2020
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided: Anonymized data if required and in accordance with data protection regulations
Publications
Chu DM, Seferovic M, Pace RM, Aagaard KM. The microbiome in preterm birth. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2018 Oct;52:103-113. doi: 10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2018.03.006. Epub 2018 Apr 9.
PubMed 29753695Human Microbiome Project Consortium. Structure, function and diversity of the healthy human microbiome. Nature. 2012 Jun 13;486(7402):207-14. doi: 10.1038/nature11234.
PubMed 22699609Klindworth A, Pruesse E, Schweer T, Peplies J, Quast C, Horn M, Glockner FO. Evaluation of general 16S ribosomal RNA gene PCR primers for classical and next-generation sequencing-based diversity studies. Nucleic Acids Res. 2013 Jan 7;41(1):e1. doi: 10.1093/nar/gks808. Epub 2012 Aug 28.
PubMed 22933715Jovel J, Patterson J, Wang W, Hotte N, O'Keefe S, Mitchel T, Perry T, Kao D, Mason AL, Madsen KL, Wong GK. Characterization of the Gut Microbiome Using 16S or Shotgun Metagenomics. Front Microbiol. 2016 Apr 20;7:459. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.00459. eCollection 2016.
PubMed 27148170Gosmann C, Anahtar MN, Handley SA, Farcasanu M, Abu-Ali G, Bowman BA, Padavattan N, Desai C, Droit L, Moodley A, Dong M, Chen Y, Ismail N, Ndung'u T, Ghebremichael MS, Wesemann DR, Mitchell C, Dong KL, Huttenhower C, Walker BD, Virgin HW, Kwon DS. Lactobacillus-Deficient Cervicovaginal Bacterial Communities Are Associated with Increased HIV Acquisition in Young South African Women. Immunity. 2017 Jan 17;46(1):29-37. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2016.12.013. Epub 2017 Jan 10.
PubMed 28087240O'Hanlon DE, Moench TR, Cone RA. In vaginal fluid, bacteria associated with bacterial vaginosis can be suppressed with lactic acid but not hydrogen peroxide. BMC Infect Dis. 2011 Jul 19;11:200. doi: 10.1186/1471-2334-11-200.
PubMed 21771337Dominguez-Bello MG, Costello EK, Contreras M, Magris M, Hidalgo G, Fierer N, Knight R. Delivery mode shapes the acquisition and structure of the initial microbiota across multiple body habitats in newborns. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Jun 29;107(26):11971-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1002601107. Epub 2010 Jun 21.
PubMed 20566857Callahan BJ, DiGiulio DB, Goltsman DSA, Sun CL, Costello EK, Jeganathan P, Biggio JR, Wong RJ, Druzin ML, Shaw GM, Stevenson DK, Holmes SP, Relman DA. Replication and refinement of a vaginal microbial signature of preterm birth in two racially distinct cohorts of US women. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Sep 12;114(37):9966-9971. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1705899114. Epub 2017 Aug 28.
PubMed 28847941Brown RG, Al-Memar M, Marchesi JR, Lee YS, Smith A, Chan D, Lewis H, Kindinger L, Terzidou V, Bourne T, Bennett PR, MacIntyre DA. Establishment of vaginal microbiota composition in early pregnancy and its association with subsequent preterm prelabor rupture of the fetal membranes. Transl Res. 2019 May;207:30-43. doi: 10.1016/j.trsl.2018.12.005. Epub 2018 Dec 27.
PubMed 30633889Stout MJ, Zhou Y, Wylie KM, Tarr PI, Macones GA, Tuuli MG. Early pregnancy vaginal microbiome trends and preterm birth. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2017 Sep;217(3):356.e1-356.e18. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2017.05.030. Epub 2017 May 23.
PubMed 28549981Thorsen J, Brejnrod A, Mortensen M, Rasmussen MA, Stokholm J, Al-Soud WA, Sorensen S, Bisgaard H, Waage J. Large-scale benchmarking reveals false discoveries and count transformation sensitivity in 16S rRNA gene amplicon data analysis methods used in microbiome studies. Microbiome. 2016 Nov 25;4(1):62. doi: 10.1186/s40168-016-0208-8.
PubMed 27884206Davis NM, Proctor DM, Holmes SP, Relman DA, Callahan BJ. Simple statistical identification and removal of contaminant sequences in marker-gene and metagenomics data. Microbiome. 2018 Dec 17;6(1):226. doi: 10.1186/s40168-018-0605-2.
PubMed 30558668Pruesse E, Peplies J, Glockner FO. SINA: accurate high-throughput multiple sequence alignment of ribosomal RNA genes. Bioinformatics. 2012 Jul 15;28(14):1823-9. doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/bts252. Epub 2012 May 3.
PubMed 22556368Quast C, Pruesse E, Yilmaz P, Gerken J, Schweer T, Yarza P, Peplies J, Glockner FO. The SILVA ribosomal RNA gene database project: improved data processing and web-based tools. Nucleic Acids Res. 2013 Jan;41(Database issue):D590-6. doi: 10.1093/nar/gks1219. Epub 2012 Nov 28.
PubMed 23193283Callahan BJ, McMurdie PJ, Rosen MJ, Han AW, Johnson AJ, Holmes SP. DADA2: High-resolution sample inference from Illumina amplicon data. Nat Methods. 2016 Jul;13(7):581-3. doi: 10.1038/nmeth.3869. Epub 2016 May 23.
PubMed 27214047
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 2 Sep 2020. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Human Microbiome in pPROM, Preterm Birth and the Neonatal Infant: a Prospective Longitudinal Pilot-study
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04489056
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 1668/2020
- Conditions
- Vaginal Microbiome
- Keywords
- Vaginal microbiome, Preterm birth, Neonatal microbiome
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Unknown status
- Enrolment
- 100 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Medical University of ViennaUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- University of Vienna
- Study start
- 27 Jul 2020 (actual)
- Primary completion
- Jul 2021 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Dec 2021 (estimated)
- First posted
- 28 Jul 2020 (actual)
- 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 aims of this prospective longitudinal case-control pilot-study are (1) to characterize the changes of the vaginal, uterine and placental microbiome in pregnant women experiencing pPROM with immediate hospitalization and consecutive caesarean section at preterm, in comparison to uneventful term births with elective cesarean section, as well as (2) to evaluate the influence of the maternal on the neonatal microbiome and the early neonatal outcome in pPROM preterm cases, in comparison to uneventful term births.
The first aim will be achieved by collecting vaginal and rectal swabs for microbiome analysis in women experiencing pPROM, followed by uterine and placental swabs that are collected during the caesarean section. Control samples will be collected at the same time points from women undergoing elective caesarean section at term. The second aim will be achieved by microbiome analysis of rectal, oral/buccal, and skin swabs taken from newborns that are either born preterm after pPROM, or at term, both by caesarean section.
Detailed description
A total of 100 study participants will be included, assigned to one of the following groups:
Study group:
- This group will consist of 50 pregnant women, who experienced pPROM between 22+5 and 28+0 gestational weeks, either presenting at the primary study site, or being referred from other hospitals, and delivered at preterm by cesarean section.
Control group:
- This group will consist of 50 pregnant women, who are scheduled for elective cesarean section at the outpatient department of the primary study site, between a 32+0 and 37+0 gestational weeks, and delivered at term by cesarean section.
Recruitment:
Recruitment of all patients will take place at the Medical University of Vienna, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Women in the study group will be referred from outside hospitals or will present for any reason at our department. Verification of pPROM will be performed by speculum examination and detection of amniotic fluid pooling. In case of unclear findings, an enzymatic test (e.g., Amnisure®, QUIAGEN Sciences, LLC; Germantown, MD 20874, USA) will be conducted. Following pPROM verification, women who meet the inclusion criteria will be offered to participate in the study. Those who experience a spontaneous vaginal delivery instead of a cesarean section due to any reason, will be considered as drop-out. Women in the control group will be recruited during their routine presentation for elective cesarean section (for any reason that does not meet the exclusion criteria of the study) that will be scheduled at term. Those who experience preterm birth although being scheduled for elective cesarean at term, will be considered as drop-out. During their consultation at the outpatient department, these women will be offered to participate in the study.
Sampling:
All swabs will be collected from sub-investigators of this study using a standardized procedure. For anonymization, only the collection time point, location and ward will be marked on the swab tubes. After informed consent, vaginal swabs will be collected during speculum examination from the lateral vaginal wall and posterior fornix vaginae using a sterile cotton swab combined with an epithelial brush. A rectal swab will be collected by insertion of a sterile swab into the anal sphincter. Intraoperative swabs of the placenta and uterine cavity will be collected during caesarean section under sterile conditions. Neonatal swabs (buccal mucosa and skin) will be collected directly after delivery and in the neonatal period. Stool samples will be taken from the meconium, defined as first stool of the infant and the stool of the newborn in the neonatal period. All specimens will immediately be stored at -80°C after collection. The epithelial brush will be put into RNAlater® RNA stabilization solution and stored at -80°C.
Microbiome analysis:
Microbiome analysis will be performed at the Joint Microbiome Facility (JMF) of the Medical University of Vienna and the University of Vienna. Testing will be performed by sub- investigators at the JMF. The microbial community composition in collected stool swab samples will be determined by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Briefly, DNA will be extracted with the QIAamp Microbiome Kit or QIAamp DNA Mini Kit (for swab and stool samples, respectively), followed by 16S rRNA gene amplification and barcoding as previously described. Multiplexed amplicon samples sequenced on the Illumina MiSeq platform at the JMF. Negative controls performed during DNA extraction and 16S rRNA gene amplification are routinely included in the sample processing workflow. The obtained sequence data will be quality-filtered and demultiplexed, followed by amplicon sequencing variant (ASV) inference with DADA2,16 enabling analysis at the highest possible taxonomic resolution. Resulting ASV sequences will be taxonomically classified using SINA with the newest release of the the SILVA SSU rRNA database. If necessary, contaminants will be removed in silico using the decontam software package.
Perinatal data:
In addition to swab sampling and analysis, the following perinatal parameters will be collected, using the PIA Fetal Database, version 5.6.16.917 (GE Viewpoint, Munich, Germany): Maternal age [number], parity [number], tertiary education [yes/no], ethnicity [category], relationship status [category], body mass index [number], nicotine abuse [yes/no], history of pPROM [yes/no], history of PTB [yes/no], preexisting diseases [category], vaginal infection screening [yes/no], cervical insufficiency [yes/no], preeclampsia [yes/no], bleeding [yes/no], antenatal steroid prophylaxis [yes/no], ongoing antibiotic treatment [yes/no], tocolysis [yes/no], magnesium prophylaxis [yes/no], gestational week at delivery [number], birthweight [number], Apgar score at 1/5/10 minutes [number], umbilical cord arterial pH [number], transfer to neonatal intensive care unit [yes/no].
Study design
- Observational model
- Case-control
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Study group | – | Genetic: Swabs for microbiome analysisThis group will consist of 50 pregnant women, who experienced pPROM between 22+5 and 28+0 gestational weeks, either presenting at the primary study site, or being referred from other hospitals, and delivered at preterm by cesarean section. |
| Control group | – | Genetic: Swabs for microbiome analysisThis group will consist of 50 pregnant women, who are scheduled for elective cesarean section at the outpatient department of the primary study site, between a 32+0 and 37+0 gestational weeks, and delivered at term by cesarean section. |
Who may qualify
- Sex
- Female only
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
- Study population
- A total of 100 study participants, meeting all inclusion and non exclusion criteria, will be included, assigned to one of the following groups: Study group: • This group will consist of 50 pregnant women, who experienced pPROM between 22+5 and 28+0 gestational weeks, either presenting at the primary study site, or being referred from other hospitals, and delivered at preterm by cesarean section. Control group: • This group will consist of 50 pregnant women, who are scheduled for elective cesarean section at the outpatient department of the primary study site, between a 32+0 and 37+0 gestational weeks, and delivered at term by cesarean section.
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Maternal age ≥18 years at the time of study enrollment
- Singleton pregnancy
- Signed informed consent
- Confirmed preterm premature rupture of membranes (pPROM) or elective cesarean section for term birth (depending on study group)
- Gestational age at the time of pPROM between 22+5 and 28+0 weeks or ≥37+0 gestational weeks at the time of term cesarean section (depending on study group)
Key exclusion criteria (9 listed)
- Maternal age <18 years at the time of study enrollment
- Multiple pregnancy
- Inability to consent to the participation in the study
- Ongoing antibiotic treatment or antibiotic treatment ≤2 weeks before study enrollment
- Vaginal sexual intercourse within 48 hours before study enrollment
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Swabs for microbiome analysisAfter informed consent, vaginal swabs will be collected during speculum examination from the lateral vaginal wall and posterior fornix vaginae using a sterile cotton swab combined with an epithelial brush. A rectal swab will be collected by insertion of a sterile swab into the anal sphincter. Intraoperative swabs of the placenta and uterine cavity will be collected during caesarean section under sterile conditions. Neonatal swabs (buccal mucosa and skin) will be collected directly after delivery and in the neonatal period. Stool samples will be taken from the meconium, defined as first stool of the infant and the stool of the newborn in the neonatal period. | Genetic | Control group, Study group |
Primary outcome
Changes of the vaginal microbiome after pPROM in comparison to term births
Time frame: Till July 2021
Abundance measurements (counts) of the amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), as well as ASV sum counts at higher taxonomic levels will be evaluated, to test for significant overlap or differences in microbial community composition in different sample groups. These parameters will be analyzed within each of the study groups, including longitudinal analyses to detect a potential difference from the onset of pPROM to the time of delivery or later (study group), or from pregnancy to the time of delivery or later (control group). In addition, ASVs and ASV sum counts will be compared between the study and control group at predetermined time points. Detection of significantly more abundant amplicon sequence variants between groups will be performed, and adjusted P-values will be calculated using the Benjamini-Hochberg method and differences supported with P- values <0.05 will be considered significant.
Changes of the rectal microbiome after pPROM in comparison to term births
Time frame: Till July 2021
Abundance measurements (counts) of the amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), as well as ASV sum counts at higher taxonomic levels will be evaluated, to test for significant overlap or differences in microbial community composition in different sample groups. These parameters will be analyzed within each of the study groups, including longitudinal analyses to detect a potential difference from the onset of pPROM to the time of delivery or later (study group), or from pregnancy to the time of delivery or later (control group). In addition, ASVs and ASV sum counts will be compared between the study and control group at predetermined time points. Detection of significantly more abundant amplicon sequence variants between groups will be performed, and adjusted P-values will be calculated using the Benjamini-Hochberg method and differences supported with P- values <0.05 will be considered significant.
Changes of the placental microbiome after pPROM in comparison to term births
Time frame: Till July 2021
Abundance measurements (counts) of the amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), as well as ASV sum counts at higher taxonomic levels will be evaluated, to test for significant overlap or differences in microbial community composition in different sample groups. These parameters will be analyzed within each of the study groups, including longitudinal analyses to detect a potential difference from the onset of pPROM to the time of delivery or later (study group), or from pregnancy to the time of delivery or later (control group). In addition, ASVs and ASV sum counts will be compared between the study and control group at predetermined time points. Detection of significantly more abundant amplicon sequence variants between groups will be performed, and adjusted P-values will be calculated using the Benjamini-Hochberg method and differences supported with P- values <0.05 will be considered significant.
Changes of the uterine microbiome after pPROM in comparison to term births
Time frame: Till July 2021
Abundance measurements (counts) of the amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), as well as ASV sum counts at higher taxonomic levels will be evaluated, to test for significant overlap or differences in microbial community composition in different sample groups. These parameters will be analyzed within each of the study groups, including longitudinal analyses to detect a potential difference from the onset of pPROM to the time of delivery or later (study group), or from pregnancy to the time of delivery or later (control group). In addition, ASVs and ASV sum counts will be compared between the study and control group at predetermined time points. Detection of significantly more abundant amplicon sequence variants between groups will be performed, and adjusted P-values will be calculated using the Benjamini-Hochberg method and differences supported with P- values <0.05 will be considered significant.
Changes of the neonatal microbiome of neonates born after pPROM in comparison to neonates experiencing a term birth
Time frame: Till July 2021
Abundance measurements (counts) of the amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), as well as ASV sum counts at higher taxonomic levels will be evaluated, to test for significant overlap or differences in microbial community composition in different sample groups. These parameters will be analyzed within each of the study groups, including longitudinal analyses to detect a potential difference from the onset of pPROM to the time of delivery or later (study group), or from pregnancy to the time of delivery or later (control group). In addition, ASVs and ASV sum counts will be compared between the study and control group at predetermined time points. Detection of significantly more abundant amplicon sequence variants between groups will be performed, and adjusted P-values will be calculated using the Benjamini-Hochberg method and differences supported with P- values <0.05 will be considered significant.
Results and safety
Results are not available in the source record.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 2 Sep 2020.
- Background: PubMed 29753695Chu DM, Seferovic M, Pace RM, Aagaard KM. The microbiome in preterm birth. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2018 Oct;52:103-113. doi: 10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2018.03.006. Epub 2018 Apr 9.
- Background: PubMed 22699609Human Microbiome Project Consortium. Structure, function and diversity of the healthy human microbiome. Nature. 2012 Jun 13;486(7402):207-14. doi: 10.1038/nature11234.
- Background: PubMed 22933715Klindworth A, Pruesse E, Schweer T, Peplies J, Quast C, Horn M, Glockner FO. Evaluation of general 16S ribosomal RNA gene PCR primers for classical and next-generation sequencing-based diversity studies. Nucleic Acids Res. 2013 Jan 7;41(1):e1. doi: 10.1093/nar/gks808. Epub 2012 Aug 28.
- Background: PubMed 27148170Jovel J, Patterson J, Wang W, Hotte N, O'Keefe S, Mitchel T, Perry T, Kao D, Mason AL, Madsen KL, Wong GK. Characterization of the Gut Microbiome Using 16S or Shotgun Metagenomics. Front Microbiol. 2016 Apr 20;7:459. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.00459. eCollection 2016.
- Background: PubMed 28087240Gosmann C, Anahtar MN, Handley SA, Farcasanu M, Abu-Ali G, Bowman BA, Padavattan N, Desai C, Droit L, Moodley A, Dong M, Chen Y, Ismail N, Ndung'u T, Ghebremichael MS, Wesemann DR, Mitchell C, Dong KL, Huttenhower C, Walker BD, Virgin HW, Kwon DS. Lactobacillus-Deficient Cervicovaginal Bacterial Communities Are Associated with Increased HIV Acquisition in Young South African Women. Immunity. 2017 Jan 17;46(1):29-37. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2016.12.013. Epub 2017 Jan 10.
- Background: PubMed 21771337O'Hanlon DE, Moench TR, Cone RA. In vaginal fluid, bacteria associated with bacterial vaginosis can be suppressed with lactic acid but not hydrogen peroxide. BMC Infect Dis. 2011 Jul 19;11:200. doi: 10.1186/1471-2334-11-200.
- Background: PubMed 20566857Dominguez-Bello MG, Costello EK, Contreras M, Magris M, Hidalgo G, Fierer N, Knight R. Delivery mode shapes the acquisition and structure of the initial microbiota across multiple body habitats in newborns. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Jun 29;107(26):11971-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1002601107. Epub 2010 Jun 21.
- Background: PubMed 28847941Callahan BJ, DiGiulio DB, Goltsman DSA, Sun CL, Costello EK, Jeganathan P, Biggio JR, Wong RJ, Druzin ML, Shaw GM, Stevenson DK, Holmes SP, Relman DA. Replication and refinement of a vaginal microbial signature of preterm birth in two racially distinct cohorts of US women. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Sep 12;114(37):9966-9971. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1705899114. Epub 2017 Aug 28.
- Background: PubMed 30633889Brown RG, Al-Memar M, Marchesi JR, Lee YS, Smith A, Chan D, Lewis H, Kindinger L, Terzidou V, Bourne T, Bennett PR, MacIntyre DA. Establishment of vaginal microbiota composition in early pregnancy and its association with subsequent preterm prelabor rupture of the fetal membranes. Transl Res. 2019 May;207:30-43. doi: 10.1016/j.trsl.2018.12.005. Epub 2018 Dec 27.
- Background: PubMed 28549981Stout MJ, Zhou Y, Wylie KM, Tarr PI, Macones GA, Tuuli MG. Early pregnancy vaginal microbiome trends and preterm birth. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2017 Sep;217(3):356.e1-356.e18. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2017.05.030. Epub 2017 May 23.
- Background: PubMed 27884206Thorsen J, Brejnrod A, Mortensen M, Rasmussen MA, Stokholm J, Al-Soud WA, Sorensen S, Bisgaard H, Waage J. Large-scale benchmarking reveals false discoveries and count transformation sensitivity in 16S rRNA gene amplicon data analysis methods used in microbiome studies. Microbiome. 2016 Nov 25;4(1):62. doi: 10.1186/s40168-016-0208-8.
- Background: PubMed 30558668Davis NM, Proctor DM, Holmes SP, Relman DA, Callahan BJ. Simple statistical identification and removal of contaminant sequences in marker-gene and metagenomics data. Microbiome. 2018 Dec 17;6(1):226. doi: 10.1186/s40168-018-0605-2.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided. Anonymized data if required and in accordance with data protection regulations
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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.
Alex Farr, MD PhD principal investigator
Medical University of Vienna
Herbert Kiss, MD MBA study chair
Medical University of Vienna
Angelika Berger, MD MBA study chair
Medical University of Vienna
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 Vaginal Microbiome, run by Medical University of Vienna at 1 site in Austria.
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 9 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 2 Sep 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 Austria. 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?
Results are not available in the source record.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Philipp Foessleitner, MD BSc (+4314040028190, philipp.foessleitner@meduniwien.ac.at), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Changes of the vaginal microbiome after pPROM in comparison to term births (time frame: Till July 2021). 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 NCT04489056, which also lists 21 linked publications.
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 2 Sep 2020; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 31 Oct 2026.