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Intestinal PerforationNCT06515405

Effect of Early Hydrocortisone on Risk of Gastrointestinal Perforations in Extremely Preterm Infants

An observational study of Intestinal Perforation, run by Imperial College London at 1 site in United Kingdom.

Active, not recruiting

Under way, not looking for participants. Everyone needed has enrolled. The study is still running.

Official record
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Trial summary

A large, randomised control trial, the PREMILOC trial, has established that giving low dose hydrocortisone prophylactically in the first ten days of life reduces the risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in babies born before 32 weeks' gestation. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Any age
Conditions the study is for
Intestinal Perforation
What is being tested?
Hydrocortisone
How many people
16,000 participants
Where
1 siteUnited Kingdom
Study dates
30 Jul 2024to 30 Aug 2025
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

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
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child, Adult, Older adult

Study population: Infants born before 28 weeks' gestation and admitted to English and Welsh neonatal units.

Who may be able to join

  • Infants who:
  • were admitted to a neonatal unit between the 1st January 2016 and 31st March 2023 and
  • received any of their care in a NHS neonatal unit in England and Wales (part of UK Neonatal Collaborative and therefore contributing data to the NNRD) and
  • were born before 28 weeks' gestation.

Who cannot join

  • They have missing data for principal background variables (gestational age at birth, birth weight, year of birth and date of death for those that died).
  • Their recorded birthweight absolute value z score exceeds 4 or is missing.
  • They died on postnatal day 1 or 2 .

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United Kingdom1 site
  • Imperial College

    London, SW10 9NH

Other trials in United Kingdom

About this study

Official title: Effect of Early Hydrocortisone on Risk of Gastrointestinal Perforations in Extremely Preterm Infants: A Protocol for a Retrospective Cohort Study Using Routinely Collected Data

A large, randomised control trial, the PREMILOC trial, has established that giving low dose hydrocortisone prophylactically in the first ten days of life reduces the risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in babies born before 32 weeks' gestation. However, the PREMILOC trial was underpowered to investigate rarer side effects, such as gastrointestinal perforation. This study aims to establish whether the odds of gastrointestinal perforation increase when extremely preterm infants are given prophylactic hydrocortisone in the first ten days of life.

This retrospective cohort study will use routinely collected data from the U.K. National Neonatal Research Database. The investigators will examine the records of all infants born before 28 weeks' gestation and cared for in English and Welsh neonatal units between 2016 and 2023. Infants will be considered exposed if they received hydrocortisone for at least eight consecutive days, beginning on postnatal day 1 or 2. The primary outcome will be gastrointestinal perforation, as recorded in the infant's neonatal unit record. This outcome will be validated with the original care teams for a sample of babies. Data will be analysed using a propensity score matched approach to reduce the impact of confounding.

Being tested
Hydrocortisone
Keywords
Preterm Infant, Hydrocortisone
Medical subject headings
Intestinal Perforation, Premature Birth

What participants receive

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

  • HydrocortisoneDrug

    Cohort members will be considered to be exposed to early hydrocortisone if either:

    1. They receive early hydrocortisone started on postnatal day 1 or 2 and given for more than seven consecutive days OR
    2. They receive early hydrocortisone started on postnatal day 1 or 2 and are being cared for in a PROHYDRO unit but die on or before postnatal day 8.

    PROHYDRO units are defined as units who, at the time the baby was born, had implemented a protocol for use of prophylactic hydrocortisone as part of routine care for babies born less than 28 weeks' gestation. A unit may change from being a non-PROHYDRO unit to a PROHYDRO unit if a new early hydrocortisone protocol is introduced during the study period (2016-2023).

Study groups in NCT06515405
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Not exposed to early hydrocortisoneNot described
Receives: Drug: Hydrocortisone
Exposed to early hydrocortisoneNot described
Receives: Drug: Hydrocortisone

What is being measured

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

  1. Gastrointestinal (GI) perforation

    A baby will be considered to have had a gastrointestinal perforation if their National Neonatal Research Database record includes a record of a GI perforation in the diagnoses field.

    Measured: From date of birth until day 14 of life

Secondary outcomes (6)
  1. Survival without gastrointestinal perforation

    Baby survived to discharge from neonatal unit without a gastrointestinal perforation

    Measured: From date of birth until the date of discharge from final neonatal unit, assessed up to 24 months

  2. Mortality before discharge home

    Baby died before discharge from neonatal unit

    Measured: From date of birth until the date of discharge from final neonatal unit, assessed up to 24 months

  3. Total length of stay

    Length of stay in neonatal care

    Measured: From date of birth until the date of discharge from final neonatal unit, assessed up to 24 months

  4. Proportion of days on unit being mechanically ventilated

    Measured: From date of birth until the date of discharge from final neonatal unit, assessed up to 24 months

  5. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia

    any respiratory or ventilatory support or supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age (PMA)

    Measured: From date of birth until 36 weeks' postmenstrual age (PMA)

  6. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia

    Using an adapted Jensen criteria based on the highest level of respiratory support at 36 weeks PMA

    Measured: From date of birth until 36 weeks' postmenstrual age (PMA)

Timeline

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

  1. First posted23 Jul 2024
  2. Study start30 Jul 2024
  3. Primary completion30 Dec 2024 (estimated)
  4. Study completion30 Aug 2025 (estimated)

Resources

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
Cohort
Time perspective
Retrospective
Enrolment
16,000 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT06515405
Sponsor's protocol ID
293603
Status last verified
Oct 2024
First submitted
17 Jul 2024
Last updated
3 Oct 2024
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
Individual data sharing
Undecided: Study protocol available now. Analysis code will be available after publication of results.

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Intestinal Perforation, run by Imperial College London at 1 site in United Kingdom.

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 3 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: under way, not looking for participants, as of the sponsor's last update on 3 Oct 2024. 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 Kingdom. 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?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

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?

Gastrointestinal (GI) perforation (time frame: From date of birth until day 14 of life). 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 3 Oct 2024; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 8 Nov 2026.

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