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Trial registered on ANZCTR
Registration number
ACTRN12615001097538
Ethics application status
Approved
Date submitted
14/09/2015
Date registered
19/10/2015
Date last updated
3/11/2016
Type of registration
Prospectively registered
Titles & IDs
Public title
Randomized trial of the efficacy and rate of relapse of bacterial infections using standard versus symptom-based antibiotic duration in primary-care patients
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Scientific title
Randomized trial of the efficacy and rate of relapse of bacterial infections using standard versus symptom-based antibiotic duration in primary care patients.
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Secondary ID [1]
287464
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None
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Universal Trial Number (UTN)
None
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Trial acronym
None
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Linked study record
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Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
Skin infections
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Pneumonia
296188
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Sinusitis
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Cystitis
296190
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Condition category
Condition code
Infection
296467
296467
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0
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Studies of infection and infectious agents
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Intervention/exposure
Study type
Interventional
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Description of intervention(s) / exposure
The antibiotic course will be stopped when the patient's symptoms have substantially subsided. The investigators will advise the patient when to stop antibiotics, based on symptoms scores assessed daily while taking antibiotics. The criteria for stopping antibiotics, based on a symptom severity score of 1 (very mild) to 10 (most severe) will be all of the following:
1. More than 3 days after onset of symptoms
2. Symptom score 2 or less for feverishness (chills, sweats) and pain
3. Symptom score 3 or less or back to baseline for loss of appetite, body ache, skin symptoms/signs (redness, heat, swelling - if skin infection), urinary symptoms (dysuria, frequency - if urinary infection), cough improving (if chest infection), less than 50% volume of purulent sputum (if chest infection), less than 50% volume of nasal discharge or post-nasal drip (if sinus infection)
4. The patient feels ready to stop antibiotics.
Adherence will be checked each day during antibiotic treatment.
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Intervention code [1]
292840
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Treatment: Drugs
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Comparator / control treatment
Antibiotic course will be of standard duration
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Control group
Active
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Outcomes
Primary outcome [1]
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Response to antibiotic treatment, assessed by daily symptom score.
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Assessment method [1]
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Timepoint [1]
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End of treatment
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Primary outcome [2]
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Relapse of infection, assessed by symptom score at follow up, by restarting of antibiotics and for urine infection by relapse or persistence of positive urine culture.
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Assessment method [2]
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Timepoint [2]
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Day 5 to 7 after treatment stopped and day 14 to 21 after treatment stopped
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Secondary outcome [1]
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Treatment-emergent adverse events, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea or skin rash. The patient will be asked about TEAE by the study team at each contact.
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Assessment method [1]
317478
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Timepoint [1]
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Each day during the period of antibiotic treatment and at each follow-up assessment (between days 5 to 7 after treatment finishes and between days 14 and 21 after treatment finishes).
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Secondary outcome [2]
318057
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Total consumption of antibiotic doses, assessed by telephone questioning
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Assessment method [2]
318057
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Timepoint [2]
318057
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Daily phone call during antibiotic treatment
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Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
Outpatients only
Skin infection - surface area > square 75 cm
Pneumonia - using scoring system from local acute cough algorithm
Sinusitis - criteria for antibiotic treatment from Australian Therapeutic Guidelines 2014
Bladder infection - compatible symptoms plus bacteruria
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Minimum age
16
Years
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Maximum age
No limit
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Sex
Both males and females
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Can healthy volunteers participate?
No
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Key exclusion criteria
Severe infections or hospitalised patients.
Substantial immune compromise
Treatment failure for same infection in past 3 months
Other antibiotic treatment within 4 days of enrolement.
Infection found to be caused by bacteria resistant to those prescribed
Skin infection requiring more complex or prolonged treatment, such as necrotising infection, diabetic foot infections or infection complicating severe peripheral vascular disease, decubitus ulcer infection, animal or human bite infection, infection complicating fresh water or salt water trauma, or infection associated with a vascular, enteric or urinary catheter site, underlying osteomyelitis or septic arthritis, or a recent deep surgical wound.
Chest infections requiring more complex or prolonged treatment, such as infective exacerbations of bronchiectasis or cystic fibrosis, empyema.
Sinus infection involving the orbit or intra-cranial structures
Pyelonephritis, prostatitis or indwelling urinary catheter
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Study design
Purpose of the study
Treatment
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Allocation to intervention
Randomised controlled trial
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Procedure for enrolling a subject and allocating the treatment (allocation concealment procedures)
The GP or ED doctor will contact the study team with a possible recruit. The doctor will prescribe antibiotics according to local protocols (which are highlighted and promoted for patients treated during the study period). Patients interested in being included in the study will be given written information then contacted and visited to discuss being in the trial. Subjects will be randomised to either symptom-based or standard antibiotic duration according to pre-generated sequences. Allocation will be performed by the principal investigator and will be concealed from the GP, patient and research assistant until it has been determined that the patient meets the criteria for the trial and has consented to being part of the trial.
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Methods used to generate the sequence in which subjects will be randomised (sequence generation)
Randomisation in blocks, stratified by infection type. Used www.random.org – integer sets.
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Masking / blinding
Open (masking not used)
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Who is / are masked / blinded?
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Intervention assignment
Parallel
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Other design features
Two arms
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Phase
Not Applicable
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Type of endpoint/s
Safety/efficacy
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Statistical methods / analysis
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Recruitment
Recruitment status
Stopped early
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Data analysis
Data collected is being analysed
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Reason for early stopping/withdrawal
Lack of funding/staff/facilities
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Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
9/11/2015
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Actual
20/11/2015
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Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
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Actual
27/01/2016
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Date of last data collection
Anticipated
21/02/2016
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Actual
21/02/2016
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Sample size
Target
200
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Accrual to date
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Final
71
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Recruitment outside Australia
Country [1]
7164
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New Zealand
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State/province [1]
7164
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Funding & Sponsors
Funding source category [1]
292036
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Charities/Societies/Foundations
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Name [1]
292036
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Nelson Medical Research and Education Trust Fund
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Address [1]
292036
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c/o Dr Bruce King
Medical Outpatients Department
Nelson Hospital
Private Bag 18
Nelson 7010
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Country [1]
292036
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New Zealand
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Primary sponsor type
Government body
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Name
Nelson Bays Primary Health
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Address
PO Box 1776
Nelson 7040
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Country
New Zealand
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Secondary sponsor category [1]
290706
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Charities/Societies/Foundations
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Name [1]
290706
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Nelson Medical Research and Education Trust
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Address [1]
290706
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c/o Dr Bruce King
Medical Outpatient Clinic
Nelson Hospital
Private Bag 18
Nelson 7010
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Country [1]
290706
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New Zealand
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Ethics approval
Ethics application status
Approved
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Ethics committee name [1]
293522
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Health and Disability Ethics Committees
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Ethics committee address [1]
293522
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Ministry of Health Ethics Department Freyberg Building 20 Aitken St Wellington 6011
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Ethics committee country [1]
293522
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New Zealand
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Date submitted for ethics approval [1]
293522
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06/10/2015
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Approval date [1]
293522
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13/11/2015
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Ethics approval number [1]
293522
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Summary
Brief summary
When a doctor prescribes antibiotics, the usual advice is to finish the course. Instead, patients often stop taking the antibiotics when they feel better. This trial is designed to find out which strategy is better for a variety of mild to moderate infections treated in the community. More and more information now shows that shorter courses of antibiotics work as well as longer courses for many mild to moderate infections and that success can be predicted by certain symptoms of infection going away. A shorter course of antibiotics is likely to cause fewer side effects and less resistance. A longer course of antibiotics, in those who are slow to get better, may prevent the infection coming back. This is the first randomised trial we are aware of that formally tests whether it is best to finish a course of antibiotics or stop when the symptoms have substantially gone away. we hypothesise that a symptom-based duration of antibiotic treatment will be equal or more effective than a standard course, with equal or less antibiotic consumption and treatment-emergent adverse effects.
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Trial website
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Trial related presentations / publications
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Public notes
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Contacts
Principal investigator
Name
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Dr Richard Everts
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Address
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Nelson Bays Primary Health
PO Box 1776
Nelson 7040
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Country
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New Zealand
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Phone
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+64 274633284
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Fax
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Email
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[email protected]
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Contact person for public queries
Name
60299
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Richard Everts
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Address
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Nelson Bays Primary Health
PO Box 1776
Nelson 7040
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Country
60299
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New Zealand
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Phone
60299
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+64 274633284
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Fax
60299
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Email
60299
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[email protected]
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Contact person for scientific queries
Name
60300
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Richard Everts
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Address
60300
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Nelson Bays Primary Health
PO Box 1776
Nelson 7040
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Country
60300
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New Zealand
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Phone
60300
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+ 64 274633284
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Fax
60300
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Email
60300
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[email protected]
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No information has been provided regarding IPD availability
What supporting documents are/will be available?
No Supporting Document Provided
Results publications and other study-related documents
Documents added manually
No documents have been uploaded by study researchers.
Documents added automatically
No additional documents have been identified.
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