Trial NCT04354428
Publication Johnston C, EClinicalMedicine (2021) (published paper)
Dates: 2020-04-15 to 2020-07-27
Funding: Public/non profit (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; University of Washington Institute of Translational Health Science (ITHS) grant support from NCATS/NIH funded REDCap)
Conflict of interest: Yes
Methods | |
RCT Blinding: Participants, outcome assessor and health care pro | |
Location :
Multicenter / USA Follow-up duration (days): 28 | |
Inclusion criteria |
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Exclusion criteria |
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Interventions | |
Treatment
HCQ+Placebo HCQ: Initial dose: 400 mg orally twice daily on Day 1. Maintenance dose: 200 mg orally twice daily for 9 days. Placebo (folic acid) Initial dose: 800 mcg orally once daily on Day 1. Maintenance dose: 400 mcg orally once daily for 4 days. HCQ+AZM HCQ: Initial dose: 400 mg orally twice daily on Day 1. Maintenance dose: 200 mg orally twice daily for 9 days. AZM: Initial dose: 500 mg orally once daily on Day 1. Maintenance dose: 250 mg orally once daily for 4 days. |
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Control
Vitamin C+Placebo Vitamin C: Initial dose: 500 mg orally twice daily on Day 1. Maintenance dose: 250 mg orally twice daily for 9 days. Placebo (folic acid) Initial dose: 800 mcg orally once daily on Day 1. Maintenance dose: 400 mcg orally once daily for 4 days. | |
Participants | |
Randomized participants : Vitamin C+Placebo=83 HCQ+Placebo=71 HCQ+AZM=77 | |
Characteristics of participants N= 231 Mean age : NR 100 males Severity : Mild: n= 212/ Asymptomatic: n=19 Number of vaccinated participants: NR | |
Primary outcome | |
In the register Lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) rates [ Time Frame: 28 days from enrolment ] Resting blood oxygen saturation (SpO2<93%) level sustained for 2 readings 2 hours apart and presence of subjective dyspnea or cough Incidence of hospitalization or mortality [ Time Frame: Day 28 after enrolment ] Cumulative incidence of hospitalization or mortality Change in upper respiratory viral shedding [ Time Frame: Day 1 through Day 14 after enrolment ] Time to clearance of nasal SARS-CoV-2, defined as 2 consecutive negative swabs | |
In the report Development of LRTI, defined by SpO2<93% on two readings ≥two hours but =48 h apart with simultaneous indication of “trouble breathing”, “wet cough” or “dry cough” graded at least “somewhat” on the FLU-Pro-survey through Day 14, COVID-19-related hospitalization, or death; Time to cessation of viral shedding, defined by two consecutive nasal swabs without SARS-CoV-2 detection, through Day 14 | |
Documents available |
Protocol Yes. In English Statistical plan Yes Data-sharing willing stated in the publication: Yes |
Risk of bias Overall The overall risk of bias reported in the table corresponds to the highest risk of bias for the outcomes assessed for the systematic review |
Some concerns |
General comment | In addition to the published article, the study registry, protocol, and statistical analysis plan were used in data extraction and risk of bias assessment. The article reports two treatment arms plus a control arm of a platform study assessing several treatments. Due to the low rate of clinical outcomes, the study was terminated for operational futility. As a result, the target sample size specified in the registry was not achieved. As the medication had a distinctive taste, to maintain participant blinding, all members of a household were randomized to the same treatment group. There is no change from the trial registration in the intervention and control treatments. |