There are about 620 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Bangladesh. The country of the clinical trial is determined by the location of where the clinical research is being studied. Most studies are often held in multiple locations & countries.
Background: Burden: Globally, an estimated 14.3 million under-5 children are severely malnourished. Two-thirds of them live in Asian countries, including Bangladesh. Acute malnutrition is an underlying cause of nearly half of global deaths in under-5 children despite standardized rehabilitation protocols. It is also associated with high relapse rates following discharge. Knowledge Gap: Malnourished children suffer from deficiencies of several essential nutrients. Studies showed that malnourished children had lower serum carnitine levels and demonstrated its role in the rate of weight gain in children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The consequences of nutritional impairment can be perilous if carnitine deficiency is coupled with Environmental Enteric Dysfunction (EED). Recent evidence confirms that EED is characterized by secondary carnitine deficiency in children. Carnitine deficiency leading to EED may cause childhood growth faltering and impaired cognitive development. However, evidence on carnitine status and its consequences in relation to EED in diarrheal children with SAM is very limited in Bangladesh. Relevance: Such lack of information regarding the role of L-carnitine in improving the rate of weight gain in malnourished children susceptible to EED is an obstacle in limiting the relapse and adverse consequences of SAM in diarrheal children living in resource-limited countries. Hypothesis: L- carnitine supplementation for 15 days in children with SAM will improve the rate of weight gain and biomarkers of EED Objective: 1. To investigate the role of L-carnitine supplementation on the rate of weight gain among the children with SAM 2. To investigate the role of L-carnitine supplementation on the duration of the hospital stays 3. To examine the role of L-carnitine supplementation on EED biomarkers, for instance, myeloperoxidase (MPO), neopterin (NEO), alpha-1 anti-trypsin (A1AT), kynurenine: tryptophan (KT) ratio, and citrulline in children with SAM Methods: This study will be a double-blinded, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial
Several studies suggested low serum level of vitamin D have been associated with rheumatoid arthritis. So, the present study was designed to investigate the effect of vitamin D supplementation along with CsDMARD in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
In recent years, returning genetic results to research participants has become a topic of debate, with a growing consensus that researchers should offer to return incidental findings and research results to participants. Currently, the research and debates surrounding return of results (ROR) have primarily taken place in high-income countries. Less attention has been paid to ROR in lower-resource countries. However, research participants in these settings may have additional threats, barriers, and/or competing interests that reduce the benefit or relevance of receiving genetic results. Arsenic is a toxic metal. Exposure to arsenic increases a person's risk for cancer, especially in the lung, kidney, bladder and skin. Many people in Bangladesh are exposed to elevated environmental levels of arsenic through naturally contaminated drinking water. People who metabolize arsenic (remove it from their body) slower compared to people who metabolize arsenic more efficiently are at higher risk for arsenic toxicities (e.g. cancer). The investigators have designed a study in which they plan to enroll individuals who have had consistently high urine As levels (≥200 µg/g creatinine) based on 15-20 years of follow-up data. The treatment and control groups will be selected based on genotype (i.e. inefficient and efficient As metabolizers, respectively), allowing for the selection of the groups to be quasi-random (based on inherited genotypes). A standard informational intervention will be provided to both the treatment and controls groups, reminding them of the effects of As exposure and strategies to reduce their exposure. The research question is whether the treatment group will, have a larger decrease in urine arsenic levels compared to the control group, indicating that the ROR intervention caused a change in water-seeking behavior leading to lower arsenic exposure.
This is multicenter clinical trial to evaluate efficacy and safety of Baricitinib in treatment for COVID-19. This trial will compare Baricitinib, a drug recommended for Rheumatoid Arthritis, against standard of care, to assess its relative effectiveness against COVID-19. By enrolling patients in multiple centers, this trial aims to recruit more patients to evaluate whether this drug slow disease progression or improve survival. Currently no effective therapeutics treatment or vaccine is available in the world for this highly transmissible respiratory borne infection, Covid-19. A number of drug trials are ongoing to measure the efficacy of the drug against the virus. Bangladesh as a resource limited country with limitation to provided health care services to the huge number of Covid-19 patients who will need hospitalization will be benefited from this study. There is no physical, psychological, social, legal risk in this study. The trial therapeutic will be approved form the Directorate of drug Administration (DGDA), Bangladesh.
Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) is one of the most common causes of mechanical low back pain (LBP) associated with radiating leg pain. Conservative treatment, including exercise, analgesic, and physical therapy, is regarded as the first-line treatment of LDH. This randomized clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of back and hip strengthening exercises combined with activities of daily living instructions (ADLIs) to reduce pain intensity in patients with LDH.
Title: Reducing malnutrition and helminthic infectious disease among primary school children by the school nurses: School-based non-randomized study in a developing country Introduction: Globally, malnutrition alone with the infectious disease a widespread problem among primary school (5 to 12 years) children. Infectious diseases such as worm infestations are aggravated with nutritional disorders which most often lead to anemia and several complications. The prevalence of malnutrition and intestinal worm infestation/ helminthic infection is still high and the awareness level of those issues is immensely poor. However, there are limited studies that evaluated the impact of increasing health awareness by the development of the Health Awareness Program for Primary School Children (HAPSC) which is conducted by the experimentally placed school nurse in Bangladesh. Objective: To increase health awareness and knowledge towards reducing malnutrition and intestinal worm infestation by implement and evaluate the impact of the Health Awareness Program for Primary School children (HAPSC) in Bangladesh. Methods: Design: A prospective, open-label, parallel-group (1:1), cluster non-randomization controlled trial (NRCT) Site and sample: School children from four primary schools in the rural areas of North Matlab at Chandpur district at Chittagong division in Bangladesh. Duration: The duration of this study is from August 2021 to March 2024 (32nd months). Outcome variables: Primary: changes in malnutrition among primary school children. Secondary: Evaluate and reduce the prevalence of intestinal worm infestation, increase awareness and knowledge regarding malnutritional and intestinal worm infestation, improvement of health behavior (eating and hygiene), frequency of school absent days, and health-related quality of life. Conclusion: Health education by the health professional in the school setting may be an effective method for improving health behavior, and increasing awareness and knowledge levels about malnutrition and intestinal worm infestation from early childhood.
Annually influenza is a leading cause of severe disease and mortality particularly in young children <5 years old and pregnant women in the low and middle-income countries (LMICs) and both groups are prioritised for vaccination by the World Health Organisation (WHO). In Bangladesh, influenza is responsible for 10% of all childhood pneumonias and 9% of all death. Maternal influenza is associated with an increased risk of hospitalisation and foetal malformation. Influenza is a vaccine preventable disease, however, in most LMICs influenza vaccination is not part of the vaccination programme. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of inactivated influenza vaccine against influenza illness among pregnant women and children in Bangladesh. Influenza vaccine has not yet been studied as combined immunization strategy in a cluster randomized trial. This study is a community-based randomised trial in both pregnant women and young children to assess the impact of inactivated influenza vaccine in preventing influenza in the community as well as population level impact by both direct and indirect effect of vaccination.
Hypertension became the leading risk factor of death globally as well as in Bangladesh. Uncontrolled hypertension is the key challenge for the success of a hypertension control programs. According to the last national STEPS Survey in Bangladesh, hypertension control rate is only 11%. World Health Organization promoted the HEARTS technical package for the hypertension control programs to improve the control scenario. National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh is implementing a hypertension control program in selected Upazilas (sub-districts) of Bangladesh in collaboration with Non-Communicable Disease Control (NCDC) Program of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and Resolve to Save Lives, USA. Proposed quasi experimental study will be conducted in collaboration with NCDC of DGHS, Resolve to Save Lives, USA and Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore with an objective of to evaluate the impact of HEARTS package on the rate of hypertension control in primary health care centers in Bangladesh. In this study equal number of hypertensive adult patients will be recruited in Upazila Health Complexes of control and intervention groups with a hypothesis of, implementation of HEARTS technical package in primary health care centers can reduce the blood pressure significantly. After obtaining informed written consent, respondents' basic demographic information, history of antihypertensive medication intake and related comorbidities will be taken. Blood pressure measurements data will be recorded also. All of these data will be collected via a secured mobile application, Simple App. Collected data will be preserved in a secured cloud based database. After six months of enrolment, and end-line data will be collected at the community setup, preferably at the home of respondents, following standard techniques of BP measurement by experienced Field Research Assistants. During whole of the study procedure, every ethical right of the participants will be preserved with an utmost priority. De-identified data will be shared with the partner organizations for further scientific analysis. This study will generate robust evidence for use of HEARTS technical packages in low-and middle-income countries, like Bangladesh, especially at low-level health facilities and provide guidance for designing and implementation of other hypertension control programs.
An outbreak of the novel coronavirus nCoV-19 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), was first detected in Hubei province, Wuhan, China, on December 31, 2019. It has rapidly spread globally with approximately 157,343,044 confirmed cases and 3,278,510 deaths till 7th May, 2021 [1]. World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID- 19 pandemic on 11th March 2020. The world is facing the second wave of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic which is the most troublesome challenge to public health. The second wave is running and nobody knows where we are in the course of this disease. It becomes a significant challenge for the public health, science, and medical sectors [2]. According to the World Health Organization, about 80% of infections are mild or asymptomatic, 15% result in moderate to severe symptoms (requiring oxygen) and about 5% are critical infections, which require ventilation. We are learning something new every day. Our understanding of the pandemic is growing and changing daily. The world is focusing on the short term - flattening the curve, treating the sick and discovering a vaccine. But there is more to this pandemic than the short term. We know a lot about the transmission and clinical feature of COVID-19, but relatively little about what happens after someone recovers. Much is still unknown about how COVID-19 will affect people over time. There's still much to be learned from those who have recovered from COVID-19.
Lack of adequate sun exposure due to urbanization is prone to hypovitaminosis D. Vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D) deficiency is now a major health concern in the western world. Recent data suggest that Vitamin D level in the Bangladeshi population is also very low. However, the cutoff value used to determine vitamin D deficiency is not yet validated for our ethnic group; we also don't know the optimal vitamin D level for our population. Before coming to any firm conclusion regarding nationwide vitamin D deficiency, we must know the Optimal range of serum Vitamin D for our people of Bangladesh. As sunlight is the primary source of vitamin D and adequate sun exposure alone is sufficient to produce enough vitamin D to maintain the physiological demand without producing toxicity. According to Holick's rule, exposure to sunlight at the face and both arms for 25 min, 3 times a week should maintain adequate vitamin D status. In Indonesia, it was found that after exposure to sunlight at this specific time and duration for 6 weeks, the mean 25(OH)D levels of participants increased from 59 nmol/L at the baseline to 84 nmol/L.In India, exposure to sunlight for 30 minutes, between 11 am and 2 pm, three times a week, is sufficient to maintain adequate serum vitamin D concentration. Therefore it could be assumed that healthy subjects without any risk factors for vitamin D deficiency and having adequate sun exposure should maintain an Optimal serum vitamin D concentration. Here Optimal means a range where there will be no features of insufficiency or toxicity. In this cross-sectional study, we want to find out the serum vitamin D level of such a population, representing the Optimal level of vitamin D for Bangladeshi people.