Clinical Trial Details
— Status: Completed
Administrative data
NCT number |
NCT05078502 |
Other study ID # |
BSMMU/2021/3958 |
Secondary ID |
|
Status |
Completed |
Phase |
N/A
|
First received |
|
Last updated |
|
Start date |
June 1, 2021 |
Est. completion date |
January 31, 2022 |
Study information
Verified date |
February 2022 |
Source |
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh |
Contact |
n/a |
Is FDA regulated |
No |
Health authority |
|
Study type |
Interventional
|
Clinical Trial Summary
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.
Description:
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease that causes synovitis
in the peripheral joints as well as extra-articular symptoms. With a good response to
conventional drugs, treatment for this disease remains unsatisfactory. Vitamin D deficiency
is now widely recognized as a problem in RA patients. Some recent trials have attempted to
analyze the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on pain intensity and disease activity in
patients, and the majority of them have found significant improvement. The goal of this trial
was to see if supplementing vitamin D3 with conventional synthetic DMARDs improved the
intensity of pain and disease activity in RA patients. This study was a randomized,
double-blind, placebo-controlled trial and was conducted in the Department of Pharmacology,
BSMMU in collaboration with the Rheumatology Rehabilitation Clinic of the Department of
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, BSMMU. Patients were assessed using a validated version
of the visual analog scale (VAS) and the DAS-28 CRP scale. A total of 58 RA patients were
selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, and baseline CRP levels were measured
serum preserved for vitamin D3 estimation. A physiatrist at the Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation department's Rheumatology Rehabilitation Clinic performed the clinical
diagnosis of RA patients. Following the completion of the necessary formalities, including
the patients' informed consent, the patient has given a Visual Analog Scale (VAS)
questionnaire to assess pain improvement and a disease activity score -28 C-Reactive Protein
(DAS-28 CRP) scale to assess disease activity. The patients were split into two arms at
random: intervention and control. Patients in the intervention arm received csDMARDs plus
vitamin D3 (40,000IU) for 8 weeks. Weekly oral vitamin D3 (40,000IU) was given to the
intervention arm. On the other hand, The placebo arm got csDMARD in the form of one oral
placebo capsule once a week for the same duration of time. After 8 weeks of therapeutic
intervention, blood samples were taken to determine serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D and CRP levels.
The baseline and after 8 weeks serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D levels were estimated at the same
time. The patient's compliance sheet, as well as the phone and pill count, were used to
verify that medicine intake was regular. Microsoft Office Excel 2007 was used to perform the
statistical analysis. A chi-squared test was used to analyze the relationship between the
intervention and placebo arms. An unpaired t-test was used to compare the scores of the two
arms. A paired t-test was employed to compare the score before and after the intervention. A
total of 58 people were enrolled in this study over six months. Following decoding, it was
established that twenty-nine (30) patients would receive vitamin D3 and twenty-three (28)
would receive a placebo. Among them, fifty-two (52) patients met all criteria to be eligible
for analysis. There was a substantial difference in improving disease activity and pain
severity between the two arms (p-value- 0.00). All of the RA patients were vitamin D
deficient. Vitamin D3 supplementation for 8 weeks resulted in a significantly higher level
than the placebo arm (p- 0.01), as well as a significant increase from the baseline level (p-
0.04). After 8 weeks of vitamin D3 administration, CRP levels were significantly reduced
(p-0.00). There was no correlation between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and disease
activity. Vitamin D3 significantly reduced the intensity of pain and disease activity in
conventional synthetic Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (csDMARD) treated Rheumatoid
Arthritis patients.