Viral Shedding Clinical Trial
Official title:
A Prospective, Double-masked, Placebo Controlled Comparison of Topical 0.15% Ganciclovir Gel (Zirgan®) Versus 0.3% Hypromellose Gel (Genteal Gel®; Placebo) for the Treatment of Adenovirus Conjunctivitis
The investigators are conducting this study because the patient have an eye infection which
is called adenoviral conjunctivitis, and is the most common cause of "pink eye". There is
currently no treatment for this condition. However, the researchers associated with this
study want to understand if using a product called Zirgan, which is a topical ointment that
is already FDA-approved for other types of eye infections, will help with the type of
infection that the patient currently have. Zirgan is not FDA-approved to treat your type of
eye infection. Your participation in this study is expected to last 21 days but the patient
will only apply the topical ointment for 14 of those days. During the study, the patient will
be asked to come into this clinic 8 times.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether topical Zirgan can reduce days that the
patient suffers from the eye infection, and also to see if it can prevent the infection from
spreading to your second eye and to also see if it can prevent the spreading of the infection
to people that the patient come in close contact with.
Zirgan will be compared to Genteal Gel in this trial. Genteal Gel is a non-prescription eye
lubricant gel and is commonly used for treatment of dry eye.
The patient will be asked to apply a topical ointment (either Zirgan or Genteal gel 5 times a
day for the first 7 days and then 3 times a day for the following 7 days. The patient will be
asked to return to the clinic 21 days after the patient starts the study for a final
check-up.
It is planned that about 80 people with Adenovirus Conjunctivitis will be enrolled in this
study between 8-12 sites across the United States.
The patient will be assigned to either Zirgan or Genteal gel by chance which is similar to
flipping a coin.
The study groups will be assigned in a 1:1 ratio. Neither the patient nor the study doctor or
study staff will be able to pick which study group The patient is in. The patient will not
know and the study doctor or study staff will not know which study group the patient is in.
The study doctor or study staff can find out if it is necessary to know for your health. If
this happens, the study doctor or study staff may not be able to tell the patient which study
group the patient was in until everyone finishes the study.
Study Objectives To evaluate the safety and efficacy of 0.15% ganciclovir gel (Zirgan®) in
patients with adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis in comparison with 0.3% hypromellose gel
(Genteal gel®) as placebo.
Background Adenoviruses are the most common cause of ocular viral infection worldwide.
Conjunctivitis and keratoconjunctivitis caused by adenoviruses are highly contagious.
Adenovirus is a non-enveloped, double-stranded DNA virus comprised of 53 serotypes. Unlike
many enveloped viruses which can be more easily inactivated, adenoviruses are resilient to
disinfection and are long lasting on fomites. The ocular infection generally begins
unilaterally and, in many cases, spreads to both eyes. It may cause epidemics and endemics,
being most commonly spread in the summer or winter. Epidemics are common in day care centers,
schools and the military and have been spread in the offices of eye care professionals.
Patients may have painful conjunctival membranes and palpable preauricular adenopathy.
Subsequent subepithelial corneal infiltrates can cause light sensitivity, reduced vision and
lead to irregular astigmatism. The differential diagnosis includes herpes simplex, Chlamydia
and enteroviral infection.
There are 3 major presentations of ocular adenovirus infection: Follicular conjunctivitis
(predominantly serotypes 3, 4,7a); epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC; predominantly
serotypes 8, 19, 37, 53); and pharyngealconjunctival fever (mostly serotypes 3, 4, 7a, 11).
There is supporting laboratory and clinical data to warrant a clinical trial of topical
ganciclovir for the treatment of adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis. Several studies has shown
that ganciclovir (GCV) is active in vitro against adenovirus.
Primary Outcome The primary outcome of the study is to determine whether topical 0.15%
ganciclovir (Zirgan®) gel alone will reduce the duration of viral shedding from the ocular
surface, as determined by quantitative viral isolation in A549 cell tissue culture, compared
to placebo 0.3% hypromellose gel (Genteal gel®).
Secondary Outcomes The secondary outcomes of the study are whether topical 0.15% ganciclovir
will (1) reduce the incidence and severity of second eye involvement, (2) reduce the
incidence and severity of subepithelial infiltrates, (3) reduce the secondary spread to
family members, friends, classmates or co-workers (The virus is very stable at room
temperature and can last for days on fomites, like towels, doorknobs, etc), (4) reduce the
degree of bulbar conjunctival injection (redness of the eye, as determined by the Efron scale
in the Appendix 2), (5) reduce ocular discomfort, and (6) be considered an effective
treatment by the patient.
Sample Size The sample size for this study is based on the objective to demonstrate a
statistically significant difference in the primary outcome measure (i.e., time to viral
eradication). Approximately 350 subjects will be screened with Rapid Pathogens Screening
(RPS) Adeno Detector Plus Immunoassay for adenovirus (applied to the conjunctiva of the most
involved eye) to allow recruitment of approximately 80 RPS positive subjects in this study,
with approximately 40 subjects per treatment group (randomization ratio of 1:1), in
anticipation of approximately 40 culture positive subjects per treatment group (assuming a
100% culture positivity rate) and 38 of these culture positive subjects per treatment group
completing the study (assuming a 5% dropout rate).
Thirty eight viral positive culture subjects per treatment group yields 90% power to detect a
statistically significant difference in time of viral eradication between ganciclovir gel
0.15% and placebo (hypromellose gel) assuming: (1) a mean time to viral eradication of 7.0
days in the placebo group and 5.5 days in the ganciclovir group, (2) an estimated standard
deviation of 2.0 days for both groups, and (3) using a two-sided α = 0.05 (two sample
comparison of means).
The estimate of approximately 320 to 350 screenings to find approximately 80 RPS positive
subjects was based on previous studies documenting approximately 25% prevalence of adenoviral
conjunctivitis among patients with acute conjunctivitis. The estimated mean time to viral
eradication of 7.0 days for the placebo was based on a placebo arm of a previous study
evaluating the safety and efficacy of cidofovir in the treatment of viral epidemic
keratoconjunctivitis and the estimated mean time to viral eradication of 5.5 days was based
on assumed clinically significant decrease of 1.5 days compared to the placebo arm.
Virological Studies At the first study visit, the lower palpebral conjunctiva of each eye
will be rubbed six to eight times using the Rapid Pathogen Screening (RPS) Adeno Detector
Plus Immunoassay device. A positive result in the most involved eye is required to meet entry
criteria. For patients entered and randomized into the treatment or placebo arms, further
virologic studies for quantitative culture, PCR confirmation and viral serotyping using DNA
sequencing will be performed,
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| Status | Clinical Trial | Phase | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Completed |
NCT00707941 -
Oseltamivir Randomised Controlled Efficacy Trial
|
Phase 3 |