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American Ginseng Extract in Preventing Respiratory Infection and in Reducing Antibiotic Use in Patients With CLL

Phase 2
Completed
Conditions
Leukemia
Registration Number
NCT00752895
Lead Sponsor
Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Brief Summary

RATIONALE: American ginseng extract may prevent or reduce acute respiratory illness in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. It is not yet known whether American ginseng extract is more effective than a placebo in preventing respiratory infections.

PURPOSE: This randomized trial is studying the side effects of American ginseng extract and to see how well it works compared with a placebo in preventing respiratory infection and in reducing antibiotic use in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Detailed Description

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

* To assess the effect of American ginseng extract on the number of days of acute respiratory infection (ARI) during the peak respiratory illness season (January-March) in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

* To determine the safety of American ginseng extract in these patients evaluated according to NCI CTCAE v3.0.

Secondary

* To assess the effect of this treatment on antibiotic use days (AUDs).

* To assess the effect of this treatment on the rate of all infections diagnosed by a physician.

* To assess the effect of this treatment on the duration and severity of each ARI episode.

* To assess the effect of this treatment on major infections defined as infection severe enough to require hospitalization or intravenous antibiotics.

* To assess the effect of this treatment on the incidence of herpes zoster infection defined as an episode of physician-diagnosed zoster infection.

* To assess the effect of this treatment on CLL disease activity (i.e., serum IgG, total lymphocyte count, platelet count, and Rai staging).

* To determine the incidence of ARI and type of illness in an untreated cohort of CLL patients over an entire winter respiratory illness season (January 1- April 30).

Tertiary

* To determine the effect of this treatment on the incidence of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus confirmed by a physician.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to antibiotic prophylaxis with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (yes vs no), serum IgG (≤ 500 mg/dL vs \> 500 mg/dL), and influenza vaccine status (yes vs no). Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms.

* Arm I: Patients receive oral American ginseng extract twice daily.

* Arm II: Patients receive oral placebo twice daily. Treatment in both arms continues for up to 4 months in the absence of illness or adverse events.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed at 4 weeks by phone.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
293
Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) Days3 months

An ARI day was defined as any day for which the subject experienced one or more respiratory symptoms (cough, sore throat, nasal or sinus congestion, or runny nose) and one or more systemic symptoms (feverishness, chills/sweats, myalgia (muscle aches), fatigue, headache, poor endurance or increased shortness of breath) between January and March.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Number of Antibiotic Use Days3 months

An antibiotic day was defined as a day on which the subject took one or more antibiotics between January and March.

Trial Locations

Locations (125)

Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center - Burbank

🇺🇸

Burbank, California, United States

St. Joseph Hospital Regional Cancer Center - Orange

🇺🇸

Orange, California, United States

Helen and Harry Gray Cancer Center at Hartford Hospital

🇺🇸

Hartford, Connecticut, United States

Saint Anthony's Hospital at Saint Anthony's Health Center

🇺🇸

Alton, Illinois, United States

Rush-Copley Cancer Care Center

🇺🇸

Aurora, Illinois, United States

St. Joseph Medical Center

🇺🇸

Bloomington, Illinois, United States

Graham Hospital

🇺🇸

Canton, Illinois, United States

Memorial Hospital

🇺🇸

Carthage, Illinois, United States

Eureka Community Hospital

🇺🇸

Eureka, Illinois, United States

Evanston Northwestern Healthcare - Evanston Hospital

🇺🇸

Evanston, Illinois, United States

Scroll for more (115 remaining)
Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center - Burbank
🇺🇸Burbank, California, United States

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