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Clinical Trials/NCT01497743
NCT01497743WithdrawnPhase 4

Probiotics in Patients With Moderate-to-severe Distention/ Bloating From Systemic Sclerosis

University of Michigan0 sitesStarted: February 2012Last updated:
Conditions
Interventions
Drugs

Trial Snapshot

Phase
Phase 4
Status
Withdrawn
Primary Endpoint
1. Proportion of patients with improvement in distention/bloating scale ≥ 0.14 at the end of 4 weeks. A change of 0.14 is the minimally important difference for this scale(9)

Study Overview

Brief Summary

Organs of the gastrointestinal tract include the mouth, throat, stomach, intestines, and anus. Patients with scleroderma often have GIT disorders. GIT disorders can be severely debilitating and even life-threatening. Some problems associated with GIT disorders may include heartburn, loss of voice or hoarseness, ulcers (open sores), difficulty swallowing, constipation, diarrhea, malabsorption (impaired absorption of nutrients from the GI tract), diminished peristalsis (decreased in the wavelike motion in the muscles of the intestines), and the inability to control your bowel movements.

Probiotics are the "good bacteria" normally found in your digestive tract. Our group is looking at whether or not taking daily probiotics (lactobacillus) can help alleviate some of these symptoms in scleroderma patients that have GIT disorders.

Study Design

Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Crossover
Primary Purpose
Treatment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator)

Eligibility Criteria

Ages
18 Years to — (Adult, Older Adult)
Sex
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  • Adult patient ≥18 years.
  • Patients with SSc with moderate-to-severe distention/bloating on GIT
  • scale (scale score >1.00).
  • Stable immunosuppressive therapy(ies) for ≥ 1 month.
  • Stable PPI and/or other anti-reflux medications for ≥ 1 month.
  • Stable calcium channel blocker for ≥ 1 month.
  • Stable NSAID for ≥ 1 month.
  • Stable dose of pro-motility agent for ≥ 1 month.
  • Exclusion criteria:
  • Recent diagnosis for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) during last 1 month.
  • Treatment with antibiotics within last 2 weeks.
  • Currently receiving chemotherapy (pulse cyclophosphamide). It is acceptable to be on methotrexate, mycophenolate mofetil, hydroxychloroquine, or azathioprine.
  • Severe diarrhea (Diarrhea scale score of ≥ 1.01; may suggest untreated SIBO).
  • History of inherited or acquired immunodeficiency

Exclusion Criteria

  • Not provided

Arms & Interventions

placebo

Placebo Comparator

Subjects will be randomized into either the probiotic or placebo arm of the study at a 1:1 ratio. All randomized subjects will receive probiotic or matching placebo: 1 capsule orally twice daily, with meals) for the first 4 weeks. There will be a 6-week washout period, followed by 4 weeks of the alternate treatment. The subject will not be on study medication during this washout period.

Intervention: Lactobacillus (Drug)

Probiotic

Active Comparator

Subjects will be randomized into either the probiotic or placebo arm of the study at a 1:1 ratio. All randomized subjects will receive probiotic or matching placebo: 1 capsule orally twice daily, with meals) for the first 4 weeks. There will be a 6-week washout period, followed by 4 weeks of the alternate treatment. The subject will not be on study medication during this washout period.

Intervention: Lactobacillus (Drug)

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

1. Proportion of patients with improvement in distention/bloating scale ≥ 0.14 at the end of 4 weeks. A change of 0.14 is the minimally important difference for this scale(9)

Time Frame: 12 months

Secondary Outcomes

No secondary outcomes reported

Investigators

Sponsor Class
Other
Responsible Party
Principal Investigator
Principal Investigator

Dinesh Khanna, MD, MS

Associate Professor

University of Michigan

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