Intravenous Immunoglobulin and Prednisolone to Women With Unexplained Recurrent Pregnancy Loss After Assisted Reproductive Technology Treatment: a Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial
试验速览
- 阶段
- 2 期
- 状态
- 已完成
- 入组人数
- 80
- 试验地点
- 1
- 主要终点
- A normal live fetus at nuchal scan in PP population
研究概览
简要总结
Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) affects around 5 % of women in reproductive age. The underlying cause of RPL is most often unknown, probably multifactorial, and no treatment with documented effect on chance of live birth exists. In unexplained cases of RPL, primarily the immune system is hypothesized to play a pivotal, causative role, since autoantibodies and specific human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles as well as unbalanced distribution of leucocyte subsets, especially natural killer (NK) cells and T-helper (Th) cells, occurs more frequently in patients with unexplained RPL. For that reason, many treatment regimens used in autoimmune diseases have been tested on RPL patients, as for example prednisolone and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg).
IVIg (Privigen) consist of a broad spectrum of structurally and functionally intact IgG antibodies. The mechanism of action is not fully elucidated, but certainly IVIg do help opsonise and neutralize foreign cells and pathogens. Prednisolone support this anti-inflammatory action by suppressing migration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes, and reducing the volume and activity of the immune system and the capillary permeability.
A retrospective, observational pilot study suggested that a combination of prednisone and IVIg in first trimester improves the chance of a live birth in women with RPL after assisted reproductive technologies (ART) (Nyborg et al., 2014).
A randomized controlled study is necessary for determining if this immunomodulatory treatment definitely is effective in patients with unexplained RPL after ART (defined as IVF or ICSI ad FER). Potentially, this study will be able to establish evidence for an effective treatment to women with unexplained RPL after ART, who otherwise have a poor prognosis.
详细描述
In a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial, this study aims to investigate whether treatment with prednisolone and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) before and in early pregnancy improves the chance of a live birth in women undergoing treatment with artificial reproductive technologies (ART) (defined as IVF or ICSI or FER treatment) after previous recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) after ART.
If an improved live birth rate can be confirmed, the treatment will be the first documented treatment supplement for women with RPL undergoing ART treatment. A treatment with such effect is highly desirable. If the treatment increases the birth rate, it will potentially also improve quality of life and reduce detrimental anxiety and stress symptoms associated with RPL and ART treatment, since the burden (including the number of treatments and the number of losses) will be reduced.
Potential study participants will be identified among patients who are referred to The Center for Recurrent Pregnancy Loss of Western Denmark (in the following called The RPL Center), located at Aalborg University Hospital (AaUH) Denmark.
At the first appointment at The RPL Center, a list of standard health information important for the RPL examination will be collected together with the RPL Center's standard blood sample.
Treatment: The participants will be randomly allocated 1:1 to active immunomodulatory treatment versus placebo treatment (see Arms and Interventions). Study treatment starts on the patient's first day of her menstrual cycle in which her fertility clinic plan to transfer an embryo/blastocyst(s) and continue until a negative pregnancy test, the time of biochemical pregnancy loss/miscarriage or pregnancy week 8+0, whichever comes first.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Treatment
- 盲法
- Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
盲法说明
None of the personnel with patient contact will have knowledge to the patient's allocation to active treatment or placebo group. Medicine will be handled at another location and sent to the RPL center masked with universal labels with only name of the patient and study ID number.
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 18 Years 至 41 Years（Adult）
- 性别
- Female
- 接受健康志愿者
- 否
入选标准
- •Women with ≥ 2 consecutive pregnancy losses (miscarriages or biochemical pregnancies) ≤ completed gestational week 10 after ART with the present partner or with an egg/semen donor*
- •The gestational week of the non-induced pregnancy losses will be based on the date of clinical signs of miscarriage or the fetus' crown-rump-length of a missed abortion measured on the ultrasonic scan detecting the pregnancy loss. If the participant plan to use egg donation in the study cycle, the previous two pregnancy losses must also have happened with the use of egg donation; however, it is not required to use the same egg donor in all three embryo transfers.
排除标准
- •Significant uterine malformation(s)
- •Known parental balanced chromosomal translocations
- •≥2 previous pregnancies with fetuses with known abnormal karyotype
- •Patients with IgA deficiency, IgA-autoantibodies or hyperprolinaemia
- •Treatment with medication interacting with prednisolone
- •CYP3A4-inhibitors (fx erythromycin, itraconazole, ritonavir, lopinavir), CYP3A4-inductors (fx phenobarbital, phenytoin og rifampicin), loop diuretics, thiazides, amphotericin B, beta2-agonists, antidiabetics, interleukin-2, somatotropins, anticholinergics and regular treatment with NSAIDs.
- •Patients with moderate/severe hypertension, diabetes mellitus, heart insufficiency, severe mental disorders, Cushing syndrome, myasthenia gravis, ocular herpes simplex, pheochromocytoma, systemic sclerosis, and moderate/severe renal dysfunction.
- •Patients with a clinical or biochemical profile indicating need for heparin or levothyroxine treatment during pregnancy
- •Previous treatment with IVIg
- •Allergy to prednisolone and/or IVIg
- •AMH <4 pmol/L. If transfer of donor egg is planned for her IVF cycle, the AMH value will not be an exclusion criterion.
研究组 & 干预措施
Active treatment group
Intravenous immunoglobulin(IVIg) and prednisolone. IVIG is administered at the time of embryo/blastocyst transfer (ET) (5 days before to 2 days after ET) and if the participant becomes pregnant, the infusion (same dose) is repeated in gestational week 5, 6, and 7.
Participants with pre-pregnancy weight ≤70 kg will receive 25 g immunoglobulin (250 ml), participants with weight 70-85 kg will receive 30 g immunoglobulin (300 ml), and participants with weight ≥85 kg will receive 35 g immunoglobulin (350 ml) at each infusion, which will approximate 0.4 g IVIg per kg body weight.
Prednisolone, tablets, 5mg. 1 tablet daily started within first 3 days of menstrual cycle and until ET. On the day of ET, the participant will double her dose to 2 tablets daily until a negative pregnancy test, the time of biochemical loss/miscarriage, or pregnancy week 8+0, whichever comes first. Gradual discontinuation four days with one tablet before completing cessation.
干预措施: Human Intravenous Immunoglobulins, (Privigen (R), CLS Behring) (Drug)
Active treatment group
Intravenous immunoglobulin(IVIg) and prednisolone. IVIG is administered at the time of embryo/blastocyst transfer (ET) (5 days before to 2 days after ET) and if the participant becomes pregnant, the infusion (same dose) is repeated in gestational week 5, 6, and 7.
Participants with pre-pregnancy weight ≤70 kg will receive 25 g immunoglobulin (250 ml), participants with weight 70-85 kg will receive 30 g immunoglobulin (300 ml), and participants with weight ≥85 kg will receive 35 g immunoglobulin (350 ml) at each infusion, which will approximate 0.4 g IVIg per kg body weight.
Prednisolone, tablets, 5mg. 1 tablet daily started within first 3 days of menstrual cycle and until ET. On the day of ET, the participant will double her dose to 2 tablets daily until a negative pregnancy test, the time of biochemical loss/miscarriage, or pregnancy week 8+0, whichever comes first. Gradual discontinuation four days with one tablet before completing cessation.
干预措施: Prednisolone Tablets (Drug)
Passive treatment group
Human albumin infusion and placebo tablets.
Human albumin, 5%, (CLS Behring). Participants with pre-pregnancy weight ≤70 kg will receive 250 ml, participants with weight 70-85 kg will receive 300 ml, and participants with weight ≥85 kg will receive 350 ml at each infusion. Administration is planned at the time of ET (5 days before to 2 days after ET) and if the participant becomes pregnant, the infusion is repeated in the same volume in gestational week 5, 6, and 7.
Placebo tablets: contain 85 mg of lactose monohydrate, 86 mg potato starch, 8.1 mg talc, 3 mg gelatine, and 0.9 mg magnesium stearate. 1 tablet daily started within first 3 days of menstrual cycle and until ET. On the day of ET, the participant will double her dose to 2 tablets daily until a negative pregnancy test, the time of biochemical loss/miscarriage, or pregnancy week 8+0, whichever comes first. Gradual discontinuation four days with one tablet before completing cessation.
干预措施: Human Albumin Solution (Drug)
Passive treatment group
Human albumin infusion and placebo tablets.
Human albumin, 5%, (CLS Behring). Participants with pre-pregnancy weight ≤70 kg will receive 250 ml, participants with weight 70-85 kg will receive 300 ml, and participants with weight ≥85 kg will receive 350 ml at each infusion. Administration is planned at the time of ET (5 days before to 2 days after ET) and if the participant becomes pregnant, the infusion is repeated in the same volume in gestational week 5, 6, and 7.
Placebo tablets: contain 85 mg of lactose monohydrate, 86 mg potato starch, 8.1 mg talc, 3 mg gelatine, and 0.9 mg magnesium stearate. 1 tablet daily started within first 3 days of menstrual cycle and until ET. On the day of ET, the participant will double her dose to 2 tablets daily until a negative pregnancy test, the time of biochemical loss/miscarriage, or pregnancy week 8+0, whichever comes first. Gradual discontinuation four days with one tablet before completing cessation.
干预措施: Placebo tablet (Drug)
结局指标
主要结局
A normal live fetus at nuchal scan in PP population
时间窗: 12 week after embryo transfer
The frequency of participants with minimum one apparently normal fetus alive at the time of nuchal scan (approx. week 12) in patients receiving active and placebo treatment, respectively. Here, the primary analyses will be undertaken as a per-protocol (PP) analysis, including patients who were randomized and received the allocated infusion of study medicine at the time of embryo/blastocyst transfer and had this transfer performed.
Live birth rate in the PP population
时间窗: At delivery
The frequency of participants with a liveborn (sign of life immediately af delivery \>24 weeks) among all participants who fulfill criteria for PP-analysis
A normal live fetus at nuchal scan in ITT population
时间窗: 12 week after embryo transfer
The frequency of participants with minimum one apparently normal fetus alive at the time of nuchal scan (approx. week 12) in patients receiving active and placebo treatment, respectively. Here, the primary analyses will be undertaken as an intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis, including all participants who were allocated to either active or placebo treatment at the start of the ART cycle, even if they did not receive infusion with IVIg or albumin due to cancellation of embryo/blastocyst transfer.
Live birth rate in ITT population
时间窗: At delivery
The frequency of participants with a liveborn (sign of life immediately af delivery \>24 weeks) among all randomized participants
A normal live fetus at nuchal scan among participants who become pregnant after embryo transfer in the PP population
时间窗: 12 week after embryo transfer
The frequency of participants in the PP population with minimum one apparently normal fetus alive at the time of nuchal scan (approx. week 12) in patients receiving active and placebo treatment, respectively, and who become pregnant after embryo transfer.
A normal live fetus at nuchal scan among participants who become pregnant after embryo transfer in the ITT population
时间窗: 12 week after embryo transfer
The frequency of participants in the ITT population with minimum one apparently normal fetus alive at the time of nuchal scan (approx. week 12) in patients receiving active and placebo treatment, respectively, and who become pregnant after embryo transfer.
次要结局
- Maternal adverse reactions(9 months after embryo transfer.)
- Rate of Abnormal karyotype in Miscarried fetuses(Before 24 weeks of gestation)
- Miscarriage rate(Before 24 weeks of gestation)
- Rate of Preterm birth(1 week after delivery)
- Rate of Low birth weight (BW)(1 week after delivery)
- Frequency of a boy(Right after delivery)
- Negative pregnancy test(9 months after embryo transfer.)
- Rate of Congenital deformities(1 week after delivery)
- Rate of Preeclampsia(1 week after delivery)
- Rate of Gestational diabetes(1 week after delivery)
- Rate of abnormal embryonic/fetal karyotype(Before 24 weeks of gestation)
- Rate of Stillbirth rate(9 months after embryo transfer.)
- Rate of gestational hypertension(1 week after delivery)
研究者
Caroline Nørgaard-Pedersen
Dr.med.
Aalborg University Hospital