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Evaluating the Use of Oseltamivir for the Treatment of Influenza in Adults

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Influenza, Human
Interventions
Drug: Placebo
Registration Number
NCT01314911
Lead Sponsor
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Brief Summary

People who are infected with the influenza virus may develop respiratory illnesses, such as pneumonia, or other life-threatening complications. Currently, there are four antiviral medications that are used to treat influenza. This study will examine one of these medications, oseltamivir, to examine how it affects the shedding of influenza virus in infected people.

Detailed Description

Seasonal influenza is responsible for excess hospitalizations and, despite effective antivirals, causes significant morbidity and mortality (about 24,000 deaths each year in the United States alone). The influenza virus that emerged in 2009 (A/California/07/2009 H1N1) caused fewer deaths (12,000 flu-related deaths in the U.S.) but in contrast to seasonal flu, nearly 90% of the deaths with the 2009 H1N1 occurred among people younger than 65 years of age. Although there are four currently licensed anti-influenza medications (amantadine and rimantadine, oseltamivir, and zanamivir), previous studies have not demonstrated conclusively to what extent these medications affect influenza viral shedding. This study will evaluate whether oseltamivir modifies the viral shedding during the treatment of uncomplicated influenza in an adult population and also assess methods to detect viral replication in the upper respiratory tract.

Subjects who presented with an influenza-like illness without any risk factors for severe disease were screened for the study. Those with a confirmatory test for influenza (rapid antigen or polymerase chain reaction \[PCR\]) were randomized in a 1:1 manner to receive a blinded study treatment consisting of either the oseltamivir or placebo for 5 days. Clinical, virologic, and laboratory assessments on Days 1, 3, 7, and 28 were used for both safety and efficacy analysis.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
716
Inclusion Criteria
  • Written informed consent prior to initiation of any study procedures

  • History of an influenza-like illness defined as:

    1. One or more respiratory symptom (cough, sore throat, or nasal symptoms)
  • Onset of illness no more than 48 hours before screening, defined as when the participant experienced at least one respiratory symptom

  • Willing to have samples stored

  • Positive test for influenza (either rapid antigen or polymerase chain reaction [PCR]); randomization could proceed in cases of discrepant results (one positive and one negative)

Exclusion Criteria
  • Hospitalization at the time of screening

  • Presence of a medical condition(s) that had been associated with increased risk of complications from influenza

    1. Aged 65 years of age or older
    2. Asthma
    3. Neurological and neuro-developmental conditions (including disorders of the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerve, and muscle, such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy [seizure disorders], stroke, moderate to severe developmental delay, muscular dystrophy, or spinal cord injury)
    4. Chronic lung disease (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] or cystic fibrosis)
    5. Heart disease (such as congenital heart disease, congestive heart failure, or coronary artery disease)
    6. Blood disorders
    7. Endocrine disorders (such as diabetes mellitus)
    8. Kidney disorders
    9. Liver disorders
    10. Metabolic disorders (such as inherited metabolic disorders or mitochondrial disorders)
    11. Weakened immune system due to disease or medication (such as people with HIV/AIDS or cancer, or use of chronic steroids or other medications causing immune suppression)
    12. Pregnant or 4 weeks postpartum
    13. Body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 40
  • Breastfeeding

  • Inability to take oral medication or a history of gastrointestinal malabsorption that would preclude the use of oral medication

  • Received more than one dose of any antiviral influenza medication since onset of influenza symptoms

  • Known end stage kidney dysfunction (e.g., creatinine clearance less than 30 mL/min)

  • Known hypersensitivity to oseltamivir, peramivir, or zanamivir

  • Received live attenuated influenza virus vaccine within 3 weeks prior to study entry

  • Use of any investigational drug within 30 days or 5 half-lives (whichever was longer) prior to study entry

  • Participated in other research protocols that required more than 100mL of blood to be drawn in a 4-week period that overlapped with this study.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
PlaceboPlacebo-
OseltamivirOseltamivir-
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Percentage of Participants With Virus Detectable by Quantitative PCR (qPCR) in Nasopharyngeal (NP) Swabs at Day 3 -- Team Collected SamplesAt Day 3

The central laboratory performed a qualitative PCR test on the NP sample from Day 0 team collected swap in order to confirm influenza infection and to determine the influenza type and subtype. For participants with a positive influenza test result at Day 0 from this qualitative PCR testing, the laboratory then performed qPCR testing of subsequent samples to quantify viral shedding.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Number of Participants by Virus Detection Status--Team Collected SamplesAt Day 0, 3 and 7

Number of participants who had undetectable values (less than the limit of detection \[LOD\]), who had values between the LOD and the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ), and who had values ≥LLOQ

Time to Resolution of All Symptoms AND FeverFrom treatment initiation to Day 28

The assessed symptoms were cough, nasal obstruction (stuffy nose), sore throat, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, feverishness, rhinorrhea, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. Fever was considered present based on the diary cards if a subject reported a maximal temperature ≥38.0°C (for the period since the diary card was previously completed) or reported having taken an antipyretic drug (also for the period since the diary card was previously completed). Time to resolution of all clinical symptoms and fever is defined as the time from Day 0 to the first of two successive measurements at which all clinical symptoms are grade 0 (absent) or 1(mild) and no fever \>=38.0 C or antipyretic drug is reported. For participants who did not have two successive records meeting this criterion, follow-up was censored for analysis purposes at the time of the last but one diary card record with symptoms and fever evaluated.

qPCR Viral Shedding -- Team Collected SamplesAt Day 0, 3 and 7

Median, 25% and 75% percentile of the value of viral shedding (Results \<LOD were imputed as the LOD value, and Results \>= LOD, \<LLOQ were imputed as the LLOQ value.)

Number Of Participants Shedding Virus -- Team Collected SamplesAt day 3 and 7.

Number of participants with undetectable viral load at both Day 3 and Day 7; detectable at Day 3 and undetectable at Day 7; detectable at Day 7 (irrespective of whether or not detectable at Day 3).

Percentage of Participants Who Develop Bronchitis, Pneumonia, or Other Complications Requiring An Antibiotic Use, After Day 0.From treatment initiation to Day 28

Participants were assessed for the signs/symptoms suggestive of one of the following complications: Sinusitis, Otitis Media ,Bronchitis / Bronchiolitis, Pneumonia and antibiotic use for reason other than above.

Time to Return of Physical Function to Pre-illness LevelFrom treatment initiation to Day 28

Time to return of physical function to pre-illness level was defined as the time from Day 0 to the first of two successive measurements at which the physical function score equals or is better than the pre-illness score (obtained by recall at enrollment). For subjects who did not have two successive records meeting this criterion, follow-up was censored for analysis purposes at the time of the last but one diary card record with physical function evaluated.

28-day MortalityFrom treatment initiation to Day 28

Number of deaths

Time to Alleviation of Influenza Clinical SymptomsFrom treatment initiation to Day 28

The assessed symptoms were cough, nasal obstruction (stuffy nose), sore throat, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, feverishness, rhinorrhea, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. Duration of clinical symptoms was defined as the time from Day 0 to the first of two successive measurements at which all clinical symptoms were grade 0 (absent) or 1 (mild). A measurement was considered to be the 8AM or 8PM assessment during Days 0 to 7 (so two measurements were obtained per day) and then the daily assessment thereafter. Time was calculated in half-days through to Day 7. If a subject's first two assessments on (baseline assessment and first subsequent diary card assessment) satisfied this criterion, then the duration was set to zero. For participants who did not have two successive records meeting this criterion, follow-up was censored for analysis purposes at the time of the last but one diary card record with symptoms evaluated.

Time to Absence of FeverFrom treatment initiation to Day 28

Fever was considered present based on the diary cards if a subject reported a maximal temperature ≥38.0°C (for the period since the diary card was previously completed) or reported having taken an antipyretic drug (also for the period since the diary card was previously completed). Otherwise, fever was considered not present during the period since the diary card was previously completed, except that the evaluation was considered missing if either the temperature or the antipyretic drug use entry was not completed on the diary card. The duration of fever was defined as the time from Day 0 to the first of two successive assessments (through to Day 7) or to the first assessment (Day 8 onwards) at which no fever was present according to this definition.For participants who did not have two successive records meeting this criterion, follow-up was censored for analysis purposes at the time of the last but one diary card record with fever evaluated.

Time to Return to Pre-influenza FunctionFrom treatment initiation to Day 28

Time to return to pre-influenza function is defined as the time from Day 0 to the first of two successive 'Yes' answers to the global assessment question 'Are you functioning as well as you were before you had the flu'.For participants who did not have two successive records meeting this criterion, follow-up was censored for analysis purposes at the time of the last but one diary card record with question answered.

Number of Participants With Treatment Compliance StatusFrom treatment initiation to Day 5

For each of the 5 days of treatment, participants were asked whether they took all study drug for that day. All participants were assumed to have taken at least some study drug even if they had zero days with all study drug reported as taken. Missing reports for some or all days were imputed as not having taken all study drug for the days concerned.

Percentage of Participants With Virus Detectable by Quantitative PCR (qPCR) in Nasopharyngeal (NP) Swabs --Self Collected SamplesAt Day 3

For participants with a positive influenza test result at Day 0 from qualitative PCR testing on the team collected sample, the laboratory then performed qPCR testing of self-collected samples to quantify viral shedding.

Time to Feeling as Good as Before the Onset of the Influenza IllnessFrom treatment initiation to Day 28

Time to feeling as good as before influenza is defined as time to the first of two successive 'yes' responses to the question of 'feeling as good as you did before you had the flu'.For participants who did not have two successive records meeting this criterion, follow-up was censored for analysis purposes at the time of the last but one diary card record with question answered.

Number of Participants by Virus Detection Status --Self Collected SamplesAt Day 0, Day 0 evening, Day 1, Day 1 evening, Day 2, Day 2 evening and Day 3

Number of participants who had undetectable values (less than the limit of detection \[LOD\]), who had values between the LOD and the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ), and who had values ≥LLOQ. Evening samples on Day 0, 1 and 2 were only required under protocol versions 1.0-4.0 and so were only collected for about 20% of participants.

Percentage of Participants Who Required Hospitalization.From treatment initiation to Day 28

The percentage of participants hospitalized by 28 days was constructed by inverting an exact binomial test of the actual percentages (ignoring loss to follow-up).

qPCR Viral Shedding -- Self Collected SamplesAt Day 0, Day 0 evening, Day 1, Day 1 evening, Day 2, Day 2 evening and Day 3

Median, 25% and 75% percentile of the value of viral shedding (Results \<LOD were imputed as the LOD value, and Results \>= LOD, \<LLOQ were imputed as the LLOQ value.). Evening samples on Day 0, 1 and 2 were only required under protocol versions 1.0-4.0 and so were only collected for about 20% of participants.

Area Under The Curve (AUC) Of Viral Shedding For Self Collected SamplesFrom Day 0 to Day 3

This AUC was calculated using the trapezoidal rule and the units of measurement are (days\*log10 copies/mL) with the fact that it was the level of virus above the LLOQ being considered. The calculation of AUC was undertaken using measurements from Day 0 to Day 3 which were collected under all versions of the protocol (i.e. evening measurements on Days 0, 1 and 2 were not used as these were collected for only about 20% of subjects). Missing values during follow-up were ignored. This is equivalent to imputing a missing value using linear interpolation between the preceding and succeeding available values. For the five subjects with missing values following a last available measurement which was above the LLOQ, the remaining values were assumed to be the mean of preceding value and LLOQ in calculating the AUC.

Trial Locations

Locations (47)

East Valley Family Physicians

🇺🇸

Chandler, Arizona, United States

Horizon Research Group of Opelousas, LLC

🇺🇸

Eunice, Louisiana, United States

Michael Seep, MD; Centex Studies

🇺🇸

Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States

Clinical Research Solutions

🇺🇸

Smyrna, Tennessee, United States

Health Concepts

🇺🇸

Rapid City, South Dakota, United States

Siriraj Hospital

🇹🇭

Bangkok, Thailand

University of Iowa

🇺🇸

Iowa City, Iowa, United States

Frontier Clinical Research, LLC

🇺🇸

Smithfield, Pennsylvania, United States

Westlake Medical Research

🇺🇸

Thousand Oaks, California, United States

Village Health Partners

🇺🇸

Plano, Texas, United States

Khon Kaen University (Department of Medicine)

🇹🇭

Khon Kaen, Thailand

Mount Sinai Medical Center

🇺🇸

New York, New York, United States

NYU School of Medicine

🇺🇸

New York, New York, United States

Great Lakes Medical Research

🇺🇸

Westfield, New York, United States

University of Texas Tech Amarillo

🇺🇸

Amarillo, Texas, United States

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

🇺🇸

Lubbock, Texas, United States

Hospital Municipal "Prof. Dr. Bernardo A. Houssay"

🇦🇷

Buenos Aires, Argentina

University of Southern California

🇺🇸

Los Angeles, California, United States

University of California, San Diego

🇺🇸

San Diego, California, United States

Advanced Rx Clinical Research Group

🇺🇸

Westminster, California, United States

Best Quality Research, Inc.

🇺🇸

Hialeah, Florida, United States

Medical Consulting Center

🇺🇸

Miami, Florida, United States

New Jersey Medical School

🇺🇸

Newark, New Jersey, United States

University of Pennsylvania, Division of Infectious Disease

🇺🇸

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

🇺🇸

Houston, Texas, United States

Centex Studies

🇺🇸

Houston, Texas, United States

University of Rochester Medical Center

🇺🇸

Rochester, New York, United States

WCCT Global, LLC

🇺🇸

Costa Mesa, California, United States

Paragon Rx Clinical

🇺🇸

Garden Grove, California, United States

Suncoast Research Group, LLC

🇺🇸

Miami, Florida, United States

DMI Research, Inc.

🇺🇸

Pinellas Park, Florida, United States

Columbus Regional Research Institute

🇺🇸

Columbus, Georgia, United States

Research Integrity, LLC

🇺🇸

Owensboro, Kentucky, United States

Brigham and Women's Hospital

🇺🇸

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Skyline Medical Center

🇺🇸

Elkhorn, Nebraska, United States

Prairie Fields Family Medicine

🇺🇸

Fremont, Nebraska, United States

Bandera Family Health Care

🇺🇸

San Antonio, Texas, United States

Hospital General de Agudos J. M. Ramos Mejía

🇦🇷

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Hospital Público Descentralizado Dr. Guillermo Rawson

🇦🇷

Cordoba, Argentina

The Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute

🇹🇭

Mueang Nonthaburi, Nonthaburi, Thailand

The HIV Netherlands Australia Thailand Research Collaboration (HIV-NAT)

🇹🇭

Bangkok, Thailand

University of Colorado

🇺🇸

Aurora, Colorado, United States

University of Florida

🇺🇸

Gainesville, Florida, United States

National Institutes of Health, Laboratory of Immunoregulation

🇺🇸

Bethesda, Maryland, United States

Southwest Family Physicians

🇺🇸

Omaha, Nebraska, United States

Clinical Research Advantage, Inc.

🇺🇸

Omaha, Nebraska, United States

Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center

🇺🇸

Richmond, Virginia, United States

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