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Fosfomycin Versus Standard of Care in Children With Antibiotic-resistant Urinary Tract Infections

Phase 3
Recruiting
Conditions
Urinary Tract Infections
Interventions
Drug: Standard of care antibiotics
Registration Number
NCT05709028
Lead Sponsor
University of Sydney
Brief Summary

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections in children. Up to 50% of UTI's are caused by multi-drug resistant ESBL-producing gram negative bacteria that do not respond to treatment with oral penicillin's or cephalosporins. Instead, children often require hospital admission to receive broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics when they may otherwise be safely managed at home; resulting in prolonged hospital stays and an increased use of health resources. Fosfomycin is a broad-spectrum antibiotic discovered in 1969 that remains susceptible to a large number of organisms due to its low international use. Fosfomycin can be prepared as an oral solution with an orange/tangerine flavour and is currently approved for use in females \>12 years old. Despite extensive evidence of its efficacy in adults and safety in neonates, the use of fosfomycin in children remains limited and fosfomycin is not currently licensed for use in children \<12 years old in Australia.

The aim of this clinical trial is to compare the use of oral fosfomycin against standard of care antibiotics for the treatment of antibiotic resistant urinary tract infections in children. The main questions the trial aims to answer are:

1. Is oral fosfomycin non-inferior in efficacy to the current standard of care for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant urinary tract infections in children?

2. Is oral fosfomycin a safe and well-tolerated antibiotic in children?

3. What is the best dosing regimen of oral fosfomycin for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant UTIs in children?

Detailed Description

This is a Phase 3, non-inferior, pragmatic, multi-centre, adaptive, randomised clinical trial.

Up to 300 participants aged ≥6 months to \<18 years of age with a clinical and microbiological diagnosis of an antibiotic-resistant urinary tract infection will be recruited for the trial. Children will be randomised 1:1 to receive either oral fosfomycin (the intervention) or standard of care. The duration of antibiotic treatment will be dependent on whether the child's UTI is complicated or uncomplicated. Children with at least two of the following signs and symptoms will meet criteria of having a complicated UTI: fever, nausea or vomiting, other signs or symptoms of systemic illness: including chilld or rigors, significant fatigue, irritability or malaise above baseline, flank or back pain, ultrasound findings suggestive of an upper renal tract infection, a known history of structural and/or mechanical urological abnormalities, patients with a stent in situ or known renal tract calculi, patients who are immunocompromised. Children who do not meet the criteria for a 'complicated' UTI will meet criteria for an 'uncomplicated' UTI.

For children allocated to the standard of care (S)C) arm: the choice of antibiotic will be as per physician preference based on institutional prescribing practices, local antibiograms and medication availability. Children with an uncomplicated UTI will be prescribed a 3-day course of SOC antibiotics. Then, on Day 3 either; (a) Stop if the child has clinically improved, or (b) Give an additional 48 hours of SOC antibiotics if the child has ongoing fever or clinical symptoms consistent with an uncomplicated UTI, or (c) Give an additional 7 days of SOC antibiotics (to make up a total 10-day duration) if the child has evidence of a complicated UTI. Children with a complicated UTI diagnosis at the time of enrolment will be administered a total 10-day course of SOC antibiotics.

For children allocated to the intervention arm: Children with an uncomplicated UTI will be administered a single dose of oral fosfomycin trometamol. Then, on Day 2 either; (a) Stop if the child has clinically improved, or (b) Give an additional dose of oral fosfomycin trometamol if the child has ongoing fever or clinical symptoms consistent with an uncomplicated UTI, or (c) Give an additional 8 days of oral fosfomycin trometamol with repeat doses every 48 hours (to make up a total 10-day treatment duration) if the child has evidence of a complicated UTI. Children with a complicated UTI diagnosis at the time of enrolment will be administered a total 10-day course of oral fosfomycin trometamol with repeat doses administered every 48 hours.

Children enrolled into the oral fosfomycin group as well as children enrolled in the standard of care group who receive an oral antibiotic will be asked to complete a tolerability questionnaire following the first dose of the oral antibiotic. The child's parent and a member of their clinical team will also complete this questionnaire. All examinations, investigations and clinical interventions during the study period will be tailored to the child's needs as per routine standard of care. Clinical observations and results will be recorded on a case report form and entered into a secure electronic database. At Day 3, 10 and 28 after enrolment, parents will receive an SMS questionnaire to monitor their ongoing health, capture adverse events and/or capture their medication adherence.

50 children aged ≥6 months to \<12 who have been randomised to the fosfomycin arm will be co-enrolled in a pharmacokinetic sub-study. For these children, two blood samples will be taken within 24 hours after the first dose of fosfomycin to determine the plasma fosfomycin concentrations. Co-enrolment into the pharmacokinetic sub-study is optional and will only be performed at a subset of study sites.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
300
Inclusion Criteria

Children aged ≥6 months to <18 years with:

  1. Symptoms consistent with a clinical diagnosis of a UTI (as per the treating clinician); AND
  2. Microbiological confirmation: Defined as a urine culture revealing a predominant growth of a bacterial uropathogen [≥10^6 CFU/L, or ≥10^3 CFU/mL] together with ≥10x10^6 white blood cells on microscopy; AND
  3. The bacterial uropathogen is a non-pseudomonal gram-negative organism likely to cause urinary tract infections in children; being one of either: Escherichia coli, Proteus spp., Klebsiella spp., Enterobacter spp., Serratia spp., or Citrobacter spp., AND
  4. The uropathogen has in vitro evidence of resistance to all oral penicillins and oral first- and second- generation cephalosporins (or is presumed to be resistant based on the pattern of phenotypic testing); AND
  5. The patient has not yet received >48 hours of antibiotics with in vitro activity against the urinary pathogen prior to enrolment.
Exclusion Criteria
  1. Evidence of bacteraemia due to the same uropathogen within the same clinical illness; OR
  2. Evidence of infection at a secondary site (such as meningitis or endocarditis); OR
  3. Children with features suggestive of sepsis (defined as requiring inotropic support, or >20ml/kg fluid bolus); OR
  4. Children who are unable to tolerate or absorb oral antibiotics; OR
  5. Children with severe renal unsifficiency (creatinine clearance <10ml/minute/1.73m^2); OR
  6. Known allergy to fosfomycin; OR
  7. A decision by the primary treating physician that enrolment in the trial is not in the child's best interest.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Standard of Care antibioticsStandard of care antibiotics* Children who have been diagnosed with an uncomplicated UTI will be administered a 3-day course of standard of care (SOC) antibiotics with known efficacy against the urinary pathogen. Then, on Day 3 either; 1. Stop of the child has clinically improved, or 2. Give an additional 48 hours of SOC antibiotics if the child has ongoing fever or clinical symptoms consistent with an uncomplicated UTI, or 3. Give an additional 7 days of SOC antibiotics (to make up a total 10-day duration) if the child has evidence of a complicated UTI. * Children who have been diagnosed with a complicated UTI will be administered a total 10-day course of SOC antibiotics with known efficacy against the urinary pathogen.
Oral fosfomycinFosfomycin* Children who have been diagnosed with an uncomplicated UTI will be administered a single dose of oral fosfomycin trometamol. Then, on Day 2 either; 1. Stop if the child has clinically improved, or 2. Give a second dose of oral fosfomycin trometamol if the child has ongoing fever or clinical symptoms consistent with an uncomplicated UTI, or 3. Give an additional 8 days of oral fosfomycin trometamol with repeat doses every 48 hours (to make up a total 10-day treatment duration) if the child has evidence of a complicated UTI. * Children who have been diagnosed with a complicated UTI will be administered repeat doses of oral fosfomycin trometamol every 48 hours until the child has received a total 10-day course of antibiotics with presumed or proven efficacy against the urinary pathogen.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Treatment failure within 28 days after enrolment between patients treated with standard of care versus oral fosfomycin.28 days

Treatment failure is defined as:

1. Persistent or recurrent (clinical and microbiologically-confirmed) diagnosis of a UTI between 7 and 28 days after enrolment, with the same uropathogen; or

2. Decision to switch to an alternative antibiotic due to perceived treatment failure; or

3. Isolation of the same pathogenic organism from a new sterile site between 7 and 28 days after enrolment;

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Evidence of primary treatment failure, defined as: a) Persistent fever (>38.0C) attributable to UTI at 72h after enrolment; and/or b) Failure to return to baseline health at 28 days after enrolment28 days
Assessment of the tolerability of oral antibiotic therapy in children, using a 5-point facial hedonic scale immediately after the first oral doseDay 1

To assess the tolerability of oral fosfomycin, children ≥3 years will be asked immediately after administration of their first dose of fosfomycin or alternative oral antibiotic (if prescribed within SOC), to record how much he or she liked the sample by putting a mark on a 5-point facial hedonic scale (ranging from 1, dislike very much; to 5, liked very much); and whether they would be happy to take the medication again if required. The parent and treating nurse or doctor will also be asked independently to give a score, using separate 5-point hedonic scales, based on their perception of how the child reacted to the taste of oral fosfomycin or alternative oral antibiotic.

Occurrence of treatment-related adverse events to Day 2828 days
Occurrence of serious adverse events attributable to UTI to Day 2828 days
Evaluation of the cost of hospital resources in the first 28 days of enrolment in children receiving standard of care versus oral fosfomycin; including: a) Cost of prescribed drugs b) Cost of hospital services (inpatient and outpatient)28 days

Trial Locations

Locations (5)

Sydney Childrens Hospital

🇦🇺

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

The Children's Hospital at Westmead

🇦🇺

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Royal Childrens Hospital

🇦🇺

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Queensland Children's Hospital

🇦🇺

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Perth Children's Hospital

🇦🇺

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

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