Contemporary clinical trials
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Contemp Clin Trials · Mar 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialA randomized controlled trial on the benefits and respiratory adverse effects of morphine for refractory dyspnea in patients with COPD: Protocol of the MORDYC study.
Dyspnea is one of the most reported symptoms of patients with advanced Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and is often undertreated. Morphine has proven to be an effective treatment for dyspnea and is recommended in clinical practice guidelines, but questions concerning benefits and respiratory adverse effects remain. This study primarily evaluates the impact of oral sustained release morphine (morphine SR) on health-related quality of life and respiratory adverse effects in patients with COPD. ⋯ The intervention and control group will be compared using uni- and multivariate regression analysis and logistic regression analysis. Finally, an economic evaluation will be performed from a societal and healthcare perspective. The current manuscript describes the rationale and methods of this study and provides an outline of the possible strengths, weaknesses and clinical consequences.
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Contemp Clin Trials · Mar 2016
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyLessons learned from a clinical trial: Design, rationale, and insights from The Cardiovascular Improvements with Minute Ventilation-targeted Adaptive Sero-Ventilation (ASV) Therapy in Heart Failure (CAT-HF) Study.
The CAT-HF Study was designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of minute ventilation-targeted adaptive servo-ventilation (MV-ASV) during sleep in addition to optimized medical therapy (active therapy) versus optimized medical therapy alone (usual care) at 6 months, initiated in patients after hospitalization for acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). This paper outlines the rationale, design and information learned at the time of study discontinuation. ⋯ The CAT-HF study was designed to assess the efficacy and safety of MV ASV treatment in patients after hospitalization for ADHF, but was stopped early due to safety concerns in HF patients with (LVEF)≤45% and predominant central sleep apnea.
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Contemp Clin Trials · Mar 2016
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyLung VITAL: Rationale, design, and baseline characteristics of an ancillary study evaluating the effects of vitamin D and/or marine omega-3 fatty acid supplements on acute exacerbations of chronic respiratory disease, asthma control, pneumonia and lung function in adults.
Laboratory and observational research studies suggest that vitamin D and marine omega-3 fatty acids may reduce risk for pneumonia, acute exacerbations of respiratory diseases including chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) or asthma, and decline of lung function, but prevention trials with adequate dosing, adequate power, and adequate time to follow-up are lacking. The ongoing Lung VITAL study is taking advantage of a large clinical trial-the VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL)--to conduct the first major evaluation of the influences of vitamin D and marine omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on pneumonia risk, respiratory exacerbation episodes, asthma control and lung function in adults. VITAL is a 5-year U. ⋯ S. centers, lung function is measured before and two years after randomization. Yearly follow-up questionnaires assess incident pneumonia in the entire randomized population, and exacerbations of respiratory disease, asthma control and dyspnea in a subpopulation of 4314 randomized participants enriched, as shown in presentation of baseline characteristics, for respiratory disease, respiratory symptoms, and history of cigarette smoking. Self-reported pneumonia hospitalization will be confirmed by medical record review, and exacerbations will be confirmed by Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services data review.
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Contemp Clin Trials · Mar 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialDesign and methods for the Better Resiliency Among Veterans and non-Veterans with Omega-3's (BRAVO) study: A double blind, placebo-controlled trial of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation among adult individuals at risk of suicide.
Suicide remains the 10th leading cause of death among adults in the United States (U. S.). Annually, approximately 30 per 100,000 U. ⋯ Sub-analyses will evaluate efficacy in reducing depressive symptoms, alcohol, and nicotine use. A sub-study utilizes functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to evaluate the neuropsychological and neurophysiological effects of n-3 HUFAs. We also outline selection of appropriate proxy outcome measures for detecting response to treatment and collection of ancillary data, such as diet and substance use, that are critical for interpretation of results.
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Contemp Clin Trials · Mar 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialBaseline characteristics of participants in the VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL).
Evidence for a role of supplemental vitamin D and marine omega-3 fatty acids in preventing cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains inconclusive and insufficient to inform nutritional recommendations for primary prevention. The VITamin D and Omega-A 3 TriaL (VITAL) is an ongoing nationwide, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial designed to fill this knowledge gap. The study population consists of 25,874 U. ⋯ The randomization was successful, as evidenced by similar distributions of baseline demographic, health, and behavioral characteristics across treatment groups. The similar distribution of known potential confounders across treatment groups strongly suggests that unmeasured or unknown potential confounders are also equally distributed. VITAL is expected to provide important information on the benefit-risk balance of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acid supplementation when taken for the primary prevention of cancer and CVD.