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Crocombe D, Ahmed N, Balakrishnan I, Bordea E, Chau M, China L, Corless L, Danquah V, Dehbi HM, Dillon JF, Forrest EH, Freemantle N, Gear DP, Hollywood C, Hunter R, Jeyapalan T, Kallis Y, McPherson S, Munteanu I, Portal J, Richardson P, Ryder SD, Virk A, Wright G, O'Brien A. ASEPTIC: primary antibiotic prophylaxis using co-trimoxazole to prevent SpontanEous bacterial PeritoniTIs in Cirrhosis-study protocol for an interventional randomised controlled trial. Trials 2022; 23:812. [PMID: 36167573 PMCID: PMC9513307 DOI: 10.1186/s13063-022-06727-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Bacterial infection is a major cause of mortality in patients with cirrhosis. Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a serious and common infection in patients with cirrhosis and ascites. Secondary prophylactic antibiotic therapy has been shown to improve outcomes after an episode of SBP but primary prophylaxis to prevent the first episode of SBP remains contentious. The aim of this trial is to assess whether primary antibiotic prophylaxis with co-trimoxazole improves overall survival compared to placebo in adults with cirrhosis and ascites. METHODS The ASEPTIC trial is a multicentre, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, randomised controlled trial (RCT) in England, Scotland, and Wales. Patients aged 18 years and older with cirrhosis and ascites requiring diuretic treatment or paracentesis, and no current or previous episodes of SBP, are eligible, subject to exclusion criteria. The trial aims to recruit 432 patients from at least 30 sites. Patients will be randomised in a 1:1 ratio to receive either oral co-trimoxazole 960 mg or an identical placebo once daily for 18 months, with 6 monthly follow-up visits thereafter (with a maximum possible follow-up period of 48 months, and a minimum of 18 months). The primary outcome is overall survival. Secondary outcomes include the time to the first incidence of SBP, hospital admission rates, incidence of other infections (including Clostridium difficile) and antimicrobial resistance, patients' health-related quality of life, health and social care resource use, incidence of cirrhosis-related decompensation events, liver transplantation, and treatment-related serious adverse events. DISCUSSION This trial will investigate the efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of co-trimoxazole for patients with liver cirrhosis and ascites to determine whether this strategy improves clinical outcomes. Given there are no treatments that improve survival in decompensated cirrhosis outside of liver transplant, if the trial has a positive outcome, we anticipate widespread adoption of primary antibiotic prophylaxis. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT043955365 . Registered on 18 April 2020. Research ethical approval was granted by the Research Ethics Committee (South Central - Oxford B; REC 19/SC/0311) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic Crocombe
- UCL Institute of Liver and Digestive Health, Sheila Sherlock Liver Centre, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Norin Ahmed
- University College London Comprehensive Clinical Trials Unit, London, UK
| | - Indran Balakrishnan
- Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, University College London, London, UK
| | - Ekaterina Bordea
- University College London Comprehensive Clinical Trials Unit, London, UK
| | - Marisa Chau
- University College London Comprehensive Clinical Trials Unit, London, UK
| | - Louise China
- UCL Institute of Liver and Digestive Health, Sheila Sherlock Liver Centre, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | | | - Victoria Danquah
- University College London Comprehensive Clinical Trials Unit, London, UK
| | - Hakim-Moulay Dehbi
- University College London Comprehensive Clinical Trials Unit, London, UK
| | - John F Dillon
- Division of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - Ewan H Forrest
- Gastroenterology Unit, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Nick Freemantle
- University College London Comprehensive Clinical Trials Unit, London, UK
| | | | - Coral Hollywood
- Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Gloucester, UK
| | - Rachael Hunter
- University College London Comprehensive Clinical Trials Unit, London, UK
| | - Tasheeka Jeyapalan
- University College London Comprehensive Clinical Trials Unit, London, UK
| | - Yiannis Kallis
- The Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Stuart McPherson
- Liver Unit, The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, The Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Iulia Munteanu
- University College London Comprehensive Clinical Trials Unit, London, UK
| | - Jim Portal
- University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, Bristol, UK
| | - Paul Richardson
- Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK
| | - Stephen D Ryder
- NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Amandeep Virk
- University College London Comprehensive Clinical Trials Unit, London, UK
| | - Gavin Wright
- Mid & South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, Basildon, UK
| | - Alastair O'Brien
- UCL Institute of Liver and Digestive Health, Sheila Sherlock Liver Centre, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK. a.o'.,University College London Comprehensive Clinical Trials Unit, London, UK. a.o'.,University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK. a.o'
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