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CompletedNCT00397735Updated Oct 10, 2018

N-acetylcysteine in Intra-amniotic Infection/Inflammation

A Phase 1/2 interventional study of amniocentesis and N-acetylcysteine or placebo in Labor, Premature, Preterm Premature Rupture of the Membranes and Infection, sponsored by Ohio State University. Completed at 2 sites in United States. Open to female participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2018-10-10.

Sponsored by Ohio State University · Phase 1/2, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 1/2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
68
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

The aim of the study is to determine if N-acetylcysteine (a potent free radical scavenger) prevents the occurrence of adverse neonatal outcomes in preterm deliveries complicated by infection associated with preterm labor or preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM). The working hypothesis is that in pregnancies complicated by intra-amniotic infection or inflammation, N-acetylcysteine protects the fetus by preventing the development, or decreasing the intensity and/or progression of the fetal inflammatory syndrome.

Read the detailed description

Despite extensive research, the etiology of most preterm births remains unknown. There are significant fetal consequences associated with preterm birth, which include necrotizing enterocolitis, fetal respiratory distress and intra-ventricular hemorrhage. Perinatal mortality is about 44%, 11% and 5% when deliveries occur between 25-28 weeks, 29-32 weeks and 33-34 weeks, respectively. While for many years, it was assumed that the cause of the high morbidity associated with prematurity was the birth of a neonate with a restricted adaptive capacity, it has also been suggested that part of the high perinatal morbidity was the consequence of adverse processes affecting the fetus in utero, rather than of prematurity per se. Intra-amniotic inflammation present in utero early in gestation may trigger the cascade of events leading to preterm birth (i.e. rupture of membranes, cervical ripening, uterine contractions) and provide an intrauterine milieu which is unfavorable or even harmful to the fetus.

Most living organisms have developed well-integrated, antioxidant defenses to scavenge free radicals and control their intracellular concentration. A loss of balance between free radicals and antioxidants (the redox balance) is one mechanism of cell injury in diseases associated with inflammation. N-acetylcysteine is an approved anti-oxidant medication drug used during pregnancy for treatment of mothers with acetaminophen (Tylenol) toxicity. N-acetylcysteine has been safely administered during pregnancy in over 100 women who overdosed with Tylenol and to preterm and healthy term newborns for other purposes. It is a goal of our trial to prevent free radical formation by administering N-acetylcysteine and to further study whether the outcome of preterm deliveries will improve compared to a control group which will not receive placebo infusion

02

Conditions studied

  • Labor, Premature
  • Preterm Premature Rupture of the Membranes
  • Infection
  • Inflammation
  • Chorioamnionitis

Keywords

  • pregnancy
  • chorioamnionitis
  • preterm labor
  • preterm premature rupture of the membranes
  • Intra-amniotic infection
  • Intra-amniotic inflammation
03

In context

Obstetric Labor, Premature

242 studies on the registry are indexed under Obstetric Labor, Premature; 36 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 68 is below the median of 111 across 148 interventional studies indexed under Obstetric Labor, Premature.

Browse Obstetric Labor, Premature studies →

Lead sponsor

Ohio State University is the lead sponsor of 663 studies on the registry; 148 are open to participants now.

Of its 67 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 49 (73%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Women admitted onto the Labor and Birth Ward or Maternal Special Care Units of the Yale New Haven Hospital who have a clinically indicated amniocentesis which demonstrates presence of intra-amniotic infection and/or inflammation.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients that require immediate intervention or close medical supervision (cardiac and renal disease, congestive heart failure, history of asthma), maternal infection (, or C), cord prolapse, known fetal malformation, allergic reactions to N-acetylcysteine, preeclampsia
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(2)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.

Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.

Hepatitis B tests

Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.

Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1 / Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
68 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    N-Acetylcysteine

    The subjects enrolled in our research protocol must have evidence of infection/inflammation at amniocentesis in order to receive N-acetylcysteine. Women with positive amniocentesis results The dose of N-acetylcysteine is the one recommended to be used in humans to prevent acetaminophen toxicity: 150 mg/kg loading dose (60 min), followed by 50mg/kg IV continuous infusion rate for 4 hours, and followed by 100 mg/kg IV continuous infusion rate for the following 16 hours. Acetadote (Cumberland Pharmaceuticals) is the only FDA-approved intravenous N-acetylcysteine formulation and will be used in our study.

    Procedure: amniocentesis · Drug: N-acetylcysteine or placebo

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo

    The subjects enrolled in our research protocol must have infection/inflammation in order to be randomized to receive N-acetylcysteine or placebo. Placebo-assigned patients will receive sodium chloride solution without N-acetylcysteine

    Procedure: amniocentesis · Drug: N-acetylcysteine or placebo

Interventions

  • Procedureamniocentesis

    Amniotic fluid will be retrieved for routine amniocentesis to rule-out or confirm intra-amniotic infection and /or inflammation. The amniocentesis procedure will be clinically indicated and the patient will undergo the procedure independent of our study.

    Also known as: transabdominal amniocentesis

  • DrugN-acetylcysteine or placebo

    Only women with amniocentesis results consistent with infection/inflammation will be randomized

    Also known as: Mucomyst, Acetadote

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. composite of mortality and severe short term neonatal morbidities (IVH, NEC, BPD, ROP, sepsis, newborn death)

    IVH, NEC, BPD, ROP, Sepsis, death

    Time frame: up to 1 year

Secondary outcomes

  1. neonatal sepsis

    early and late neonatal sepsis

    Time frame: up to 30 days

  2. maternal and umbilical cord plasma antioxidant capacity

    plasma antioxidant capacity

    Time frame: up to 1 day

  3. maternal and umbilical cord plasma N-acetylcysteine levels

    N-acetylcysteine levels

    Time frame: up to 1 day

  4. umbilical cord levels of inflammatory cytokine concentrations

    pannel of pro and anti inflammatory cytokines

    Time frame: up to 1 day

  5. funisitis grades

    histology

    Time frame: up to 1 day

  6. maternal and umbilical cord blood glutathione concentration

    glutathione levels

    Time frame: up to 1 day

07

Study locations

2 sites
  • Yale New Haven Hospital
    New Haven, Connecticut 06510, United States
  • The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital
    Columbus, Ohio 43215, United States
08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
Not marked actual or estimatedDates not marked actual or estimated

The record gives a start of Oct 2006, a primary completion of Oct 2012 and a completion of Aug 2018. It does not say whether these dates are actual or estimated.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Nov 7, 2006
First posted
Nov 9, 2006
Start
Oct 1, 2006
Primary completionActual
Oct 29, 2012
CompletionActual
Aug 1, 2018
Last update
Oct 10, 2018
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Oct 10, 2018, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00397735
Responsible party
Catalin S Buhimschi, MD (Professor of Obsterics and Gynecology; Frederick Zuspan Endowed Chair, Ohio State University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Nov 9, 2006
Start date
Oct 1, 2006
Primary completion
Oct 29, 2012
Completion
Aug 1, 2018
Last update
Oct 10, 2018

Study contacts

Catalin S Buhimschi, MD, MBA
principal investigator · Ohio State University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Oct 2018. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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