ClinicalTrials.gg
Active, not recruitingNCT01604317Updated Sep 25, 2026

Evaluation of Use of Plastic Bags to Prevent Neonatal Hypothermia-Part I

An interventional study of Resuscitation-torso plastic bag and Resuscitation-partial-head plastic bag in Hypothermia and Immature Newborn, sponsored by University of Alabama at Birmingham. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in Zambia. Open to participants aged 1 Minute to 1 Hour. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-25.

Sponsored by University of Alabama at Birmingham · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention

Updated Sep 25, 2026Primary completion movedStudy completion movedGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
182
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
1 Minute to 1 Hour
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The overall hypothesis is that plastic bags used in combination with WHO thermoregulation care will reduce the incidence of hypothermia in preterm/low birth weight and full term infants when compared to routine WHO thermoregulation care alone. Part I is for preterm/low birth weight infant with or without plastic head cover used during resuscitation.

Read the detailed description

This study will compare the incidence of hypothermia during the first hour after birth in preterm/low birth weight infants randomized to receive WHO thermoregulation care and a plastic bag (without drying) covering the torso and lower extremities (control group) or WHO thermoregulation care and a plastic bag (without drying) covering the torso, upper and lower extremities, and a portion of their head (intervention group). The axillary temperature of each infant will be taken initially within 15 minutes of birth and later at 1 hour after birth as the infant is removed from the plastic bag. Seizures, hyperthermia, room temperature, and death will be recorded throughout the hospitalization for all infants. With an estimated baseline hypothermia rate of 41% and a 21% absolute risk reduction (51% relative risk reduction), a sample size of 182 will be used to have a power of 80% and a confidence interval of 95%.

02

Conditions studied

  • Hypothermia
  • Immature Newborn

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Keywords

  • Hypothermia
  • Low birth Weight
  • Newborn
  • Resuscitation
  • Plastic bag
03

In context

Hypothermia

449 studies on the registry are indexed under Hypothermia; 54 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 182 is above the median of 77 across 328 interventional studies indexed under Hypothermia.

Browse Hypothermia studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Alabama at Birmingham is the lead sponsor of 1,421 studies on the registry; 277 are open to participants now.

Of its 164 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 130 (79%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
1 Minute to 1 Hour
Sexes eligible
All
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

  • Estimated gestational age 29-36 6/7weeks or birth weight 1,400-2500g
  • Delivery in the hospital

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Infant admitted to the NICU
  • Birth weight less than 1,400g
  • Abdominal wall defect or myelomeningocele
  • Major congenital anomalies
  • Blistering skin disorder
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
182 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Resuscitation-torso plastic bag

    Resuscitation with plastic bag covering torso and lower extremities for first hour to assist with temperature regulation.

    Procedure: Resuscitation-torso plastic bag

  • Active comparator
    Resuscitation-partial-head plastic bag

    Resuscitation with plastic bag covering torso, upper and lower extremities, and a portion of the head for first hour after birth to assist with temperature regulation.

    Procedure: Resuscitation-partial-head plastic bag

Interventions

  • ProcedureResuscitation-torso plastic bag

    Infant's extremities and torso will be placed in a plastic bag during resuscitation after birth and maintained for 1 hour after birth.

  • ProcedureResuscitation-partial-head plastic bag

    Infant's torso, extremities, and portion of the head (face will be exposed) will be placed in a plastic bag during resuscitation after birth and maintained for 1 hour after birth.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Axillary temperature < 36.5 degrees Celsius

    Temperature taken per axilla at one hour after birth. Temperatures 36.0-36.4 will be classified as mild hypothermia, 32.0-35.9 will be classified as moderate hypothermia, and \< 32.0 will be classified as severe hypothermia

    Time frame: 1-72 hours after birth

Secondary outcomes

  1. Seizure

    Seizure activity diagnosed by medical doctor or nurse. No electroencephalogram will be done.

    Time frame: Up to 4 weeks

  2. Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS)

    Documentation of increased work of breathing, retractions, and a need for oxygen, intubation, or surfactant

    Time frame: Up to 4 weeks

  3. Pneumothorax

    Either chest radiograph documentation or clinical deterioration consistent with air leak

    Time frame: Up to 4 weeks

  4. Sepsis

    Culture proven or culture negative clinically treated course consistent with sepsis

    Time frame: Up to 4 weeks

  5. Necrotizing enterocolitis or intestinal perforation

    Documentation of pneumatosis or intestinal perforation on x-ray or treatment course for clinical necrotizing enterocolitis per Bell's classification stage greater than one.

    Time frame: Up to 4 weeks

  6. Death

    Cardiorespiratory failure

    Time frame: Up to 4 weeks

  7. Hyperthermia

    Axillary temperature \> 38 degrees Celsius per temperature taken per axilla for one minute

    Time frame: Up to 4 weeks

  8. Temperature and humidity

    A recording of the room temperature and humidity will be obtained with each axillary temperature measurement

    Time frame: 1-72 hours after birth

07

Study locations

1 site
08

Timeline

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedDate before it movedWhere the date was before it movedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Started Jun 2012 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Sep 2027, 183 months after the start.

Of 132 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Hypothermia, half reached primary completion within 16 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 6 and three quarters within 36. This study's planned 183 months is above that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 135 studies reached it within 16 months; a quarter within 6 and three quarters within 36.

Since we started tracking on Sep 25, 2026, the dates moved once, on Sep 25, 2026: primary completion Aug 2026 → Sep 2027 and completion Aug 2026 → Sep 2027.

Earlier changes are on the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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

Registered
May 21, 2012
First posted
May 23, 2012
StartActual
Jun 2012
Primary completionEst.
Sep 22, 2027was Aug 2026
CompletionEst.
Sep 22, 2027was Aug 2026
Last update
Sep 25, 2026
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.
Primary completion
Aug 15, 2026→Sep 22, 2027
Sep 25, 2026
Study completion
Aug 15, 2026→Sep 22, 2027
Sep 25, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Sep 25, 2026
    Primary completion Aug 15, 2026→Sep 22, 2027
    Study completion Aug 15, 2026→Sep 22, 2027
    + 1 other change: verification date

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01604317
Collaborators
Children's Health System, Alabama
Responsible party
Waldemar A. Carlo (Edwin M. Dixon Professor of Pediatrics, Director of Division of Neonatology, University of Alabama at Birmingham) — Principal investigator
First posted
May 23, 2012
Start date
Jun 2012
Primary completion
Sep 22, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Sep 22, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 25, 2026

Study contacts

Waldemar A Carlo, MD
principal investigator · University of Alabama at Birmingham

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Sep 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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