ClinicalTrials.gg
WithdrawnNCT03431675Updated Aug 14, 2019

Ciprofloxacin for the Prevention of Meningococcal Meningitis 2018

A Phase 4 interventional study of Ciprofloxacin in Meningitis, Meningococcal, sponsored by Epicentre. Withdrawn at 1 site in Niger. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-08-14.

Sponsored by Epicentre · Phase 4, Interventional, and Prevention

Why this study was withdrawn
No epidemic of Men C in 2019
Phase
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
0
Allocation
Randomized
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The trial is an interventional, cluster-randomized trial to assess the impact of oral ciprofloxacin for household and community contacts of meningitis cases on the incidence of meningitis during an epidemic.

The trial contains a nested sub-study ("resistance study") to assess the effect of a single dose of ciprofloxacin on the prevalence of fluoroquinolone-resistant enterobacteriaceae in the study area.

Read the detailed description

The study is designed as a cluster-randomized trial in the setting of a meningitis epidemic to assess the impact of chemoprophylaxis with single-dose ciprofloxacin on the incidence of meningitis in the study area.

The study will be implemented in a health district in Niger where a meningitis outbreak is occurring, and where Médecins Sans Frontières is providing assistance to the Ministry of Health in its outbreak response. In order to launch the study protocol, at least two Health Areas (HA) of a Health District (HD) will have met the weekly epidemic threshold of 10 cases per 100 000 per week, or of 5 cases per week if the population of the HA is less than 30 000 people, following the most recent WHO recommendations for meningitis surveillance.

All villages in the HAs which have crossed the epidemic threshold and are included in the study area will be randomized to receive standard care, household-level prophylaxis or community-wide prophylaxis.

Once a HA has been included in the study, a case-based surveillance system will be put in place, or reinforced if one is currently in place in the study area. Suspected cases of meningitis that present to health posts will be referred to the nearest health center. In each health center, the diagnosis and treatment of meningitis will follow national protocols.

In the standard care arm, after the first case has been notified from a village, a study nurse will visit the village with a local community member. The study nurse will lead an informational session for members of the community regarding the signs and symptoms of meningitis, and the urgency of presenting to the nearest health center as soon as possible if any of those signs or symptoms arrive. In the household-level prophylaxis arm, each time a case is reported from a village that has been randomized to this arm, a study nurse will visit the household of the notified case within 24 hours. The study nurse will offer ciprofloxacin to all persons currently living in the same household compound and present at the time of the visit. In the community-level prophylaxis arm, after the first case is reported from a village that has been randomized to this arm, a member of study staff will visit the village within 24 hours. During this visit, arrangements will be made for a community-wide distribution of ciprofloxacin, preferably within 72 hours of the initial case presentation at the health center / district hospital. A series of informational meetings will be organized before the distribution.

If the epidemic is in an urban setting, neighborhoods will be randomized to one of the three arms in a 1:1:1 ratio. If the epidemic is in a rural area, villages will be randomized to either standard care or village-wide prophylaxis in a 1:1 ratio.

A nested substudy to assess the effects of ciprofloxacin prophylaxis on the prevalence of ciprofloxacin-resistant enterobacteriaceae will be carried out among 400 persons (200 in the standard care arm and 200 in the community-wide prophylaxis arm). Participants will provide a series of 3 stool samples for culture, speciation, and antibiotic resistance testing.

02

Conditions studied

  • Meningitis, Meningococcal
03

In context

Meningitis, Meningococcal

125 studies on the registry are indexed under Meningitis, Meningococcal; 10 are open to participants now.

Browse Meningitis, Meningococcal studies →

Lead sponsor

Epicentre is the lead sponsor of 49 studies on the registry; 6 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
Child (0–17), Adult (18–64), Older adult (65+)
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

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

  • Resident in a village included in the study area

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients currently exhibiting symptoms of meningitis (to be immediately referred for further care)
  • Persons with a known allergy to fluoroquinolone antibiotics.
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
0 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • No intervention
    Standard care

    No chemoprevention for contacts of cases of meningitis (current standard of care) with a health promotion visit by a study nurse after the first notification of cases during the epidemic

  • Active comparator
    Household prophylaxis arm

    Chemoprophylaxis with a single dose of oral ciprofloxacin for household members of reported cases of meningitis. For participants age \>12 years: 500 mg tablet; age 5-12 years: 250 mg tablet; age 1-4 years: 125 mg tablet; age 3-11 months: 100 mg (2 ml oral suspension); age \<3 months: 75 mg (1.5 ml oral suspension)

    Drug: Ciprofloxacin

  • Active comparator
    Community prophylaxis arm

    Chemoprophylaxis with ciprofloxacin in the setting of a village-wide distribution after the notification of the first case of meningitis in a village. For participants age \>12 years: 500 mg tablet; age 5-12 years: 250 mg tablet; age 1-4 years: 125 mg tablet; age 3-11 months: 100 mg (2 ml oral suspension); age \<3 months: 75 mg (1.5 ml oral suspension)

    Drug: Ciprofloxacin

Interventions

  • Single-dose oral ciprofloxacin

    Also known as: Cipro

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Meningitis attack rate

    The primary outcome aims to evaluate the impact of a chemoprevention strategy as a public health intervention during a meningitis outbreak, which is best evaluated by looking at the overall attack rates in the study area.

    Time frame: From enrollment of a village through study completion, an average of 2 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Proportion of participants with ciprofloxacin-resistant enterobacteriaceae in their stools

    A substudy is proposed to compare rates of acquisition of ciprofloxacin resistance among participants in the standard care arm and participants in the village prophylaxis arm. 20 participants in 10 villages in each of the two arms will be asked to provide stool samples on days 0, 7 and 28

    Time frame: Prior to ciprofloxacin dosing (day 0) and at 7 and 28 days post-ciprofloxacin dosing

  2. Proportion of patients who received ciprofloxacin who develop meningitis

    This secondary outcome aims to evaluate the impact of a chemoprevention strategy as a public health intervention during a meningitis outbreak, which is best evaluated by looking at the overall attack rates in the study area.

    Time frame: From enrollment of a village through study completion, an average of 2 months

  3. Meningitis attack rate by sex

    This secondary outcome aims to evaluate the impact of a chemoprevention strategy as a public health intervention during a meningitis outbreak, which is best evaluated by looking at the overall attack rates in the study area.

    Time frame: From enrollment of a village through study completion, an average of 2 months

  4. Meningitis attack rate by age

    This secondary outcome aims to evaluate the impact of a chemoprevention strategy as a public health intervention during a meningitis outbreak, which is best evaluated by looking at the overall attack rates in the study area.

    Time frame: From enrollment of a village through study completion, an average of 2 months

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Madarounfa Health District
    Madarounfa, Maradi, Niger
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — A de-identified data set can be made available after the signature of an appropriate data sharing agreement.

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 14, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03431675
Lead sponsor
Epicentre
Collaborators
Medecins Sans Frontieres, Netherlands
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Feb 13, 2018
Start date
Mar 1, 2019 (estimated)
Primary completion
Jun 30, 2019 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 31, 2019 (estimated)
Last update
Aug 14, 2019

Study contacts

Rebecca F GRAIS, PhD
study director · Epicentre

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is withdrawn, as verified in Aug 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Studies of the drug tested here: Ciprofloxacin

Start the discussion