ClinicalTrials.gg
Status unknownNCT04297878Updated Mar 6, 2020

The BLIS Study: a Feasibility Study Assessing Compliance, Acceptability and Colonisation With Different Dosing Regimens of the Probiotic Supplement Streptococcus Salivarius K12 (Bactoblis®) in Adults

An interventional study of probiotic supplement Streptococcus salivarius K12 (Bactoblis®) in Sore Throat, Tonsillitis and Pharyngitis, sponsored by University of Southampton. Status unknown. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2020-03-06.

Primary conditionTonsillitisRegistry: PharyngitisReclassifiedWhy we changed it
Registry
Pharyngitis — the first condition term the registry derived for this study.
ClinicalTrials.gg
Tonsillitis
Why
  1. The registry often attaches Pharyngitis to studies about something else, and this study's title and listed conditions do not name it.
  2. The study's listed conditions name Tonsillitis, a narrower term within Pharyngitis.
Confidence
High: the new condition is named in the study's own listed conditions. Of 351 hand-checked studies reclassified this way, 68% were exactly right and 84% in the right disease family; the registry's first term was right for 5% (measured 2026-10-21). How we classify →
Wrong?
Tell us the study's main condition →

Sponsored by University of Southampton · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science

The sponsor has not verified this record recently (last verified Mar 2020), so the status shown — last known as Not yet recruiting — may be out of date.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
50
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Short title The BLIS study

Full title A feasibility study assessing compliance, acceptability and colonisation with different dosing regimens of the probiotic supplement Streptococcus salivarius K12 (Bactoblis®) in adults

Population 50 human adults with or without a history of significant sore throat in the past 12 months. We primarily aim to recruit participants with a history of sore throat, however we will also recruit healthy individuals if we are struggling to meet our recruitment target.

Interventions

Two groups will receive two different dosing regimens of Ssk12 probiotic oral lozenges:

  • Group A: two SsK12 lozenges at night on days 1, 7 and 14.
  • Group B: one SsK12 daily at night for 14 days. Throat swabs will be taken at baseline, and days 2, 7, 14, 21, 35

Objectives

  1. To evaluate the prevalence of colonisation with SsK12 (as determined by real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction [PCR] and culture of participant-take whole-mouth swabs at pre-determined time points during the study)
  2. To evaluate the acceptability of the two dosing regimens (as measured by participant-completed questionnaires)
  3. To evaluate participants compliance with the two dosing regimens (as reported by participants during completion of the questionnaires)

Rationale SsK12 probiotic supplements are recognised as safe food ingredients, and there is preliminary evidence to support their use as prophylactic therapy to prevent episodes of pharyngo-tonsillitis. Existing clinical trials have all given SsK12 once daily over a period of months. It remains unclear whether a once-daily dosing regimen is needed in order to establish and maintain colonisation.

Study design This is a prospective study for which we will recruit healthy adult participants with and without a history of sore throat/ pharyngo-tonsillitis. We will evaluate [1] the acceptability and feasibility of two different dosing regimens of SsK12 supplements (taken as oral dissolvable lozenges), and [2] compare the prevalence of colonisation with SsK12 at various time points in order to determine how long colonisation is maintained following a loading dose. A baseline whole-mouth swab will be taken, and participants will be randomly assigned (in a 1:1 ratio) to one of two groups ('A' or 'B'). Group A will take two SsK12 lozenges at night on days 1, 7 and 14. Group B will take SsK12 at night for 14 days. Participants will be provided with instruction on how to perform a self-taken whole-mouth swab, and asked to take swabs on days 2, 7, 14, 21, and 35, and return these to the study team by post. They will also be asked to complete two short online questionnaires (on day 14 and day 35) about their compliance with the probiotic, as well as their views on the dosing regimen and other aspects of the study. Maintenance of colonisation will be assessed using analysis of the returned throat swabs. No follow-up will be undertaken after day 35.

Sample size Total = 50 (25 in group A, and 25 in group B)

Setting

  1. NIHR Clinical Research Facility, Southampton General Hospital
  2. Cowley Road Medical Practice, Oxford
02

Conditions studied

  • Sore Throat
  • Tonsillitis
  • Pharyngitis

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03

In context

Tonsillitis Reclassified

103 studies on the registry are indexed under Tonsillitis; 12 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 50 is below the median of 100 across 87 interventional studies indexed under Tonsillitis.

Browse Tonsillitis studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Southampton is the lead sponsor of 122 studies on the registry; 18 are open to participants now.

Compared within Tonsillitis, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Pharyngitis. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
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

  • Adults over 18 years of age
  • Fully conversant in the English language
  • Able and willing (in the investigator's opinion) to comply with all study requirements
  • Willing to take SsK12 and return throat swabs according to the study protocol
  • We primarily aim to recruit participants with a history of sore throat, however we will also recruit healthy individuals with no history of sore throat if we are struggling to meet our recruitment target of 50. We are defining a 'history' of sore throat as two or more episodes of significant (as judged by the participant) sore throat/pharyngo-tonsillitis episodes in the past 12 months. However, if we are struggling to recruit, a decision may be made by the chief investigator to alter this definition to one or more episodes in the last 12 months, after consultation with the study team.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Involvement in a study involving the receipt of an medical product within 30 days prior to, or during, the study period.
  • Active symptoms of sore throat or other infection at the time of recruitment
  • Presence of a chronic disease/condition (such as those affecting the oropharynx) which, in the view of the investigator, might impact on colonisation, impede analysis of the study results, put the participant at increased risk, or impact on the ability of the participant to follow the study procedures
  • Participant unable to give
  • Any confirmed or suspected or immunodeficient state, or use of immunosuppressant medication (including oral ) within the last 30 days
  • History of allergic disease or reactions likely to be exacerbated by any of the study treatment
  • Current smokers (including e-cigarettes/vaping)
  • Any other (as determined by the investigator) abnormality on clinical examination
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(5)

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.

Investigational drug or device

A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.

It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

Clinically significant

Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
50 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Group A

    Taking two SsK12 lozenges at night on days 1, 7 and 14.

    Dietary Supplement: probiotic supplement Streptococcus salivarius K12 (Bactoblis®)

  • Active comparator
    Group B

    One SsK12 daily at night for 14 days.

    Dietary Supplement: probiotic supplement Streptococcus salivarius K12 (Bactoblis®)

Interventions

  • Dietary supplementprobiotic supplement Streptococcus salivarius K12 (Bactoblis®)

    Probiotic food supplement

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Prevalence of colonisation with SsK12

    To evaluate the prevalence of colonisation with SsK12 (as determined by real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction \[PCR\] and culture of participant-take whole-mouth swabs at pre-determined time points during the study)

    Time frame: During study involvement (days 1-35)

  2. Acceptability of dosing regimens

    To evaluate the acceptability of the two dosing regimens as measured by participant questionnaires completed on day 14 and day 35 (which include questions on a 1-5 Likert scale, as well as an opportunity to write open comments),

    Time frame: During study involvement (days 1-35)

  3. Compliance with dosing regimens

    To evaluate participants compliance with the two dosing regimens. This will be self-reported by participants as part of the questionnaires completed on day 14 and day 35.

    Time frame: During study involvement (days 1-35)

07

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

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 Mar 6, 2020, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04297878
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Mar 6, 2020
Start date
Mar 5, 2020 (estimated)
Primary completion
Jan 1, 2022 (estimated)
Completion
Jan 1, 2022 (estimated)
Last update
Mar 6, 2020

Study contacts

Christopher Wilcox, MBBCh
Contact
christopher.wilcox@soton.ac.uk
07828219938
Merlin Willcox
Contact
m.l.willcox@soton.ac.uk

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 status unknown, as verified in Mar 2020. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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