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CompletedNCT04334538Updated Aug 10, 2022

Effect of an Alternative RUTF on Intestinal Permeability in Children With Severe Acute Malnutrition

An interventional study of S-RUTF and oat RUTF in Malnutrition, Child, sponsored by Washington University School of Medicine. Completed at 1 site in Sierra Leone. Open to participants aged 6 Months to 59 Months. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2022-08-10.

Sponsored by Washington University School of Medicine · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
129
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
6 Months to 59 Months
Sex
All
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Study summary

Ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) is the standard of care for the treatment of SAM. UNICEF requires that there be no oil separation in these products necessitating the use of emulsifiers. The effect of emulsifiers on gut health and integrity in children receiving an exclusive diet of RUTF is unknown. The PIs have recently completed a randomized, triple-blind, controlled, clinical equivalency trial in Sierra Leone comparing the alternative oat RUTF (oat-RUTF) to standard RUTF on recovery rates in children with SAM. This study demonstrated higher rates of recovery among children receiving the oat-RUTF. The investigators hypothesize that this benefit may be due to the lack of emulsifier in the oat-RUTF resulting in improved intestinal health.This research project is a double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical effectiveness trial comparing a novel RUTF containing oats and no emulsifier and standard RUTF on recovery from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and effects on intestinal health. The trial will be conducted in up to 40 PHUs in Western Rural and Pujehun Districts where supplementary feeding programs (SFP) are not currently available.

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Conditions studied

  • Malnutrition, Child
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In context

Child Nutrition Disorders

167 studies on the registry are indexed under Child Nutrition Disorders; 36 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 129 is below the median of 402 across 132 interventional studies indexed under Child Nutrition Disorders.

Browse Child Nutrition Disorders studies →

Lead sponsor

Washington University School of Medicine is the lead sponsor of 1,803 studies on the registry; 271 are open to participants now.

Of its 329 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 216 (66%) have results posted.

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

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
6 Months to 59 Months
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

  • mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) \<11.5 cm

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Children currently involved in another research trial or feeding program
  • Children developmentally delayed
  • have a chronic debilitating illness
  • history of peanut or milk allergy
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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Care provider)
Enrollment
129 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    S-RUTF

    Children will receive approximately 175 kcal/kg/d of standard ready to use therapeutic food which provides a full daily doses of vitamins and micronutrients. Caregivers will instruct caregivers to feed the supplement only to the enrolled child.

    Dietary Supplement: S-RUTF

  • Experimental
    oat-RUTF

    Children will receive approximately 175 kcal/kg/d of oat ready-to-use therapeutic food which provides a full daily doses of vitamins and micronutrients. Caregivers will instruct caregivers to feed the supplement only to the enrolled child.

    Dietary Supplement: oat RUTF

Interventions

  • Dietary supplementS-RUTF

    Children will receive approximately 175 kcal/kg/d of standard ready-to-use therapeutic food which provides a full daily doses of vitamins and micronutrients. Caregivers will instruct caregivers to feed the supplement only to the enrolled child.

  • Dietary supplementoat RUTF

    Children will receive approximately 175 kcal/kg/d of oat ready-to-use therapeutic food which provides a full daily doses of vitamins and micronutrients. Caregivers will instruct caregivers to feed the supplement only to the enrolled child.

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change of % of lactose excreted between enrollment and 4 weeks after enrollment

    %L measured in the urine relative to the amount ingested will be calculated for children in both groups. %L will be categorized as normal (\<0.2%) and abnormal (\>0.2)

    Time frame: at week 4 after enrollment

Secondary outcomes

  1. fecal 16S rRNA configuration after 4 weeks of feeding

    Multi amplicon rRNA characterization of flash frozen stool sample

    Time frame: after 4 weeks of feeding

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Study locations

1 site
  • Project Peanut Butter
    Pujehun, Sierra Leone
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References and documents

Publications

  • Hendrixson DT, Naskidashvili N, Stephenson KB, Laury ML, Koroma AS, Manary MJ. An Alternative Oat-Containing, Ready-To-Use, Therapeutic Food Does Not Alter Intestinal Permeability or the 16S Ribosomal RNA Fecal Microbiome Configuration Among Children With Severe Malnutrition in Sierra Leone: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Nutr. 2023 Jan 14;152(12):2744-2753. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxac207. PubMed 36055798 ↗
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Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar 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

Ran from Mar 2021 to primary completion in Sep 2021, 6 months.

Of 81 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Child Nutrition Disorders, half reached primary completion within 19 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 11 and three quarters within 36. This study's 6 months is below that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 84 studies reached it within 19 months; a quarter within 11 and three quarters within 40.

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

Registered
Mar 30, 2020
First posted
Apr 6, 2020
StartActual
Mar 2, 2021
Primary completionActual
Sep 6, 2021
CompletionActual
Sep 6, 2021
Last update
Aug 10, 2022
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 Aug 10, 2022, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04334538
Collaborators
Project Peanut Butter, Sierra Leone, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Sierra Leone
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Apr 6, 2020
Start date
Mar 2, 2021
Primary completion
Sep 6, 2021
Completion
Sep 6, 2021
Last update
Aug 10, 2022

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 completed, as verified in Aug 2022. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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