Placebo Controlled Trial to Evaluate Zinc for the Treatment of COVID-19 in the Outpatient Setting

NCT ID: NCT04621461

Last Updated: 2021-02-11

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

PHASE4

Total Enrollment

3 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2020-12-20

Study Completion Date

2021-02-08

Brief Summary

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This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the efficacy of zinc in a higher risk COVID-19 positive outpatient population.

Detailed Description

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Zinc, a micronutrient, appears to have anti-viral properties with various mechanisms of action depending on the concentration Zinc supplementation has been reviewed extensively for use in the common cold, and has been shown to reduce the duration of symptoms. In-vitro studies have shown zinc can inhibit RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) in coronavirus, which is typically a conserved region in the viral genome. In-vitro experiments have also shown that lung epithelium in a zinc depleted state can become susceptible to apoptosis and loss of barrier function, increasing permeability, which can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

If a patient can travel to St. Francis Hospital they can have a COVID test on site at a designated St. Francis testing location. The COVID test will be resulted via a rapid Covid (Point of Care device) or at a local lab.

Patients who are unable to travel to St. Francis Hospital or one of the outpatient practices, will be allowed to enroll remotely. Patients are eligible to enroll within 72 hours of a positive Covid-19 test result. Study medications will be mailed to the patient overnight after being enrolled.

Conditions

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Corona Virus Infection

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the efficacy of zinc in a higher risk COVID-19 positive outpatient population. Patients will randomized to zinc or placebo.
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Investigators
Patients will be randomized via a randomization block. Only the research coordinator will know which group the patients belong to. Placebo pills given to the patient will be similar in size and shape to zinc.

Study Groups

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Experimental Arm #1

Placebo

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Placebo

Intervention Type DRUG

Once daily for 5 days

Experimental Arm #2

Zinc sulfate

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Zinc Sulfate 220 MG

Intervention Type DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

220mg once daily for 5 days

Interventions

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Zinc Sulfate 220 MG

220mg once daily for 5 days

Intervention Type DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Placebo

Once daily for 5 days

Intervention Type DRUG

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Able to read and understand informed consent.
* High initial clinical suspicion by physician based on signs and symptoms (fever, cough, myalgias, fatigue, shortness of breath) followed by confirmation of COVID-19 diagnosis
* Any gender
* Age 60 years and older
* Age 30-59 years with one or more of the following:

* abnormal lung exam
* abnormal oxygen saturation \<95%
* abnormal Chest X-ray or chest CT
* persistent fever \>100.4 degrees Fahrenheit
* one of the following co-morbidities: hypertension, diabetes mellitus, history of coronary artery disease, chronic kidney disease (CKD), asthma, COPD, current or former smoker, or morbid obesity (Body Mass Index ≥35)

Exclusion Criteria

* Severe COVID-19 requiring admission for inpatient treatment
* Need for any oxygen supplementation
* Need for mechanical ventilatory support
* History of oxygen supplementation dependency
* History of cancer with ongoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy
* Known hypersensitivity to zinc
* Severe renal disease: Glomerular Filtration Rate \<30ml/min
Minimum Eligible Age

30 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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St. Francis Hospital, New York

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Avni Thakore, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

St. Francis Hospital - The Heart Center

Locations

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St. Francis Hospital - The Heart Center

Roslyn, New York, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Wu C, Liu Y, Yang Y, Zhang P, Zhong W, Wang Y, Wang Q, Xu Y, Li M, Li X, Zheng M, Chen L, Li H. Analysis of therapeutic targets for SARS-CoV-2 and discovery of potential drugs by computational methods. Acta Pharm Sin B. 2020 May;10(5):766-788. doi: 10.1016/j.apsb.2020.02.008. Epub 2020 Feb 27.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 32292689 (View on PubMed)

Korant BD, Butterworth BE. Inhibition by zinc of rhinovirus protein cleavage: interaction of zinc with capsid polypeptides. J Virol. 1976 Apr;18(1):298-306. doi: 10.1128/JVI.18.1.298-306.1976.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 176466 (View on PubMed)

Katz E, Margalith E. Inhibition of vaccinia virus maturation by zinc chloride. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1981 Feb;19(2):213-7. doi: 10.1128/AAC.19.2.213.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 7347557 (View on PubMed)

Kumel G, Schrader S, Zentgraf H, Daus H, Brendel M. The mechanism of the antiherpetic activity of zinc sulphate. J Gen Virol. 1990 Dec;71 ( Pt 12):2989-97. doi: 10.1099/0022-1317-71-12-2989.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 2177090 (View on PubMed)

Suara RO, Crowe JE Jr. Effect of zinc salts on respiratory syncytial virus replication. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2004 Mar;48(3):783-90. doi: 10.1128/AAC.48.3.783-790.2004.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 14982765 (View on PubMed)

Eby GA, Davis DR, Halcomb WW. Reduction in duration of common colds by zinc gluconate lozenges in a double-blind study. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1984 Jan;25(1):20-4. doi: 10.1128/AAC.25.1.20.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 6367635 (View on PubMed)

te Velthuis AJ, van den Worm SH, Sims AC, Baric RS, Snijder EJ, van Hemert MJ. Zn(2+) inhibits coronavirus and arterivirus RNA polymerase activity in vitro and zinc ionophores block the replication of these viruses in cell culture. PLoS Pathog. 2010 Nov 4;6(11):e1001176. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1001176.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 21079686 (View on PubMed)

Singh M, Das RR. Zinc for the common cold. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013 Jun 18;(6):CD001364. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD001364.pub4.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23775705 (View on PubMed)

Bao S, Knoell DL. Zinc modulates airway epithelium susceptibility to death receptor-mediated apoptosis. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2006 Mar;290(3):L433-41. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00341.2005. Epub 2005 Nov 11.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16284213 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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20-19

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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