BCG to Reduce Absenteeism Among Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic
NCT ID: NCT04641858
Last Updated: 2022-11-03
Study Results
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Basic Information
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COMPLETED
PHASE4
668 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2020-12-03
2022-07-13
Brief Summary
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The primary objective of the study is to evaluate whether BCG can reduce unplanned absenteeism due to illness among HCW during the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondary objectives are to reduce the number of HCW that are infected with COVID-19, reduce hospital admissions for HCW and to improve the capacity for clinical research.
Design: Single-blind, parallel-group placebo-controlled multi-centre block randomized trial including a total of 1050 HCW. The study sites will be the Manhiça hospital in Mozambique, Central Hospital Dr. Agostinho Neto and Central Hospital Dr. Baptista de Sousa in Cape Verde and Hospital Nacional Simão Mendes and other hospitals in the capital Bissau in Guinea-Bissau. Population: HCW (nurses/physicians/others) ≥18 years.
Intervention: Block randomization 1:1 to intradermal standard dose (0.1 ml) of BCG vaccine or placebo (saline). Endpoints: Primary: Days of unplanned absenteeism due to illness. Secondary: Days of absenteeism because of documented COVID-19; cumulative incidence of infectious disease hospitalizations.
Follow-up: mobile phone interviews every second week, regarding symptoms, absenteeism and causes, COVID-19 testing (if done) and their results.
Perspectives: If BCG can reduce HCW absenteeism it has global implications. The intervention can quickly be scaled up all over the world.
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Detailed Description
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Trial design Single-blind, parallel-group placebo-controlled adaptive multicentre trial, with block-randomisation 1:1 (treatment:placebo) in blocks of 20 within strata defined by gender (male/female) and occupational group (doctors/ nurses/other) to an intradermal standard 0.1 ml dose of BCG vaccine or placebo (saline) including a total of 1050 HCW (BCG arm and placebo arm).
Study population:
Health Care Workers defined as a person who delivers care and services to the sick and ailing either directly as doctors and nurses or indirectly as aides, helpers, laboratory technicians, or even medical waste handlers.
Intervention:
The intervention will consist of the administration of an intradermal injection of a standard 0.1 ml adult dose of attenuated Mycobacterium bovis BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin), Danish strain 1331, 2-8 × 10\*5 CFU or the placebo comparator: intradermal standard 0.1 ml saline solution (NaCl 0.9%). Both BCG and saline solution will be injected in the skin over the upper deltoid muscle.
Blinding:
The BCG vaccine will be administered by study physicians/nurses, who are not blinded but also not involved in the data collection. Participants, data collectors and data entry clerks will be blinded to the treatment allocation.
In case of serious adverse events, the participant can be unblinded after consultation with the investigator or the vaccinating physician/nurse. When the study has ended, all participants will receive information about the intervention that they received.
Follow-up:
Follow-up will last for 6 months (182 days). Every second week, participants will be contacted over telephone and interviewed for symptoms and absenteeism from work. By the end of follow-up, participants will be invited for another POC test for COVID-19 serology.
Sample size:
The sample size was calculated on the basis of the primary hypothesis. A total of 1050 HCW randomized with an estimated loss to follow-up of 5%, and a mean number of days off work due to illness in the control group of 5 days (SD=5) over a 6-month period will demonstrate a reduction among BCG vaccinated of 20% for a mean absence of 4 days (80% power and alpha 0.05). The estimated loss to follow-up (5%) was based on past telephone-based surveys conducted in Mozambique and Bissau.
Conditions
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Study Design
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RANDOMIZED
PARALLEL
PREVENTION
DOUBLE
Study Groups
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BCG-Denmark
Participants that are randomized in the active arm will receive an adult 0.1 ml dose of BCG vaccine (BCG-Denmark, AJ Vaccines) in the skin covering the right upper deltoid muscle. Each 0.1 ml vaccine contains between 200000 to 800000 colony forming units of the live attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis (BCG), Danish strain 1331.
BCG-Denmark
Participants randomized to receive BCG will receive one 0.1 ml dose of Mycobacterium bovis BCG live attenuated BCG-Denmark vaccine (AJ Vaccines, Copenhagen, Denmark) by intradermal injection in the left deltoid region.
Control
Placebo will be 0.1 ml sterile 0.9 % NaCl, which has a similar color and appearance as the resuspended BCG vaccine.
Saline
Participants randomized to the control group will receive one 0.1 ml dose sterile 0.9 % NaCl by intradermal injection in the right deltoid region.
Interventions
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BCG-Denmark
Participants randomized to receive BCG will receive one 0.1 ml dose of Mycobacterium bovis BCG live attenuated BCG-Denmark vaccine (AJ Vaccines, Copenhagen, Denmark) by intradermal injection in the left deltoid region.
Saline
Participants randomized to the control group will receive one 0.1 ml dose sterile 0.9 % NaCl by intradermal injection in the right deltoid region.
Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
* age ≥18 years
Exclusion Criteria
* known previous, active or latent infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis or other mycobacterial species
* fever (\>38 C) within past 24 hours;
* previous confirmed COVID-19 (positive test - PCR or antibody);
* suspicion of active viral or bacterial infection
* severely immunocompromised subjects
* self-reported HIV infection
* self-reported pregnancy;
* active solid or non-solid malignancy or lymphoma within the prior two years;
* contraindications for live attenuated vaccine administration.
* not having a mobile phone.
18 Years
ALL
Yes
Sponsors
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Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, NOVA University, Lisbon, Portugal
UNKNOWN
University of Cape Verde, Praia, Cape Verde
UNKNOWN
National Institute of Public Health of Cape Verde, Praia, Cape Verde
UNKNOWN
Centro de Investigacao em Saude de Manhica
OTHER
European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP)
OTHER_GOV
Bandim Health Project, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau
UNKNOWN
University of Southern Denmark
OTHER
Responsible Party
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Principal Investigators
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Christine Stabell Benn, Professor
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
University of Southern Denmark
Locations
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Bandim Health Project
Bissau, SAB, Guinea-Bissau
Manhiça Health Research Centre
Manhiça, Maputo Province, Mozambique
Countries
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References
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Aaby P, Kollmann TR, Benn CS. Nonspecific effects of neonatal and infant vaccination: public-health, immunological and conceptual challenges. Nat Immunol. 2014 Oct;15(10):895-9. doi: 10.1038/ni.2961.
Aaby P, Benn CS. Developing the concept of beneficial non-specific effect of live vaccines with epidemiological studies. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2019 Dec;25(12):1459-1467. doi: 10.1016/j.cmi.2019.08.011. Epub 2019 Aug 23.
Benn CS, Fisker AB, Rieckmann A, Sorup S, Aaby P. Vaccinology: time to change the paradigm? Lancet Infect Dis. 2020 Oct;20(10):e274-e283. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(19)30742-X. Epub 2020 Jul 6.
Aaby P, Roth A, Ravn H, Napirna BM, Rodrigues A, Lisse IM, Stensballe L, Diness BR, Lausch KR, Lund N, Biering-Sorensen S, Whittle H, Benn CS. Randomized trial of BCG vaccination at birth to low-birth-weight children: beneficial nonspecific effects in the neonatal period? J Infect Dis. 2011 Jul 15;204(2):245-52. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jir240.
Biering-Sorensen S, Aaby P, Lund N, Monteiro I, Jensen KJ, Eriksen HB, Schaltz-Buchholzer F, Jorgensen ASP, Rodrigues A, Fisker AB, Benn CS. Early BCG-Denmark and Neonatal Mortality Among Infants Weighing <2500 g: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Clin Infect Dis. 2017 Oct 1;65(7):1183-1190. doi: 10.1093/cid/cix525.
Higgins JP, Soares-Weiser K, Lopez-Lopez JA, Kakourou A, Chaplin K, Christensen H, Martin NK, Sterne JA, Reingold AL. Association of BCG, DTP, and measles containing vaccines with childhood mortality: systematic review. BMJ. 2016 Oct 13;355:i5170. doi: 10.1136/bmj.i5170.
Rieckmann A, Villumsen M, Sorup S, Haugaard LK, Ravn H, Roth A, Baker JL, Benn CS, Aaby P. Vaccinations against smallpox and tuberculosis are associated with better long-term survival: a Danish case-cohort study 1971-2010. Int J Epidemiol. 2017 Apr 1;46(2):695-705. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyw120.
Wardhana, Datau EA, Sultana A, Mandang VV, Jim E. The efficacy of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccinations for the prevention of acute upper respiratory tract infection in the elderly. Acta Med Indones. 2011 Jul;43(3):185-90.
Nemes E, Geldenhuys H, Rozot V, Rutkowski KT, Ratangee F, Bilek N, Mabwe S, Makhethe L, Erasmus M, Toefy A, Mulenga H, Hanekom WA, Self SG, Bekker LG, Ryall R, Gurunathan S, DiazGranados CA, Andersen P, Kromann I, Evans T, Ellis RD, Landry B, Hokey DA, Hopkins R, Ginsberg AM, Scriba TJ, Hatherill M; C-040-404 Study Team. Prevention of M. tuberculosis Infection with H4:IC31 Vaccine or BCG Revaccination. N Engl J Med. 2018 Jul 12;379(2):138-149. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1714021.
Netea MG, Joosten LA, Latz E, Mills KH, Natoli G, Stunnenberg HG, O'Neill LA, Xavier RJ. Trained immunity: A program of innate immune memory in health and disease. Science. 2016 Apr 22;352(6284):aaf1098. doi: 10.1126/science.aaf1098. Epub 2016 Apr 21.
Arts RJW, Moorlag SJCFM, Novakovic B, Li Y, Wang SY, Oosting M, Kumar V, Xavier RJ, Wijmenga C, Joosten LAB, Reusken CBEM, Benn CS, Aaby P, Koopmans MP, Stunnenberg HG, van Crevel R, Netea MG. BCG Vaccination Protects against Experimental Viral Infection in Humans through the Induction of Cytokines Associated with Trained Immunity. Cell Host Microbe. 2018 Jan 10;23(1):89-100.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2017.12.010.
Benn CS, Fisker AB, Whittle HC, Aaby P. Revaccination with Live Attenuated Vaccines Confer Additional Beneficial Nonspecific Effects on Overall Survival: A Review. EBioMedicine. 2016 Aug;10:312-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2016.07.016. Epub 2016 Jul 15.
Roth AE, Benn CS, Ravn H, Rodrigues A, Lisse IM, Yazdanbakhsh M, Whittle H, Aaby P. Effect of revaccination with BCG in early childhood on mortality: randomised trial in Guinea-Bissau. BMJ. 2010 Mar 15;340:c671. doi: 10.1136/bmj.c671.
Biot C, Rentsch CA, Gsponer JR, Birkhauser FD, Jusforgues-Saklani H, Lemaitre F, Auriau C, Bachmann A, Bousso P, Demangel C, Peduto L, Thalmann GN, Albert ML. Preexisting BCG-specific T cells improve intravesical immunotherapy for bladder cancer. Sci Transl Med. 2012 Jun 6;4(137):137ra72. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3003586.
Hatherill M, Geldenhuys H, Pienaar B, Suliman S, Chheng P, Debanne SM, Hoft DF, Boom WH, Hanekom WA, Johnson JL. Safety and reactogenicity of BCG revaccination with isoniazid pretreatment in TST positive adults. Vaccine. 2014 Jun 30;32(31):3982-8. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.04.084. Epub 2014 May 9.
Provided Documents
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Document Type: Study Protocol
Document Type: Statistical Analysis Plan
Other Identifiers
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BCG-COVID-RCT
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id
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