Active clinical trials for "Diarrhea"

Probiotics are commercially available live bacteria thought to have health benefits when ingested. A literature review of probiotic studies in the intensive care unit (ICU) found that in patients who receive probiotics, there is a 25% reduction in lung infection, known as ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). There is also an 18% reduction in the chance of developing any infection in the ICU. However, the studies reviewed were small and not well done. Therefore, whether probiotics are really helpful or not is unclear. Before a large carefully performed study is done to evaluate the effects of probiotics in critically ill patients, a pilot trial is needed. The investigators plan to study the feasibility of such a trial in mechanically ventilated ICU patients in 11 ICUs in Ontario, investigating whether orally ingested L. rhamnosus GG (a common probiotic) prevents VAP and other infections. The 4 goals of the pilot study will be to ensure that we can successfully enrol patients; follow the protocol faithfully; make sure patients don't receive additional probiotics, and estimate how much pneumonia exists in these patients. In a separate substudy, the investigators will evaluate the effects of probiotics on lower lung infiltration with potential harmful bacteria, stool bacteria, markers of immunity called cytokines, and markers of infection called endotoxin levels. The investigators plan to enroll 150 adults admitted to ICU and receiving mechanical ventilation. Following informed consent, patients will be randomized to either L. rhamnosus GG group or an identical placebo. Twice daily, patients will receive probiotics or placebo in a feeding tube. The investigators will record all infections and other important outcomes in the ICU. This study is very important in the ongoing search for more effective strategies to prevent serious infection during critical illness. Probiotics may be an easy-to-use, readily available, inexpensive approach to help future critically ill patients around the world.

Background (brief): Burden: In low income neighborhoods in Dhaka many households share toilets which are often unsanitary and their discharge contaminates the community. Knowledge gap: Behavior change messages have the potential to make people concerned about maintaining shared toilets quality, cleanliness and safety of the facility. There are many contributors to poor sanitation in low income neighborhoods in Dhaka but it's not clear that the situation can be improved with behavior change or even which specific messages to target. Relevance: Water Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) is a nongovernmental organization working to improve shared sanitation facilities in Dhaka. They are interested in developing and evaluating a behavior change program to improve shared sanitation in Dhaka and to generate lessons that would be relevant for other low income urban settings globally. Hypothesis: A behavior change communication intervention can improve the quality and cleanliness of sanitation services available to low-income residents of Dhaka. Objectives: To deliver behavior change messages (which target key behaviors influencing the quality and cleanliness of shared sanitation facilities) to randomly selected low-income communities in Dhaka. To evaluate the effectiveness of a behavior change communication intervention designed to change targeted behaviors related to the quality and cleanliness of shared sanitation facilities. Methods: Local non-governmental organizations will deliver the intervention (behavior change communication package) in randomly selected communities. For this study the investigators will assess the impact of this intervention on the targeted behaviors using follow-up surveys and spot checks.

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of Infliximab and oral prednisone versus methylprednisolone and oral prednisone in patients with melanoma, lung cancer, or renal cell carcinoma who have immune related Grade 3-4 diarrhea for up to 3 days or persistent Grade 2 diarrhea for more than 5 days after treatment with Yervoy and/or Opdivo

Control of diarrhoeal disease requires a comprehensive package of preventive and curative interventions. in Zambia, the Programme for Awareness and Elimination of Diarrhoea (PAED) aims to reduce child deaths by combating diarrhoea in Lusaka province, Zambia. The behaviour change component of the PAED programme seeks to change behaviours important for diarrhoea prevention (handwashing with soap and exclusive breastfeeding) and improved treatment outcomes (use of oral rehydration solution (ORS) and zinc in home management of child diarrhoea). The study aims to evaluate the feasibility of implementing a multiple behaviour change community programme to tackle diarrhoeal disease in children under-five and to assess the impact of this programme on practice of the target behaviours by caregivers of children under-five. The research questions will be answered through a a two-arm cluster-randomised trial (eight clusters per study arm).

The objective of this study is to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of Fidaxomicin versus placebo for prophylaxis against Clostridium difficile-Associated Diarrhea (CDAD) in adult participants undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The primary hypothesis is that Fidaxomicin is superior to placebo in preventing CDAD in participants undergoing HSCT.

The main objective of this study will be to obtain data on the efficacy of elsiglutide in preventing Chemotherapy Induced Diarrhea (CID) in patients with colorectal cancer receiving 5-FU based chemotherapy (FOLFOX4 or FOLFIRI regimen) in comparison to placebo.

In low-income settings in developing countries unsafe water is one of the leading causes of high prevalence of waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea.Zinc is an essential trace element that has a critical role in growth and immunity. Supplementation with zinc is considered effective in reducing morbidity from diarrhoeal and other infectious diseases. Verstergaard Frandsen S.A. (Switzerland) has developed a point-of-use water filtration system called LifeStraw®Family (LSF) that removes water's turbidity, reduces the microbiological contamination and enriches water with zinc at a concentration of 3.5 mg/L. The objective of the study is to assess the efficacy of LSF to increase the zinc status (serum zinc concentration) and intake in Kenyan children aged 2-5years with zinc deficiency.The study hypotheses are: A. Use of the LSF device will reduce microbiological contamination of the household supply of drinking and cooking water; B. Use of the LSF device will increase zinc intakes in preschool children; C. Use of the LSF device will increase serum zinc concentration in preschool children; D. Achieving A, B and C will improve growth in preschool children; E. Achieving A, B and C will reduce the frequency and duration of diarrheal disease in preschool children and in members of the participating households.

The primary purpose of this study is to estimate the efficacy of a two-dose regimen of the oral killed bivalent cholera vaccine when administered to individual residing in a cholera-endemic area in India.

This is a double blinded randomized clinical trial of Alanyl-Glutamine or Glycine in children with persistent diarrhea or malnutrition. The primary objective of the study is to determine the effect of 7 days of supplementation of alanyl-glutamine as it compares to glycine on the damaged intestinal barrier function, measured by lactulose/mannitol test on day 8, in children at HIAS in Fortaleza, Ce, Brazil, with persistent diarrhea (history > 2 weeks duration) or malnutrition.

We hypothesize that the administration of a combination of high numbers of probiotic bacteria will maintain normal bowel function and significantly moderate or obviate Immunosuppression Associated Diarrhea following kidney transplantation.