Active clinical trials for "Meningitis"

The purpose of this study is to determine the tolerability and side effects of oral sorafenib in combination with intrathecal DepoCyt.

Bacterial meningitis is a severe infection of the envelope which surrounds the brain. It is sometimes responsible for a cerebral oedema mattering with a loss of consciousness (coma). The usual treatment of this affection is based on the antibiotic therapy, anti-inflammatory drug and resuscitation measures in intensive care setting but the prognosis of comatose patients remains poor. Moderate hypothermia (body temperature is downed between 32 and 34°C°) made the proof of its efficiency in certain cerebral pathologies (notably the cerebral distress after cardiac arrest or oxygen lack in neonates) but was never evaluated in meningitis. In meningitis animal studies and in severe traumatic brain injury, moderate hypothermia is able to diminish cerebral oedema and brain inflammation. Thus, the objective of this study is to compare two strategies: only usual care or usual care completed by moderate hypothermia. The body temperature will be lowered between 32 and 34°C by means of a catheter placed in a big vein and connected to a machine in which circulates a cold liquid, or by means of an external cooling (ice-cold blanket, ice packs placed on the body). Whatever technique is chosen, the technique is perfectly mastered by the teams which take charge of the patients. After 48 hours, the technique of hypothermia will be suspended and body temperature will return passively and gradually to normal. The investigators believe that moderate hypothermia will improve the prognosis of the most severe patients.

The purpose of this study is to determine the response rate of lymphomatous meningitis or leukemic meningitis to DepoCyt. The safety of DepoCyt, the number of people who respond well to the study drug, and the response of symptoms to the study drug will also be determined.

Objectives: - To determine the safety, tolerability and maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of oral temozolomide using a 7 days on and 7 days off regimen combined with intrathecal liposomal cytarabine (DepoCyt) in patients with neoplastic meningitis from solid tumors and systemic lymphoma.

The purpose of this study is to compare two medications used to numb an infant's back when performing a lumbar puncture. A lumbar puncture (LP) is often needed in newborns to obtain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This is achieved by inserting a small needle between the infant's vertebrae. In the past, doctors did not know if newborns could feel the pain from a procedure like this in the same way that adults do. Investigators now know that the newborns do experience pain during this procedure, but we do not know the best way to control this pain. Investigators also think that when the newborns have pain, they move during the test. The movement can increase the chance of having blood mix with this normally clear fluid leading to limitations in our clinical application of these results. This study will compare the injected and topical forms of Lidocaine to see which gives us better pain control and more clear results. The investigators hypothesize that subcutaneous 1% Lidocaine, due to its deeper penetration, will be 25% superior to topical liposomal Lidocaine (LMX-4) in both the rate of clinically useful results and pain scores. The investigators hypothesize that both forms of Lidocaine will be 25% superior to our historical control cohort in the rate of clinically useful results.

In Mexico City, the main cause of mortality among people living with HIV (PLHIV) continues to be opportunistic infections (OIs). Early detection of OIs allows their timely treatment and improves their prognosis. The use of rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) based on antigens of the most frequent causative agents of OIs allows adequate screening of these patients and facilitates decision making at the point of care. Unfortunately, these studies are not widely available in the different PLHIV care centers in the CDMX. We will conduct an open-label, non-inferiority uncontrolled clinical trial to investigate the diagnostic performance of urinary lipoarabinomannan, urinary Histoplasma antigen and serum Cryptococcus antigen in patients presenting for care with advanced HIV in CDMX, supported by rapid cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) testing with lateral flow technology. Four referral hospitals will participate over 12 months. All patients with diagnosed HIV disease and suspected advanced disease presenting for care at participating centers will be included in the study. An inventory of approximately 1000 RDT will be obtained and distributed among the participating sites. A study coordinator will be hired and will visit each site once a week to collect the study variables and follow up on the included patients. The primary outcome of the study will be the percentage of patients with advanced disease who present with diagnoses made by RDT compared to historical controls of patients diagnosed with OI in 2022 at participating centers by conventional methods. Secondary outcomes will be time to initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART), time to initiation of OI treatment, and 30-day mortality after HIV diagnosis.

LASER-TBM is a parallel group, randomized, multi-arm phase IIa trial evaluating the safety of increased dose rifampicin (RIF) plus linezolid (LZD), with or without aspirin (ASA), for the treatment of HIV-infected adults with tuberculous meningitis (TBM). The study will recruit 100 HIV-infected adults with TBM across four sites in South Africa. The primary endpoint is the occurrence of solicited treatment-related adverse events. Secondary endpoints include death and disability (including neurocognitive impairment), radiological outcomes, and the occurrence of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). A nested pharmacokinetic (PK) substudy aims to: Describe the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) PK of LZD and high dose RIF. Evaluate the relationship between drug exposures, toxicity and efficacy. Compare exposures between intravenous and oral RIF administration. Investigate the impact of high dose RIF on LZD and dolutegravir (DTG).

Tuberculous (TB) meningitis is the most severe manifestation of TB infection, leaving up to 50% of patients dead or neurologically disabled. Current treatment is similar to treatment of lung TB, although penetration of some antibiotics into the brain is poor and the immune-pathology of TB meningitis is very different from pulmonary TB. In a recent phase II clinical trial from the investigators group, the first of its kind globally, intensified antibiotic treatment, with moxifloxacin and high dose rifampicin, strongly reduced mortality of TB meningitis. The investigators aim to examine the effect of intensified antibiotic treatment on mortality and morbidity of TB meningitis in a phase 3 clinical trial, preceded with an explorative pharmacokinetic (PK) study to examine if higher oral doses rifampicin result in exposures similar to the i.v. dose used in our phase 2 trial, since oral rifampicin could be implemented much easier in low-resource settings.

This study aims to improve the outcome of infants (<2 months) with severe sepsis and meningitis at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi. Currently WHO recommends the treatment of infant severe sepsis and bacterial meningitis with 14 to 21 day course of penicillin and gentamicin as first line. The second line treatment is cefotaxime or ceftriaxone. Severe bacterial infections are common in infants under 2 months of age and the mortality is very high (~50%). There are several reasons for this; one is that the first line antibiotics used are no longer as effective as they used to be. Bacterial resistance to the first line antibiotics has increased and some infections especially of the central nervous system may only be partly treated and not eradicated by present therapy. First line treatment is cheap and available but requires 4 injections a day, for at least 14 days, a total of 58 injections. Many mothers find this number too much and abscond. The investigators second line therapy is ceftriaxone which is also available and cheap and the advantage of being given as a daily injection. The disadvantage is that it can cause (reversible) jaundice particularly in premature babies and it must not be given with calcium products. The investigators do not give calcium to the investigators infants as the investigators cannot routinely check electrolytes. All the most common causes of bacterial meningitis in this age group in the investigators setting are sensitive to ceftriaxone. The investigators wish to undertake an open randomized trial of penicillin and gentamicin v ceftriaxone as first line treatment for infant meningitis. The investigators are able to monitor for side effects. The investigators hypothesise that the ceftriaxone arm will have 20% less deaths that the penicillin and gentamicin group.

Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) is an infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, caused by the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans. CM most often affects people with compromised immune systems, like those with advanced HIV infection. This study explored the safety, tolerability, and therapeutic effect of a new treatment regimen with high-dose fluconazole for management of CM in HIV-infected patients.