Active clinical trials for "Respiratory Tract Infections"

The aim of the present study is to investigate changes in inflammatory status and incidence of infection after extreme aerobic physical stress (participation in a marathon). In addition, the impact of marathon running on the hemostasis and muscular state will be evaluated. Changes at the inflammatory, muscular, and rheological level will be related to ingestion of oral hydrolytic enzymes and bioflavonoids.

The primary objective of the study is to investigate the safety and tolerability of ALX-0171. The secondary objectives are to evaluate the clinical effect of ALX-0171 and to explore the pharmacodynamics (PD) and the systemic pharmacokinetics (PK) of ALX-0171.

Zinc deficiency is common in developing country children, as food intakes are often low, foods from animal sources are infrequently used, the bioavailability of zinc from staple cereal-based diets is limited and zinc losses occur during recurring diarrheal illnesses. Zinc deficiency is associated with impairment in immunological and other defenses against infection and increased rates of serious infections. Due to limitations in currently used biochemical markers, supplementation trials in populations likely to be deficient provide a reliable means of assessing health consequences of zinc deficiency. A significantly lower incidence and prevalence of diarrhea has been observed in zinc supplemented developing country children in several placebo-controlled trials. The effect of routine zinc supplementation on lower respiratory tract infection is still unclear. We, therefore, evaluated the impact of daily zinc supplementation in a representative sample of children aged 6 to 30 months enrolled from a New Delhi slum area, with a sample size sufficient to determine the impact on the incidence of severe diarrhea and acute lower respiratory infection.

There are currently no interventions available to substantially reduce the incidence of low birth weight (LBW) apart from increasing the age at marriage, maternal iron supplementation and possibly improved energy intakes. The current view of the medical and public health community in India is that the immediate focus should be on promoting survival and development of low birth weight infants who have nearly a 6 to 7 fold higher mortality during infancy than those with normal birth weight. Low serum zinc is associated with increased incidence of diarrhea and pneumonia. There is sufficient evidence in under-threes that during acute illness, zinc supplementation (1-2 recommended dietary allowance [RDA]) reduces incidence of all episodes of diarrhea, severe diarrhea and pneumonia. A number of initial published trials also show significant effect of zinc treatment on pneumonia. With the large and consistent effects of zinc supplementation on the incidence and severity of infections, an effect on child mortality is likely. Available literature suggests the distinct possibility of reduced neonatal and infant mortality in LBWs receiving 1 RDA of zinc daily. A pilot study in India showed a 54% reduction in mortality in LBW infants. These findings were based on a very small sample and therefore considered insufficient to change policy. A positive impact in the proposed study will provide an important tool for reduction of infant mortality which is currently stagnant and government acceptance for such a program is likely to be very high. We, the researchers at the Society for Applied Studies, believe this study has the potential for decreasing infant mortality from its current level.

Cough is the most common reason for an acute care doctor's visit in the United States. Cough can affect sleep for both coughing children and their parents. The American Academy of Pediatrics does not endorse the use of dextromethorphan (DM), the most common over-the-counter (OTC) cough medication because of a lack of efficacy data and some potential for toxicity, particularly when taken in excess. In fact, DM has previously been shown to be no better than a placebo for cough in children. Therefore, alternative, therapeutic agents are needed. Honey anecdotally provides relief for symptoms due to upper respiratory tract infection (URI). This study seeks to use a survey to evaluate whether a single dose of honey and/or DM is better than no treatment at all for controlling nocturnal cough in children with URI and the effect of the treatments on sleep quality for coughing children and their parents. A single dose of honey or DM will be superior to no treatment for control of nocturnal cough due to upper URI as rated by both parents and children and will improve the sleep quality for those children and parents. Compared to DM, honey will be superior for controlling nocturnal cough due to upper URI (also based on child and parental report).

Randomized controlled double-blind non-inferiority clinical trial to determine whether five days of high-dose amoxicillin leads to comparable rates of early clinical cure compared with 10 days of high-dose amoxicillin for previously healthy children with mild community-acquired pneumonia.

Randomized, Open-label, Oral, Single-dose, two-Sequence, four-Period, crossover study

To evaluate the clinical and economical benefits of a meropenem dosage strategy based on a population pharmacokinetic(PPK)-pharmacodynamic(PD) model in lower respiratory tract infection patients.

Adult patients hospitalized with influenza have higher viral loads and more severe illnesses. Thus more aggressive treatment approaches (e.g. higher dose oseltamivir) have been suggested to treat patients suffering from severe influenza infection. The investigators plan to investigate the impact of higher-dose oseltamivir (150 mg b.d.) treatment on viral clearance and clinical recovery in adult patients hospitalized for severe influenza. Such information may lead to optimization of the management strategy used for these patients.

A randomized parallel-group two arm superiority trial with an allocation ratio 1:1, both participants and investigators blinded. The zinc lozenge that will be used in the study is a commercial product available from the University Pharmacy, Helsinki, Finland. The product is classified as a "medical device" and it is not regulated according to the jurisdiction for medicines. Each lozenge contains 13 mg elemental zinc as zinc acetate. The instruction in the commercial package for common cold patients is to dissolve slowly 6 lozenges per day in their mouth, which totals to 78 mg/day of elemental zinc, at most for 5 days. The same instruction will be used in this trial. The University Pharmacy prepared 200 placebo lozenge packages so that the placebo lozenges contain sucrose octaacetate, and they are similar with the zinc lozenges in visual appearance and in taste. 200 packages of zinc lozenges will be used as the active intervention. The packages will contain 30 lozenges (6 lozenges/day × 5 days). The packages of lozenges will be distributed to the enrolled participants in November 2017. The participants will be instructed to keep the package readily available so that, when they catch the common cold, they will find the package and they can start to take the lozenges according to the instructions. The participants will be instructed to start taking zinc lozenges as soon as they start to suffer from the first symptoms of the common cold. The participants will be instructed to take 6 lozenges daily over the time awake, evenly distributed, allowing the lozenge to dissolve in the mouth as slowly as possible. The duration of intervention is for the maximum of 5 days. If the symptoms disappear before 5 days, the participant may stop the usage of the lozenges. There will be no limitations for other treatments that participants wish to use for treating their colds. Participants will be requested to respond to a web-based symptom questionnaire daily from the first day of the treatment to the recovery from the common cold, or to a maximum of 2 weeks.