Nasal samples from healthy children: towards prevention of pneumonia

ISRCTN ISRCTN76456378
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN76456378
Secondary identifying numbers 36936
Submission date
29/01/2018
Registration date
12/02/2018
Last edited
24/04/2019
Recruitment status
No longer recruiting
Overall study status
Completed
Condition category
Infections and Infestations
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data
Record updated in last year

Plain English Summary

Background and study aims
Streptococcus pneumoniae, is a type of bacteria that is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide. At the same time healthy people often have this bacteria in the upper airway (nasopharynx) without any sign of disease (colonised) which is the main source for transmission to other people. The current pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) does not protect against all types of this group of bacteria. Novel vaccines aim to provide broader protection against pneumococcus and are currently being developed. To test these new vaccines in future we need to learn more about how the body responds to this bacteria. It has been observed in adults who are colonised for research purposes (experimentally) with this bacteria that a specific immune cell 'monocyte' is present in the airway that correlates with protection against carriage of this bacteria. It is important to understanding whether this immune mechanisms control carriage in children in order to test vaccines. The aim of this study is determine whether nasal monocytes control pneumococcus by assessing the nasal immune responses to pneumococcus in children.

Who can participate?
Children aged 1 to 5 years old who are waiting to undergo a minor procedure requiring general anesthesia.

What does the study involve?
Participants undergo their planned procedure. They have cells from their nose collected, as well as the nasal lining fluid and have a swab taken of the nose to assess bacteria presence. A throat swab is also collected. Blood samples are collected. There is no further follow up.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
There are no direct benefits with participating. This study collects nasal samples in a non-invasive manner. A possible risk for participants related to the nasal scrape is a slight amount of blood due to scratching of the mucosal lining. In over 1000 such samples that we have collected from adult volunteers, we have not had any serious events related to sample collection. We have collected blood cultures in 20 adults that were sampled during five visits to see if this led to transient bacteremia. We did not detect any bacteremia following sample collection. In addition, we are collecting a blood sample, which at the discretion of the anaesthesist, can be collected from the line used for administration of anaesthetics. Samples will be collected by experienced members of the clinical team. Study nurses, as well as researchers at LSTM, are working according to SOPs taking institutional risk assessments into accounts with regards to working with biological samples.

Where is the study run from?
Alder Hey Children’s Hospital (UK)

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
March 2017 to September 2020

Who is funding the study?
1. Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (UK)
2. Medical Research Council (UK)

Who is the main contact?
Mr Simon Jochems (Public)

Contact information

Dr Andrea Collins
Scientific

Liverpool Life Sciences Accelerator
1 Daulby Street
Liverpool
L7 8XZ
United Kingdom

Phone +44 151 702 9439
Email Andrea.collins@lstmed.ac.uk

Study information

Study design; Observational; Design type: Cross-sectional
Primary study designObservational
Secondary study designCross sectional study
Study setting(s)Hospital
Study typeTreatment
Participant information sheet ISRCTN76456378_PIS_ v10.docx
Scientific titleSNOT: Sampling the Nose Of Toddlers and Young Children
Study acronymSNOT
Study hypothesisThe aim of this study is determine whether nasal monocytes control pneumococcus by assessing the nasal immune responses to pneumococcus in children.
Ethics approval(s)NHS REC East Liverpool, 16/01/2018, ref: 17/NW/0663
ConditionStreptococcus pneumoniae colonisation
InterventionChildren aged 1-5 years are recruited to this study as UK carriage rates peak at 2 years and start to decline at 5 years. Children without a current infection awaiting a minor procedure that requires general anesthesia at Alder Hey Children’s hospital are recruited. All samples are collected under general anesthesia to reduce potential discomfort and to not have to immobilize the participant during sample collection. All sample collection methods have been previously used in paediatric settings. Nasal cells are collected by gently scraping the inferior turbinate using curettes. Nasal lining fluid is collected using nasosorption devices (synthetic filter paper that adsorbs cytokines). A bacterial nasopharyngeal (NP) swab is collected to assess bacterial presence. An oropharyngeal throat swab is collected to measure viral presence. Up to 3mL of venous blood is collected to measure humoral and cellular immune responses in blood.
Intervention typeOther
Primary outcome measureThe frequency of monocytes in nasal microbiopsies of children carrying pneumococcus and those who don’t is measured by flow cytometry at the study visit.
Secondary outcome measures1. Pneumococcal carriage is measured using lyta qPCR from nasopharyngeal swabs at study visit
2. Viral infection is measured by multiplex PCR in children that carry pneumococcus or not at study visit
3. Cytokines in nasal lining fluid of children carrying pneumococcus or not is measured using Luminex at study visit
4. Nasal frequency of other immune cells potentially involved in control of carriage, i.e. neutrophils and CD4+ T cells, in children who carry and those who don’t will be compared by flow cytometry at study visit
5. Nasal cells responses to in vitro stimulation with pneumococcus in children who carry pneumococcus or not will be measured by Luminex at study visit
6. Immune cell frequency, phenotype and function will be measured in blood of children who carry pneumococcus or not using flow cytometry at study visit
7. Anntibody levels against pneumococcal capsule and proteins in children who carry pneumococcus or not will be measured using ELISA and multiplex at study visit
Overall study start date01/03/2017
Overall study end date01/09/2020

Eligibility

Participant type(s)Patient
Age groupAdult
SexBoth
Target number of participantsPlanned Sample Size: 50; UK Sample Size: 50
Participant inclusion criteria1. Children aged 1-5 years
2. Parent with fluent spoken English - to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the research project and the proposed involvement
3. Capacity of parent to give informed consent
4. Awaiting minor procedure requiring general anesthesia
Participant exclusion criteriaExclusion criteria:
1. Taking daily medications that may affect the immune system e.g. systemic steroids or systemic corticosteroids.
2. Having received antibiotics in the preceding 28 days
3. History of respiratory infections requiring hospitalization
4. Involved in another clinical trial unless observational or in follow-up (non-interventional) phase.
5. Disease associated with altered immunity
6. Surgery related to infection
7. Asthma
8. Current severe acute respiratory infection
Recruitment start date01/03/2018
Recruitment end date01/09/2019

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • England
  • United Kingdom

Study participating centre

Alder Hey Children’s Hospital
E Prescot Road
Liverpool
L14 5AB
United Kingdom

Sponsor information

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Hospital/treatment centre

Pembroke Place
Liverpool
+44 151 705 3794
United Kingdom

ROR logo "ROR" https://ror.org/03svjbs84

Funders

Funder type

Government

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

No information available

Medical Research Council
Government organisation / National government
Alternative name(s)
Medical Research Council (United Kingdom), UK Medical Research Council, MRC
Location
United Kingdom

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date30/09/2020
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareYes
IPD sharing plan summaryOther
Publication and dissemination planPlanned publication in a high-impact peer reviewed journal.
IPD sharing planThe datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study during this study will be included in the subsequent results publication.

Study outputs

Output type Details Date created Date added Peer reviewed? Patient-facing?
Participant information sheet version v10 01/04/2019 No Yes
HRA research summary 28/06/2023 No No

Additional files

ISRCTN76456378_PIS_ v10.docx
Uploaded 01/04/2019

Editorial Notes

24/04/2019: Dr Andrea Collins has replaced Simon Jochems as the trial contact.
01/04/2019: The participant information sheet has been uploaded.
27/03/2019: The condition has been changed from "Specialty: Children, Primary sub-specialty: Allergy, Infection and Immunity ; UKCRC code/ Disease: Infection/ Bacterial, viral and other infectious agents" to "Streptococcus pneumoniae colonisation" following a request from the NIHR.