A Phase III Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Ganciclovir (Dihydroxypropoxymethyl Guanine [DHPG]) Treatment of Symptomatic Central Nervous System (CNS) Congenital Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Infections.
ganciclovir
Cytomegalovirus Infections
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Treatment Study
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Summary
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the benefits and safety of the antiviral drug ganciclovir (DHPG) given intravenously to treat newborn infants who are born infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV). CMV is a herpes virus that can infect most organs of the body, resulting in death in 10-30% of babies with symptoms of CMV. It can cause severe brain damage in a large percentage of surviving babies. Children in this study have a CMV infection of the central nervous system (CNS). The study will enroll 130 newborn infants 1 month of age or younger with CMV involving the CNS. Patients will be assigned randomly (like tossing a coin) to receive either DHPG or no study drug treatment. All babies in the study will receive standard of care treatment and clinical, diagnostic, laboratory, safety, and follow-up evaluations. Follow-up evaluations, including hearing and eye exams and developmental assessments, will be done periodically until the child reaches 5 years of age. The degree of improved hearing among surviving patients will be a primary measure of drug effectiveness.
Protocol
This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.In this clinical study, participants are placed into groups randomly, like flipping a coin. This ensures that the study is fair and unbiased, making the results more reliable. By assigning participants by chance, researchers can better compare treatments without external influences.
Other Ways to Assign Participants
Non-randomized allocation: Participants are assigned based on specific factors, such as their medical condition or a doctor's decision.
None (Single-arm trial): If the study has only one group, all participants receive the same treatment, and no allocation is needed.
Participants are divided into different groups, each receiving a specific treatment at the same time. This helps researchers compare how well different treatments work against each other.
Other Ways to Assign Treatments
Single-group assignment: Everyone gets the same treatment.
Cross-over assignment: Participants switch between treatments during the study.
Factorial assignment: Participants receive different combinations of treatments.
Sequential assignment: Participants receive treatments one after another in a specific order, possibly based on individual responses.
Other assignment: Treatment assignment does not follow a standard or predefined design.
Everyone involved in the study knows which treatment is being given. This is typically used when it's not possible or necessary to hide the treatment details from participants or researchers.
Other Ways to Mask Information
Single-blind: Participants do not know which treatment they are receiving, but researchers do.
Double-blind: Neither participants nor researchers know which treatment is given.
Triple-blind: Participants, researchers, and outcome assessors do not know which treatment is given.
Quadruple-blind: Participants, researchers, outcome assessors, and care providers all do not know which treatment is given.
Eligibility
Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.Conditions
Criteria
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