Clinical Trial: Efficacy Study of Dexamethasone to Treat the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Study Status: Recruiting
Recruit Status: Recruiting
Study Type: Interventional

Official Title: A Comparative, Randomised Controlled Trial for Evaluating the Efficacy of Dexamethasone in the Treatment of Patients With Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Brief Summary:

BACKGROUND: Currently, there is no proven pharmacologic treatment for patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Great interest remains in the use of corticosteroids for the salvage of patients with severe acute lung injury in the early phase of their disease process, a situation that that has not been evaluated in most published trials. Dexamethasone has never been evaluated in ARDS in a randomized controlled fashion.

HYPOTHESIS AND OBJECTIVES: The investigators hypothesize that adjunctive treatment with intravenous dexamethasone of patients with established ARDS might change the pulmonary and systemic inflammatory response and thereby will increase the number of ventilator-free days and will decrease the extremely high overall mortality. Our goal is to examine the effects of dexamethasone on length of duration of mechanical ventilation (assessed by number of ventilator-free days) and on mortality, in patients admitted into a network of Spanish intensive care units (ICUs) who still meet ARDS criteria at 24 hours after ARDS onset.


Detailed Summary:

The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is an inflammatory disease process of the lungs as a response to both direct and indirect insults, characterized clinically by severe hypoxemia, reduced lung compliance, and bilateral radiographic infiltrates. ARDS is caused by an insult to the alveolar-capillary membrane that results in increased permeability and subsequent interstitial and alveolar edema. The mechanisms by which a wide variety of insults can lead to this syndrome are not clear. It is useful to think of the pathogenesis of ARDS as a result of two different pathways: a direct insult on lung cells and an indirect insult as a result of an acute systemic inflammatory response.

Like any form of inflammation, acute lung injury during ARDS represents a complex process in which multiple cellular signalling pathways can propagate or inhibit lung injury. Death has traditionally been attributed to the underlying disease, the presence of sepsis and the failure of vital organ systems other than the lung. The association of ARDS with multiple system organ dysfunctions is not inevitable, but it certainly is common. It is postulated that local injury to the lungs (pneumonia, trauma, aspiration, gas inhalation) could set up a secondary diffuse inflammatory response resulting in damage to other organs.

Although much has evolved in our understanding of its pathogenesis and factors affecting patient outcome, still there is no specific pharmacologic treatment for ARDS. Despite advances in supportive measures and antibiotics, ARDS has a mortality rate of about 40-50% in most series and it is associated with significant health care costs. Patients with ARDS invariably require endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation (MV) to decrease the work of breathing and to improve oxygen transport. To date the only proven, widely acc
Sponsor: Dr. Negrin University Hospital

Current Primary Outcome: Ventilator free-days [ Time Frame: 28 days ]

Number of ventilator free-days (VFDs) at Day 28 (defined as days alive and free from mechanical ventilation at day 28 after intubation. For subjects ventilated ≥28 days and for subjects who die, VFD is 0.


Original Primary Outcome: Same as current

Current Secondary Outcome: Mortality [ Time Frame: 60 days ]

All-cause mortality at Day 60 after enrolment.


Original Secondary Outcome: Same as current

Information By: Dr. Negrin University Hospital

Dates:
Date Received: November 18, 2012
Date Started: April 2013
Date Completion: May 2017
Last Updated: July 12, 2016
Last Verified: July 2016