Efficacy Study of Homeopathic Potassium Dichromate to Treat Tracheal Secretions in Critically Ill Patients

• Status: Terminated
• Trial end date: 2010-01-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

The purpose of this study is to find out whether homeopathic potassium dichromate will decrease the time on the breathing machine and the amount of phlegm that you produce in your lungs. In addition, this study will look at whether participants spend less time in a critical care unit and if the chances of being placed back on a breathing machine can be lessened.

• Phase: Phase 2
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients 18yrs and older

• Situated in the Critical Care areas of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre including the Critical Care Unit, Cardiovascular Surgery Intensive Care Unit, Ross Tilley Burn Centre and B5/D4 intensive care units.

• They will have been weaned from mechanical ventilation (eg: extubated, face mask or tracheostomy mask, minimal pressure support or CPAP, FiO2 <0.3) but are unable to be transferred out of the unit due to excessive and/or persistent secretions for at least 48 hours.

• Persistent secretions will be defined as suctioning of greater than every 2 hours or a score of greater than 20-24 "MP" per day. (In the Critical Care areas, each time a patient is suctioned, secretions are quantified on a scale of 1-3, with "MP" being mucopurulent in nature).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Those with evidence of untreated respiratory infections or infections treated for less than 48 hours.

• Those patients on high dose steroids as defined by greater than:Fluticasone 125ug inhaler- four puffs twice daily and/or Prednisone 20mg daily orally

• Patients with multiple drug and/or environmental allergies

• Those patients who fail to give informed written consent.

• Those patients currently enrolled in another clinical trial or who have been approached for participation in a trial during the last 30 days.

• Previous enrollment in this study

• Pregnancy- all women of child bearing age will be administered a pregnancy test before inclusion into the study to verify their status.