Overview

Intravenous Ribavirin Protocol to Treat Individuals With Viral Hemorrhagic Fever

Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2021-12-01
Target enrollment:
0
Participant gender:
All
Summary
To provide an intravenous ribavirin therapeutic option for patients with a probable or suspected case of viral hemorrhagic fever, specifically Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever or Lassa fever.
Phase:
N/A
Accepts Healthy Volunteers?
No
Details
Lead Sponsor:
U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command
U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
Treatments:
Ribavirin
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:

- Meets the case definition for a probable or a suspected case of CCHF or LF

- Must be DoD-affiliated personnel including active and reserve component service
members, US civilian employees, contractors, other US personnel, and dependents as
well as allied military forces and local nationals who have been granted access to the
medical facility

- Is at least 18 years of age (17, if active military) and not greater than 65 years of
age

- Has a blood sample drawn and a type and cross-match ordered for transfusion

- Has a hemoglobin greater than or equal to10 g/dL before starting IV ribavirin

- Agrees to collection of required specimens

- Agrees to report any adverse events for the duration of the protocol

- Agrees to a follow-up visit and to donate blood and urine specimens at Day 14 (±2
days) after the first dose of IV ribavirin and agrees to all follow-up visits for
anemia or other medical conditions as required by the attending physician

- Female patient of childbearing potential must have a pregnancy test. Patient will be
counseled concerning the risks of IV ribavirin versus no treatment if the pregnancy
test is positive. If the test is negative, patient agrees to take precautions to avoid
pregnancy during treatment and for 7 months after treatment.

- Male patient agrees not to have intercourse with a pregnant woman and to take
precautions to avoid producing pregnancies during treatment and for 7 months after
ribavirin treatment.

- Female patient agrees not to breastfeed during treatment and for 7 months after
ribavirin treatment

Exclusion Criteria:

- • Has known intolerance to ribavirin.

- Is irreversibly ill on presentation, as defined by presence of profound shock
(shock which does not respond to supportive therapy within 3 hours after
admission).

- Has hemoglobin less than 10 g/dL that cannot be corrected to 10 g/dL before
initiation of IV ribavirin

- Has history of hemoglobinopathies (ie, sickle-cell anemia or thalassemia major).

- Has history of autoimmune hepatitis.

- Has serum calculated creatinine clearance of < 30 mL/min.

- History of second or third degree heart block or sick sinus syndrome without a
pacemaker and no capability of a pacemaker placement or Wolfe-Parkinson-White
Syndrome.

- A sinus bradycardia of less than 40 beats per minute (see below).

- Is currently being treated with didanosine (ddI). ddI must be discontinued before
starting IV ribavirin.

Relative Exclusion Criteria: At the principal investigator's (PI) discretion, an individual
may be treated with IV ribavirin, with caution, if one or more of these criteria are
present.

- A positive pregnancy test. The patient will be informed of the risk and benefit of
treatment with IV ribavirin versus no ribavirin treatment for CCHF (generally
associated with high mortality) and severe cases of Lassa fever (high mortality rates)
versus mild cases of Lassa fever (low mortality rates).

- A New York Heart Association cardiac functional capacity of Class II or greater for
atherosclerotic heart disease (ASHD) and congestive heart failure (CHF).

- Known cardiac defects that may predispose the subject to bradyarrhythmias, such as
second or third degree heart block or sick sinus syndrome without a pacemaker, but
capability of pacemaker placement, if needed.

- Sinus bradycardia of 41-49 beats per minutes, if the individual is not known to have a
low resting heart rate related to physical conditioning.

- Use of drugs known to result in bradyarrhythmias (certain beta blockers and calcium
channel blockers, digoxin, as well as clonidine, cholinesterase inhibitors, and
lithium).

- History of gout