NCT03259698

Brief Summary

Despite decades of traditional prevention efforts based on behavior change and condom use, Ontario has seen over 700 new HIV infections annually over the past 10 years. Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is one such approach, in which uninfected persons use 28 days of antiretroviral medications (ARVs) shortly after an HIV exposure to minimize the risk of acquiring HIV. PEP is highly efficacious, is considered a standard of care intervention based on medical and ethical grounds, and is supported by treatment guidelines. Yet several implementation challenges have limited its clinical and public health impact in Ontario, where no formal PEP policy exists. Our proposal seeks to optimize two aspects of delivering PEP for sexual exposures (nPEP). Results will inform the development of a standardized approach to nPEP both province-wide and elsewhere. Thus study has pragmatic, multicenter randomized controlled trial using a 2x2 factorial design to determine whether the proportion of nPEP patients that successfully complete follow-up:

  1. 1.is higher among those receiving mobile phone-based text messaging support than among those receiving standard care; and
  2. 2.is non-inferior among those receiving care from a sexual health clinic nurse compared to those receiving hospital-based physician care.

Trial Health

43
At Risk

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Trial has exceeded expected completion date
Enrollment
434

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for phase_2 hiv-infections

Timeline
Completed

Started Nov 2021

Shorter than P25 for phase_2 hiv-infections

Geographic Reach
1 country

3 active sites

Status
unknown

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

August 21, 2017

Completed
3 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

August 24, 2017

Completed
4.2 years until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

November 4, 2021

Completed
1.1 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

December 1, 2022

Completed
8 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

August 1, 2023

Completed
Last Updated

November 22, 2021

Status Verified

November 1, 2021

Enrollment Period

1.1 years

First QC Date

August 21, 2017

Last Update Submit

November 19, 2021

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Self-reported completion of a full course of PEP medications and receipt of a final HIV test result from their nPEP provider 12 weeks after the index exposure

    Determined by patient completion of acceptability questionnaire and evidence of HIV test result

    12 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (9)

  • Incidence of Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events [Safety and Tolerability of TAF/FTC/ELV/cobi-based nPEP]

    12 weeks

  • Completion of each scheduled follow-up activity (blood tests and clinic visits)

    12 weeks

  • Diagnosis of incident HIV

    12 weeks

  • Sexually transmitted infections (gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, hepatitis B and C)

    12 weeks

  • Self-reported sexual risk-taking behaviour

    12 weeks

  • +4 more secondary outcomes

Other Outcomes (1)

  • Assessment of cost on heathcare system

    Week 12

Study Arms (4)

ARM 1 = TEXT MESSAGING SUPPORT

EXPERIMENTAL

PEP will be delivered by ID physician and participants will receive weekly text message "check-ins" and optional automated text appointment reminders via the WelTel system.

Drug: nPEPBehavioral: Text Messaging Support

ARM 2 = NO TEXT MESSAGING SUPPORT

EXPERIMENTAL

PEP will be delivered according to the standard of care by an infectious diseases physician. Participants will not receive text message reminders or "check-in".

Drug: nPEP

ARM 3 = NURSE-LED nPEP

EXPERIMENTAL

PEP will be delivered by a sexual health clinic nurse operating under a medical directive.

Drug: nPEPOther: Nurse-Led nPEP

ARM 4 = ID PHYSICIAN-LED nPEP,

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

PEP will be delivered according to the standard of care by an infectious diseases physician.

Drug: nPEP

Interventions

nPEPDRUG

Participants will receive Bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide 50/200/25mg (Biktarvy®) one tablet once daily as study drug to complete a 28 day course of PEP.

Also known as: Biktarvy, Bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide, BIC/FTC/TAF
ARM 1 = TEXT MESSAGING SUPPORTARM 2 = NO TEXT MESSAGING SUPPORTARM 3 = NURSE-LED nPEPARM 4 = ID PHYSICIAN-LED nPEP,

Text messaging support service ('WelTel'): community-based counselors will provides standardized weekly 'check-in' messages during the participants 12-week course of nPEP follow-up. Participants in the text-message arm will also have the option of receiving generic non-specific automated text reminders of their upcoming appointments in the form of "Don't forget about tomorrow".

ARM 1 = TEXT MESSAGING SUPPORT

nPEP follow-up is provided by nurse-led care at a local sexual health clinic instead of a hospital-based ID physician.

ARM 3 = NURSE-LED nPEP

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Be 18 years or older
  • Be known or presumed to be HIV-uninfected at baseline
  • Be initiated on PEP by a healthcare provider in the past six days for a sexual exposure to a known or suspected HIV-infected source
  • STAGE 1 only: Own a mobile phone with text messaging capabilities on which they are willing to potentially receive messages from the text messaging service
  • Be capable of communicating verbally and via text in English
  • Be planning to continue their follow-up locally or be willing to have follow-up study visits conducted remotely; either by telephone or via an encrypted video conferencing system (such as Zoom for healthcare).
  • Be referred to a sexual assault center and provided with necessary counselling and support services if presented for nPEP following sexual assault.

You may not qualify if:

  • Creatinine clearance \<30 mL/min (using Cockcroft-Gault formula)
  • Enrolled in any other clinical trial of an HIV prevention intervention
  • Prior participation in this clinical trial for a previous episode of nPEP
  • Known co-infection with chronic hepatitis B at enrollment
  • Current or planned pregnancy or breastfeeding
  • Use of a medication whose co-administration with Biktarvy is contraindicated (dofetilide, carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin, rifampin, rifampicin, rifabutin, rifapentine, modafinil, dexamethasone, metformin, St. John's Wort)
  • Concomitant use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
  • Stage 2 only: Concomitant use of any non-prescription medication, supplement, vitamin or natural remedy which the patient is unwilling to discontinue during Biktarvy® administration

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (3)

HIV Prevention Clinic (Toronto General Hospital)

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

RECRUITING

Positive Care Clinic (St. Michael's Hospital)

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

RECRUITING

Crossways Sexual Health Clinic (TPH)

Toronto, Canada

RECRUITING

Related Publications (1)

  • Palmer MJ, Henschke N, Villanueva G, Maayan N, Bergman H, Glenton C, Lewin S, Fonhus MS, Tamrat T, Mehl GL, Free C. Targeted client communication via mobile devices for improving sexual and reproductive health. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Jul 14;8(8):CD013680. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013680.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

HIV Infections

Interventions

bictegravir, emtricitabine, tenofovir alafenamide, drug combination

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Blood-Borne InfectionsCommunicable DiseasesInfectionsSexually Transmitted Diseases, ViralSexually Transmitted DiseasesLentivirus InfectionsRetroviridae InfectionsRNA Virus InfectionsVirus DiseasesGenital DiseasesUrogenital DiseasesImmunologic Deficiency SyndromesImmune System Diseases

Study Officials

  • Darrell HS Tan, MD, FRCPC, PhD

    Unity Health Toronto

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
  • Isaac I Bogoch, MD, FRCPC, MSc

    Toronto General Hospital

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Darrell HS Tan, MD, FRCPC, PhD

CONTACT

Attia Qamar, BME

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
phase 2
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
SEQUENTIAL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

August 21, 2017

First Posted

August 24, 2017

Study Start

November 4, 2021

Primary Completion

December 1, 2022

Study Completion

August 1, 2023

Last Updated

November 22, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-11

Locations