Early Prophylactic Low-molecular-weight Heparin (LMWH) in Symptomatic COVID-19 Positive Patients

NCT04492254 | Terminated Phase 3 DMC

• 2 other identifiers: TRI-088922020-003125-39
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 219
• Locations: 3 countries
• Sites: 3

Brief Summary

Evidence has shown that COVID-19 infections can lead to an increased risk of blood clots. These blood clots can lead to individuals being admitted to hospital, or, unfortunately in severe cases, death. Enoxaparin is a blood-thinning drug which has been used by doctors and nurses in hospitals for many years to prevent the thickening of blood which may lead to a clot. It is easier for doctors to prevent new blood clots from forming than treating existing blood clots. Currently, there are no treatments for COVID-19. There is an urgent need to find a safe and effective treatment to prevent worsening of the disease that may lead to hospital admission and/or death. The ETHIC (Early Thromboprophylaxis in COVID-19) study aims to find out if giving enoxaparin in an early stage of the COVID-19 disease can prevent individuals being admitted to hospital and/or death. The study will take place in approximately 8 to 10 countries, in approximately 30 to 50 centres. Patients will be allowed to take part if they have had a confirmed COVID-19 infection, are ≥ 55 years of age and have at least two of the following additional risk factors; age ≥ 70 years, body mass index \> 25 kg/m2, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or corticosteroid use. Half the patients in the study will receive the blood-thinning drug enoxaparin for three weeks, and half will receive no treatment. Individuals will be randomly allocated to one of these groups. After 21 days, the number of patients in each group who were either admitted to hospital, or died, will be compared. The number of patients in each group who developed a blood clot (venous thromboembolism) will also be compared. Further comparisons will be made at both 50 and 90 days after the beginning of the study.

Conditions

COVID-19

Keywords

Low Molecular Weight Heparin; Enoxaparin

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (6)

• Hospital Admission

  Hospital admission including: Pneumonia Acute Respiratory distress syndrome Admission to intensive care unit (ICU) Mechanical ventilation (MV)/intubation requirement Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)/Non-invasive ventilation Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)

  21 days

• Hospital Admission

  Hospital admission including: Pneumonia Acute Respiratory distress syndrome Admission to intensive care unit (ICU) Mechanical ventilation (MV)/intubation requirement Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)/Non-invasive ventilation Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)

  50 days

• Hospital Admission

  Hospital admission including: Pneumonia Acute Respiratory distress syndrome Admission to intensive care unit (ICU) Mechanical ventilation (MV)/intubation requirement Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)/Non-invasive ventilation Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)

  90 days

• Death

  All-cause Cardiovascular Non-Cardiovascular Specific causes Fatal bleed

  21 days

• Death

  All-cause Cardiovascular Non-Cardiovascular Specific causes Fatal bleed

  50 days

• Death

  All-cause Cardiovascular Non-Cardiovascular Specific causes Fatal bleed

  90 days

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Bleeding (as defined by ISTH criteria)

  21 and 50 days

• Diagnosis of VTE

  21, 50 and 90 days

Study Arms (2)

Enoxaparin

EXPERIMENTAL

(40 mg o/d if \< 100 kg, 40 mg b/d if ≥ 100 kg)

Drug: Enoxaparin

Current standard of care (no enoxaparin)

NO INTERVENTION

Standard of care

Interventions

Enoxaparin DRUG

The treatment provided will be enoxaparin sodium 40mg/0.4 mL. All doses will be provided in pre-filled, single-dose syringes for subcutaneous injection.

Also known as: Lovenox/Clexane

Enoxaparin

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 55 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Signed Informed consent
• Confirmed COVID-19 (i.e. symptoms + positive test for SARS-CoV-2)
• Male or female, age ≥ 55 years
• At least two of the following additional risk factors:
• Age ≥ 70 years Body mass index \> 25 kg/m2 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)\* Diabetes\* Cardiovascular disease\* Corticosteroid use
• \*Defined as any disease requiring medical intervention or treatment.

You may not qualify if:

• Contraindications to unfractionated heparin or LMWH
• Recent (\<48 hours) or planned spinal or epidural anesthesia or puncture, PCI or thrombolytic therapy within the preceding 24 hours
• Increased risk for bleeding complications
• Pregnant women
• Severe renal impairment (GFR \< 30 mL/min)
• Receiving any antiplatelet therapy (with the exception of low dose (≤100mg) aspirin) or anticoagulant therapy (e.g. VKA, DOAC)
• Patients participating in an interventional study that is outside the purview of TRI sponsored studies.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Thrombosis Research Institute: lead
• Sanofi: collaborator

Study Sites (3)

Harry Gibbs, National Co-ordinating Investigator, The Alfred Hospital

Melbourne, Australia

Location

Dr Frank Cools, National Co-ordinating Investigator, AZ Klina

Brasschaat, Belgium

Location

Prof. Barry Jacobson, National Coordinating Investigator, University of the Witwatersrand

Johannesburg, South Africa

Location

Related Publications (18)

• Tang N, Li D, Wang X, Sun Z. Abnormal coagulation parameters are associated with poor prognosis in patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia. J Thromb Haemost. 2020 Apr;18(4):844-847. doi: 10.1111/jth.14768. Epub 2020 Mar 13.

  PMID: 32073213 BACKGROUND

• Spiezia L, Boscolo A, Poletto F, Cerruti L, Tiberio I, Campello E, Navalesi P, Simioni P. COVID-19-Related Severe Hypercoagulability in Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Unit for Acute Respiratory Failure. Thromb Haemost. 2020 Jun;120(6):998-1000. doi: 10.1055/s-0040-1710018. Epub 2020 Apr 21.

  PMID: 32316063 BACKGROUND

• Escher R, Breakey N, Lammle B. Severe COVID-19 infection associated with endothelial activation. Thromb Res. 2020 Jun;190:62. doi: 10.1016/j.thromres.2020.04.014. Epub 2020 Apr 15. No abstract available.

  PMID: 32305740 BACKGROUND

• Tang N, Bai H, Chen X, Gong J, Li D, Sun Z. Anticoagulant treatment is associated with decreased mortality in severe coronavirus disease 2019 patients with coagulopathy. J Thromb Haemost. 2020 May;18(5):1094-1099. doi: 10.1111/jth.14817. Epub 2020 Apr 27.

  PMID: 32220112 BACKGROUND

• Peng YD, Meng K, Guan HQ, Leng L, Zhu RR, Wang BY, He MA, Cheng LX, Huang K, Zeng QT. [Clinical characteristics and outcomes of 112 cardiovascular disease patients infected by 2019-nCoV]. Zhonghua Xin Xue Guan Bing Za Zhi. 2020 Jun 24;48(6):450-455. doi: 10.3760/cma.j.cn112148-20200220-00105. Chinese.

  PMID: 32120458 BACKGROUND

• Lighter J, Phillips M, Hochman S, Sterling S, Johnson D, Francois F, Stachel A. Obesity in Patients Younger Than 60 Years Is a Risk Factor for COVID-19 Hospital Admission. Clin Infect Dis. 2020 Jul 28;71(15):896-897. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa415. No abstract available.

  PMID: 32271368 BACKGROUND

• Verity R, Okell LC, Dorigatti I, Winskill P, Whittaker C, Imai N, Cuomo-Dannenburg G, Thompson H, Walker PGT, Fu H, Dighe A, Griffin JT, Baguelin M, Bhatia S, Boonyasiri A, Cori A, Cucunuba Z, FitzJohn R, Gaythorpe K, Green W, Hamlet A, Hinsley W, Laydon D, Nedjati-Gilani G, Riley S, van Elsland S, Volz E, Wang H, Wang Y, Xi X, Donnelly CA, Ghani AC, Ferguson NM. Estimates of the severity of coronavirus disease 2019: a model-based analysis. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020 Jun;20(6):669-677. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30243-7. Epub 2020 Mar 30.

  PMID: 32240634 BACKGROUND

• Banerjee A, Pasea L, Harris S, Gonzalez-Izquierdo A, Torralbo A, Shallcross L, Noursadeghi M, Pillay D, Sebire N, Holmes C, Pagel C, Wong WK, Langenberg C, Williams B, Denaxas S, Hemingway H. Estimating excess 1-year mortality associated with the COVID-19 pandemic according to underlying conditions and age: a population-based cohort study. Lancet. 2020 May 30;395(10238):1715-1725. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30854-0. Epub 2020 May 12.

  PMID: 32405103 BACKGROUND

• Schulman S, Kearon C; Subcommittee on Control of Anticoagulation of the Scientific and Standardization Committee of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis. Definition of major bleeding in clinical investigations of antihemostatic medicinal products in non-surgical patients. J Thromb Haemost. 2005 Apr;3(4):692-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1538-7836.2005.01204.x.

  PMID: 15842354 BACKGROUND

• Kaatz S, Ahmad D, Spyropoulos AC, Schulman S; Subcommittee on Control of Anticoagulation. Definition of clinically relevant non-major bleeding in studies of anticoagulants in atrial fibrillation and venous thromboembolic disease in non-surgical patients: communication from the SSC of the ISTH. J Thromb Haemost. 2015 Nov;13(11):2119-26. doi: 10.1111/jth.13140. No abstract available.

  PMID: 26764429 BACKGROUND

• Day M. Covid-19: four fifths of cases are asymptomatic, China figures indicate. BMJ. 2020 Apr 2;369:m1375. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m1375. No abstract available.

  PMID: 32241884 BACKGROUND

• Wang D, Hu B, Hu C, Zhu F, Liu X, Zhang J, Wang B, Xiang H, Cheng Z, Xiong Y, Zhao Y, Li Y, Wang X, Peng Z. Clinical Characteristics of 138 Hospitalized Patients With 2019 Novel Coronavirus-Infected Pneumonia in Wuhan, China. JAMA. 2020 Mar 17;323(11):1061-1069. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.1585.

  PMID: 32031570 BACKGROUND

• Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, Ren L, Zhao J, Hu Y, Zhang L, Fan G, Xu J, Gu X, Cheng Z, Yu T, Xia J, Wei Y, Wu W, Xie X, Yin W, Li H, Liu M, Xiao Y, Gao H, Guo L, Xie J, Wang G, Jiang R, Gao Z, Jin Q, Wang J, Cao B. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet. 2020 Feb 15;395(10223):497-506. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30183-5. Epub 2020 Jan 24.

  PMID: 31986264 BACKGROUND

• Mehta P, McAuley DF, Brown M, Sanchez E, Tattersall RS, Manson JJ; HLH Across Speciality Collaboration, UK. COVID-19: consider cytokine storm syndromes and immunosuppression. Lancet. 2020 Mar 28;395(10229):1033-1034. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30628-0. Epub 2020 Mar 16. No abstract available.

  PMID: 32192578 BACKGROUND

• Mousavi S, Moradi M, Khorshidahmad T, Motamedi M. Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Heparin and Its Derivatives: A Systematic Review. Adv Pharmacol Sci. 2015;2015:507151. doi: 10.1155/2015/507151. Epub 2015 May 12.

  PMID: 26064103 BACKGROUND

• Proschan MA. Two-stage sample size re-estimation based on a nuisance parameter: a review. J Biopharm Stat. 2005;15(4):559-74. doi: 10.1081/BIP-200062852.

  PMID: 16022163 BACKGROUND

• Santos BC, Flumignan RL, Civile VT, Atallah AN, Nakano LC. Prophylactic anticoagulants for non-hospitalised people with COVID-19. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023 Aug 16;8(8):CD015102. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD015102.pub2.

  PMID: 37591523 DERIVED

• Cools F, Virdone S, Sawhney J, Lopes RD, Jacobson B, Arcelus JI, Hobbs FDR, Gibbs H, Himmelreich JCL, MacCallum P, Schellong S, Haas S, Turpie AGG, Ageno W, Rocha AT, Kayani G, Pieper K, Kakkar AK; ETHIC investigators. Thromboprophylactic low-molecular-weight heparin versus standard of care in unvaccinated, at-risk outpatients with COVID-19 (ETHIC): an open-label, multicentre, randomised, controlled, phase 3b trial. Lancet Haematol. 2022 Aug;9(8):e594-e604. doi: 10.1016/S2352-3026(22)00173-9. Epub 2022 Jun 30.

  PMID: 35779560 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

COVID-19

Interventions

Enoxaparin

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pneumonia, Viral; Pneumonia; Respiratory Tract Infections; Infections; Virus Diseases; Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Lung Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight; Heparin; Glycosaminoglycans; Polysaccharides; Carbohydrates

Study Officials

• Ajay Kakkar

  Thrombosis Research Institute

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: phase 3
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Open label, multicentre, multi-national, randomized controlled trial.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 22, 2020
• First Posted: July 30, 2020
• Study Start: October 27, 2020
• Primary Completion: November 29, 2021
• Study Completion: November 29, 2021
• Last Updated: May 2, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

BE (1); ZA (1); AU (1)