Study Stopped
Study timeline is not feasible
Fluoxetine to Reduce Hospitalization From COVID-19 Infection (FloR COVID-19)
1 other identifier
interventional
N/A
1 country
1
Brief Summary
The current research is a pilot study to determine the feasibility of recruiting and retaining 40 participants diagnosed with COVID-19. The purpose is to observe the early use of fluoxetine (commonly known as Prozac) to reduce the severity of the COVID-19 illness. Fluoxetine is a drug that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 1987 for various mental health disorders.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
Started Nov 2020
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
September 29, 2020
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
September 30, 2020
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
November 1, 2020
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
November 1, 2021
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
December 1, 2021
CompletedDecember 24, 2020
December 1, 2020
1 year
September 29, 2020
December 22, 2020
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (2)
Rate of hospitalization
Measures number of subjects hospitalized for COVID-19 symptoms
8 weeks
Physical symptoms assessed through daily checklist
The 23-item daily symptom checklist measures the presence or absence of COVID-related symptoms (e.g. shortness of breath, fever, chills) and other possible symptoms (e.g. ear pain, vomit, seizures).
8 weeks
Secondary Outcomes (6)
Rate of intubation
8 weeks
Rate of death
8 weeks
Depressive symptoms assessed weekly
8 weeks
Post traumatic stress disorder symptoms assessed weekly
8 weeks
Anxiety symptoms assessed weekly
8 weeks
- +1 more secondary outcomes
Study Arms (2)
Fluoxetine
EXPERIMENTALParticipants instructed to take fluoxetine 20 mg capsule orally daily for 8 weeks in the following schedule: Week 1 = 1 pill (20 mg), Week 2 = 2 pills (40 mg), Weeks 3-6 = 3 pills (60 mg), Week 7 = 2 pills (40 mg), Week 8 = pill (20 mg)
Placebo
PLACEBO COMPARATORParticipants instructed to take fluoxetine placebo capsule matching fluoxetine orally daily for 8 weeks in the following schedule: Week 1 = 1 pill, Week 2 = 2 pills, Weeks 3-6 = 3 pills, Week 7 = 2 pills, Week 8 = pill
Interventions
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- English speaking participant
- years of age or older
- able to give informed consent
- Tested positive for active SARS-CoV-2 infection and
- It's been less than 10 days since symptoms first appeared;
- Fever persists for longer than 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications; and
- Experiencing other symptoms of COVID-19 as described by the CDC
You may not qualify if:
- Prisoner or institutionalized patient
- Unable to give informed consent
- Less than 18 years of age
- Hospitalization
- Active bleeding requiring blood products in past week
- Diagnosed with bipolar disorder and not on mood stabilizing medication
- Known allergy or hypersensitivity to fluoxetine
- Currently taking a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI)
- Currently taking an selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI)
- Outpatient and currently taking hydroxychloroquine
- Known pregnancy
- Breastfeeding
- Known prolonged QTc, such as congenital prolonged QTc syndromes
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Clinical Research Center
Hershey, Pennsylvania, 17033, United States
Related Publications (21)
Amitai M, Taler M, Carmel M, Michaelovsky E, Eilat T, Yablonski M, Orpaz N, Chen A, Apter A, Weizman A, Fennig S. The Relationship Between Plasma Cytokine Levels and Response to Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Treatment in Children and Adolescents with Depression and/or Anxiety Disorders. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2016 Oct;26(8):727-732. doi: 10.1089/cap.2015.0147. Epub 2016 Jan 15.
PMID: 26771135BACKGROUNDBlatteau JE, Barre S, Pascual A, Castagna O, Abraini JH, Risso JJ, Vallee N. Protective effects of fluoxetine on decompression sickness in mice. PLoS One. 2012;7(11):e49069. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0049069. Epub 2012 Nov 8.
PMID: 23145072BACKGROUNDBlatteau JE, de Maistre S, Lambrechts K, Abraini J, Risso JJ, Vallee N. Fluoxetine stimulates anti-inflammatory IL-10 cytokine production and attenuates sensory deficits in a rat model of decompression sickness. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2015 Dec 15;119(12):1393-9. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00602.2015. Epub 2015 Oct 22.
PMID: 26494447BACKGROUNDBranco-de-Almeida LS, Kajiya M, Cardoso CR, Silva MJ, Ohta K, Rosalen PL, Franco GC, Han X, Taubman MA, Kawai T. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors attenuate the antigen presentation from dendritic cells to effector T lymphocytes. FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol. 2011 Aug;62(3):283-94. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-695X.2011.00816.x. Epub 2011 Jun 16.
PMID: 21569123BACKGROUNDCai Z, Liu J, Bian H, Cai J, Jin Q, Han J. Fluoxetine, an Antidepressant Drug, Inhibited Cigarette Smoke-Induced Pulmonary Inflammation and Apoptosis in Rats. Inflammation. 2017 Aug;40(4):1375-1381. doi: 10.1007/s10753-017-0580-y.
PMID: 28477248BACKGROUNDDong C, Zhang JC, Yao W, Ren Q, Yang C, Ma M, Han M, Saito R, Hashimoto K. Effects of escitalopram, R-citalopram, and reboxetine on serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-10, and depression-like behavior in mice after lipopolysaccharide administration. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2016 May;144:7-12. doi: 10.1016/j.pbb.2016.02.005. Epub 2016 Feb 15.
PMID: 26892759BACKGROUNDDurairaj H, Steury MD, Parameswaran N. Paroxetine differentially modulates LPS-induced TNFalpha and IL-6 production in mouse macrophages. Int Immunopharmacol. 2015 Apr;25(2):485-92. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2015.02.029. Epub 2015 Mar 2.
PMID: 25744603BACKGROUNDGobin V, Van Steendam K, Denys D, Deforce D. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors as a novel class of immunosuppressants. Int Immunopharmacol. 2014 May;20(1):148-56. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2014.02.030. Epub 2014 Mar 6.
PMID: 24613205BACKGROUNDHashioka S, Klegeris A, Monji A, Kato T, Sawada M, McGeer PL, Kanba S. Antidepressants inhibit interferon-gamma-induced microglial production of IL-6 and nitric oxide. Exp Neurol. 2007 Jul;206(1):33-42. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2007.03.022. Epub 2007 Mar 30.
PMID: 17481608BACKGROUNDHuang 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: 31986264BACKGROUNDLi XQ, Wang HM, Yang CG, Zhang XH, Han DD, Wang HL. Fluoxetine inhibited extracellular matrix of pulmonary artery and inflammation of lungs in monocrotaline-treated rats. Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2011 Feb;32(2):217-22. doi: 10.1038/aps.2010.187. Epub 2011 Jan 10.
PMID: 21217769BACKGROUNDLiu D, Wang Z, Liu S, Wang F, Zhao S, Hao A. Anti-inflammatory effects of fluoxetine in lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-stimulated microglial cells. Neuropharmacology. 2011 Sep;61(4):592-9. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2011.04.033. Epub 2011 May 11.
PMID: 21575647BACKGROUNDLiu RP, Zou M, Wang JY, Zhu JJ, Lai JM, Zhou LL, Chen SF, Zhang X, Zhu JH. Paroxetine ameliorates lipopolysaccharide-induced microglia activation via differential regulation of MAPK signaling. J Neuroinflammation. 2014 Mar 12;11:47. doi: 10.1186/1742-2094-11-47.
PMID: 24618100BACKGROUNDLu X, Wang J, Chen X, Jiang Y, Pan ZK. Rolipram Protects Mice from Gram-negative Bacterium Escherichia coli-induced Inflammation and Septic Shock. Sci Rep. 2020 Jan 13;10(1):175. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-56899-6.
PMID: 31932743BACKGROUNDRoumestan C, Michel A, Bichon F, Portet K, Detoc M, Henriquet C, Jaffuel D, Mathieu M. Anti-inflammatory properties of desipramine and fluoxetine. Respir Res. 2007 May 3;8(1):35. doi: 10.1186/1465-9921-8-35.
PMID: 17477857BACKGROUNDSherkawy MM, Abo-Youssef AM, Salama AAA, Ismaiel IE. Fluoxetine protects against OVA induced bronchial asthma and depression in rats. Eur J Pharmacol. 2018 Oct 15;837:25-32. doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2018.08.026. Epub 2018 Aug 23.
PMID: 30145150BACKGROUNDTaraz M, Khatami MR, Dashti-Khavidaki S, Akhonzadeh S, Noorbala AA, Ghaeli P, Taraz S. Sertraline decreases serum level of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in hemodialysis patients with depression: results of a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Int Immunopharmacol. 2013 Nov;17(3):917-23. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2013.09.020. Epub 2013 Oct 11.
PMID: 24121064BACKGROUNDUdina M, Hidalgo D, Navines R, Forns X, Sola R, Farre M, Capuron L, Vieta E, Martin-Santos R. Prophylactic antidepressant treatment of interferon-induced depression in chronic hepatitis C: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Psychiatry. 2014 Oct;75(10):e1113-21. doi: 10.4088/JCP.13r08800.
PMID: 25373120BACKGROUNDVollmar P, Haghikia A, Dermietzel R, Faustmann PM. Venlafaxine exhibits an anti-inflammatory effect in an inflammatory co-culture model. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2008 Feb;11(1):111-7. doi: 10.1017/S1461145707007729. Epub 2007 Apr 20.
PMID: 17445357BACKGROUNDWang L, Wang R, Liu L, Qiao D, Baldwin DS, Hou R. Effects of SSRIs on peripheral inflammatory markers in patients with major depressive disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Brain Behav Immun. 2019 Jul;79:24-38. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2019.02.021. Epub 2019 Feb 21.
PMID: 30797959BACKGROUNDYoung KC, Bai CH, Su HC, Tsai PJ, Pu CY, Liao CS, Lin YM, Lai HW, Chong LW, Tsai YS, Tsao CW. Fluoxetine a novel anti-hepatitis C virus agent via ROS-, JNK-, and PPARbeta/gamma-dependent pathways. Antiviral Res. 2014 Oct;110:158-67. doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2014.08.002. Epub 2014 Aug 21.
PMID: 25151487BACKGROUND
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Interventions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Erika Saunders, MD
Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- early phase 1
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- QUADRUPLE
- Who Masked
- PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
- Purpose
- TREATMENT
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Hershey Medical Center Manager
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
September 29, 2020
First Posted
September 30, 2020
Study Start
November 1, 2020
Primary Completion
November 1, 2021
Study Completion
December 1, 2021
Last Updated
December 24, 2020
Record last verified: 2020-12