Clinical Trial: Transmission and the Respiratory Tract in Cryptosporidiosis

Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Observational

Official Title: Prevalence and Clinical Presentation of Respiratory Cryptosporidiosis Among Children With Diarrhea in Mulago Hospital, Uganda

Brief Summary: Cryptosporidium is an intestinal parasite that causes diarrhea in children and adults. In addition to infection of the stomach, this parasite can infect the respiratory system causing a cough and/or problems breathing. This study will enroll 480 children between the ages of 9 and 36 months who come to Mulago Hospital for treatment of diarrhea. Researchers believe a large number of children with diarrhea and cough will have the parasite present in their sputum (mucus coughed up). Researchers also believe that children who have respiratory tract cryptosporidiosis may have a cough, increased number of breaths per minute, and/or a lower oxygen level. Blood, stool, saliva, and sputum samples will be collected from all children in the study and tested for Cryptosporidium. Children too young to provide a sputum sample will have a tube placed to collect a mucus sample from the lungs. Study participation may be as short as 4 hours or as long as 2 days depending on each child's health.

Detailed Summary: Cryptosporidiosis is recognized as a major cause of diarrhea worldwide. In addition to infection of the gastrointestinal tract and associated fecal-oral transmission, there is evidence that Cryptosporidium can infect the respiratory tract. Of particular interest are numerous reports indicating that respiratory symptoms occur with considerable frequency in subjects with intestinal cryptosporidiosis although the etiology of the respiratory symptoms was never investigated. The association between respiratory symptoms and intestinal cryptosporidiosis is particularly strong in children with questionable nutritional status. This study will evaluate the prevalence and clinical presentation of respiratory cryptosporidiosis among children with diarrhea in Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda. The study will screen approximately 1536 children aged 9-36 months who present to the Acute Care Unit of Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, with acute or persistent diarrhea. Based on the results of fecal testing, 480 children will be actively selected to undergo further sample collection in 2 groups. Group 1 will be comprised of children with Cryptosporidium-positive stools, approximately 50% of whom are expected to have cough (n=384). Group 2 will be comprised of children with Cryptosporidium-negative stools and cough (n=96). The primary objectives of the study are: to establish the prevalence of cough in children with diarrhea due to Cryptosporidium infection; to establish the prevalence of respiratory tract cryptosporidiosis in children with diarrhea due to Cryptosporidium infection; to establish the prevalence of respiratory tract cryptosporidiosis in children with diarrhea due to other causes; and to determine whether respiratory Cryptosporidium infection in children is associated with increased respiratory rates and decreased oxygen saturation levels. To address these objectives, the study will focus on whether Cryptosporidium oocysts can be recovered from induced sputum of subjects
Sponsor: Tufts University

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Information By: Tufts University

Dates:
Date Received: July 26, 2007
Date Started: October 2007
Date Completion:
Last Updated: December 2, 2009
Last Verified: September 2007