Clinical trial NCT00310349: PneuMum: Pneumococcal Vaccination of Australian Indigenous Mothers to See if it Protects Their Babies From Ear Disease
Official title: PneuMum: A Randomised Controlled Trial of Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mothers to Protect Their Babies From Ear Disease
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: UNKNOWN
Phase: PHASE3
Conditions: Middle Ear Effusion
Tympanic Membrane Perforation
Acute Otitis Media
Pneumococcal Infections
Keywords: pneumococcal vaccine
clinical trial
Indigenous
Maternal
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Lead sponsor: University of Melbourne
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia
name: Menzies School of Health Research
First posted: 2006-04-03
Enrollment: 210
Sex: FEMALE
Minimum age (years): 16
Maximum age (years): 39
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: PneuMum is a randomised controlled trial that aims to find out if pneumococcal vaccination for Australian Indigenous mothers, in the last few months of pregnancy or at delivery, can prevent ear disease in infants. Mothers will receive the 23 valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPPV) either: a) during the third trimester of pregnancy; b) soon after child birth; or c) seven months after child birth (control group). The adult diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis vaccine (dTPa) will be used as the control vaccine for the birth dose.

The study aims to recruit 210 Indigenous women aged 18-39 years who have an uncomplicated pregnancy. Following recruitment, subjects will be randomly assigned to one of the three groups.

Each mother and infant will be followed from pregnancy until the baby is seven months of age. Children will receive all of their routinely recommended vaccinations in accordance with the standard vaccination schedule.

The primary outcome will be prevalence of ear infection at seven months of age, defined as middle ear effusion or tympanic membrane perforation or acute otitis media. Pneumatic otoscopy, video-otoscopy and tympanometry will be used in the ear examinations. The primary analyses will be a direct comparison of the proportion of infants in the control group who have nasopharyngeal carriage of vaccine type pneumococci at seven months of age compared to infants in each of the other two groups and a similar comparison of the proportion with middle ear disease.

Detailed description: PneuMum is a randomised controlled trial that aims to find out if pneumococcal vaccination for Australian Indigenous mothers, in the last few months of pregnancy or at delivery, can prevent ear disease in infants. Two vaccines will be used in this trial:

* The 23 valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPPV), is currently recommended for all Indigenous people in the Northern Territory from 15 years of age but uptake among women of child-bearing age has been low.
* Adult diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis vaccine (dTPa) will be used as the control vaccine. This vaccine is recommended for all new parents who have not previously been immunised but is not currently funded so would normally need to be purchased on prescription through a pharmacist.

Rationale

Indigenous children experience the highest rates of acute and chronic ear infections in the world, resulting in permanent ear damage, hearing loss and educational disadvantage. These infections are mainly bacterial. Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is the predominant pathogen. Pneumococcal colonisation and infection begins within days of birth, months before any potential immunological protection from infant pneumococcal conjugate vaccine may be expected. New strategies are needed to eliminate, or at least delay, this early-onset pneumococcal colonisation.

Maternal vaccination with the 23 valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPPV) during pregnancy or at delivery is one strategy that may protect newborn infants through mechanisms such as transplacental antibody transfer, increased secretory antibody in breast milk, and/or by reducing nasopharyngeal carriage (and transmission to the infant) of maternal pneumococci. Previous small studies using this strategy have been encouraging, but there have been no studies properly evaluating nasopharyngeal carriage or disease endpoints in infants.

Methods

We hope to recruit 210 Indigenous women aged 18-39 years who have an uncomplicated pregnancy. Following recruitment, subjects will be randomly assigned to one of three groups:

* Group A will receive 23vPPV in the last few months of pregnancy
* Group B will receive 23vPPV soon after childbirth
* Group C will receive 23vPPV seven months after childbirth (the control group).

Women in Groups A and C will receive dTPa soon after childbirth (to conceal the intervention groups), whereas women in Group C will be offered dTpa seven months after childbirth (end of the observation period).

Study participants will be visited at least five times:

1. During the last few months of pregnancy (30-36 weeks gestation)

   * The group of mothers receiving 23vPPV at this visit will also have a sample taken of their blood
2. At Royal Darwin Hospital when the baby is born

   * Each mother will receive either 23vPPV or dTpa depending on their allocation
   * Each mother will have a sample taken of their blood, the cord blood, a nasopharyngeal swab and a sample of expressed breast milk
3. When the baby is one month old

   * Each baby will have their ears checked and a nasopharyngeal swab taken. A swab will also be taken of any discharge from the baby's ear/s. Mothers will be asked for sample of expressed breast milk.
4. When the baby is two months old

   * The same checks and samples as the previous month.
5. When the baby is seven months old

   * Each mother and baby will have the same checks and samples as the previous months. Babies will also have a sample taken of their blood. Mothers who have not yet had 23vPPV will be offered that vaccine as will those who have not yet had dTpa.

Primary Outcome

The primary outcome will be prevalence of ear infection at seven months of age, defined as middle ear effusion or tympanic membrane perforation or acute otitis media. Pneumatic otoscopy, video-otoscopy and tympanometry will be used in the ear examinations. The primary analyses will be a direct comparison of the proportion of infants in the control group (Group C) who have nasopharyngeal carriage of vaccine type pneumococci at seven months of age compared to infants in each of the other two groups and a similar comparison of the proportion with middle ear disease.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Singleton uncomplicated pregnancy
* Reside in Darwin, Maningrida, Wadeye or the Tiwi Islands
* Intends to deliver child at the Royal Darwin Hospital
* Has given informed consent to participate

Exclusion Criteria:

* Had 23vPPV within the previous three years
* Had a previous dose of dTpa
* intends to leave the study area during the follow-up period
* HIV positive
* History of severe allergy, uncontrolled asthma or splenectomy

Primary outcomes:
measure: Prevalence of ear infection at seven months of age, defined as middle ear effusion or tympanic membrane perforation or acute otitis media
measure: Nasopharyngeal carriage of vaccine type pneumococci
timeFrame: at seven months of age
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Prevalence of ear infection
timeFrame: at one month of age
measure: Nasopharyngeal carriage of vaccine type pneumococci
timeFrame: at one month of age
measure: Prevalence of ear infection
timeFrame: at two months of age
measure: Nasopharyngeal carriage of vaccine type pneumococci
timeFrame: at two months of age
measure: Relationship of maternal pneumococcal carriage, maternal anti-pneumococcal antibody levels, cord blood antibody levels and breast milk antibody levels to infant carriage and middle ear disease
timeFrame: at one, two and seven months of age
measure: Impact of each maternal vaccination strategy on breast milk antibody levels to serotypes contained in the vaccine
measure: Impact of each maternal vaccination strategy on breast milk antibody avidity (to four selected serotypes)
measure: Impact of each maternal vaccination strategy on maternal antibody response to antepartum or postpartum 23vPPV
measure: Impact of each maternal vaccination strategy on infant anti-pneumococcal antibody levels
timeFrame: at seven months of age (following the 3rd recommended dose of 7vPCV)
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Darwin
country: Australia
facility: Menzies School of Health Research
state: Northern Territory
Study officials:
affiliation: The University of Melbourne and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
name: Ross M Andrews, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: The University of Melbourne and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
name: Jonathan R Carapetis, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Menzies School of Health Research
name: Amanda J Leach, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Menzies School of Health Research
name: Peter S Morris, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: The Univeristy of Melbourne and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
name: Edward K Mulholland, DM
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Martinovich KM, Seppanen EJ, Bleakley AS, Clark SL, Andrews RM, Richmond PC, Binks MJ, Thornton RB, Kirkham LS. Evidence of maternal transfer of antigen-specific antibodies in serum and breast milk to infants at high-risk of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae disease. Front Immunol. 2022 Sep 21;13:1005344. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1005344. eCollection 2022.