ASpirin as a Treatment for ARDS (STAR): a Phase 2 Randomised Control Trial
Status:
Terminated
Trial end date:
2018-11-23
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) causes the lungs to fail due to the collection of
fluid in the lungs (pulmonary oedema). ARDS is common in severely ill patients in Intensive
Care Units and is associated with a high mortality and a high morbidity in those who survive.
There is a large economic burden with direct healthcare costs, but also indirectly due to the
impact on the carer and patient through their inability to return to full time employment.
There is little evidence for effective drug (pharmacological) treatment for ARDS. Blood cells
called platelets have increasingly been recognized to play a key role in the development of
ARDS. There is increasing information that aspirin, a drug which is widely used to treat
heart disease, might be important in treating ARDS. We plan to test if aspirin will help in
the treatment of ARDS. To do this we will divide patients suffering from ARDS into two
groups, one of which will get aspirin and the other a harmless dummy (or placebo) tablet who
will then be followed up to determine if lung function improves. If effective this may lead
to further research to determine if aspirin is effective in patients with ARDS. This project
will also provide new information about mechanisms in the development of ARDS leading,
potentially, to other new treatments.
Phase:
Phase 2
Details
Lead Sponsor:
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
Collaborators:
Northern Ireland Clinical Trials Unit Queen's University, Belfast