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Prophylactic fluconazole is effective in preventing fungal colonisation and infection in preterm neonates: a multicentre, randomised trial in Italy

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ISRCTN
Registry ID
ISRCTN85753869
Enrollment
267
Registered
2006-09-25
Start date
2004-05-01
Completion date
Unknown
Last updated
2015-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Neonatal fungal infection Neonatal Diseases Neonatal fungal infection

Interventions

The regimens in the two intervention groups was 6 and 3 mg/kg of fluconazole (DIFLUCAN®
Pfizer Italia S.p.A.
Latina/Roma
Italy) every third day for the first two weeks, then every other day. Six weeks (in infants with birth weight less than 1000 g, i.e. Extremely Low Birth Weight [ELBW]) and four weeks (in the infants

Sponsors

Saint Anna Foundation (Fondazione Crescere Insieme al Santa Anna [ONLUS]) (Italy)
Lead Sponsor

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: All neonates with birth weight less than 1500 g (i.e. Very Low Birth Weight [VLBW]) born within the study period, whether at one of the eight Institutions or elsewhere, were eligible for the study.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Parental refusal 2. Admission after 72 hours of life 3. Death prior to 72 hours of life 4. Liver failure (defined as three-fold elevation of Aspartate Aminotransferase [AST] and/or Alanine Aminotransferase [ALT] above the reference values)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of 3 and 6 mg/kg fluconazole compared with placebo in the prevention of Candida colonisation and infection in the preterm very low birth weight neonates admitted to the participant NICUs.

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
1. Assessment of the incidence of Gram-positive and Gram-negative sepsis 2. Mortality (overall and Candida-attributable) 3. Rate of progression from colonisation to infection 4. Necrotising enterocolitis 5. Ligation of patent ductus arteriosus 6. Threshold retinopathy of prematurity requiring surgery 7. Severe (grade 3-4) intraventricular haemorrhage 8. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia 9. Alteration of liver function as measured by serum AST, ALT, direct bilirubin and gamma-Glutamyl Transferase (gGT) values at baseline and at the end of all administrations

Countries

Italy

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Apr 7, 2026