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Optimizing Treatment of Co-occurring Smoking and Unhealthy Alcohol Use Among PWH in Nairobi, Kenya

Optimizing Treatment of Co-occurring Smoking and Unhealthy Alcohol Use Among PWH in Nairobi, Kenya

Status
Not yet recruiting
Phases
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06790342
Enrollment
300
Registered
2025-01-24
Start date
2026-07-31
Completion date
2029-06-01
Last updated
2026-07-30

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

Conditions

Alcohol Use Disorder, HIV, Tobacco Use

Keywords

HIV, Tobacco Cessation, Alcohol Reduction

Brief summary

People with HIV (PWH) smoke tobacco cigarettes and drink alcohol at higher rates than the general population, both in the US and internationally, including low- and middle-income countries. Now that effective antiretroviral therapy is available throughout most of the world, PWH are surviving long enough to manifest the lethal consequences of both their smoking and drinking. In this project, the investigational team aims to advance the knowledge and understanding of treatment strategies (i.e. individual intensive counseling ± pharmacotherapy with cytisine) that target both tobacco and alcohol use among PWH in Kenya, a resource constrained environment, and to generate outcome data that may benefit co-users of tobacco and alcohol throughout the world.

Detailed description

This study was reviewed and approved for data analysis by the University of Chicago. The research portion of this study was also submitted to and is pending approval from: Board Name: AMREF ETHICAL AND SCIENTIFIC REVIEW COMMITTEE (ESRC) Board Affiliation: The AMREF ESRC is affiliated with AMREF Health Africa and accredited by National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI) since 200 Phone: +254 20 699 4000 Email: esrc.kenya@amref.org Address: Langata Road PO Box 27691-00506 Nairobi, Kenya

Interventions

DRUGCystine

Used for smoking cessation and alcohol reduction

An 8 session tailored behavioral treatment for smoking cessation and alcohol reduction

OTHERPlacebo

Matched to cystine

OTHERStandard of Care

Standardized brief advice to quit smoking (standard of care)

Sponsors

University of Chicago
Lead SponsorOTHER
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
CollaboratorNIH
University of Maryland
CollaboratorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. Confirmed chart diagnosis of HIV 2. At least 18 years or age 3. Currently self-reports smoking (has smoked a cigarette within the past 7 days) and has expired air Carbon Monoxide (CO) 6ppm. Expired air CO provides an accurate indirect measure of carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) level and is a standard biochemical method for assessing a smoker's level of intake. 4. Motivation to quit smoking within the next 6 months (score 6-8 on the Abrams and Biener Readiness to Quit Ladder) 5. Meets criteria for heavy drinking: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) guidelines suggest gender-based criteria for heavy drinking but note that lower thresholds may be needed for people with a medical condition. PWH show increased physiologic injury and decreased survival at lower levels of alcohol consumption than those without HIV. Thus, we will use the lower limit for alcohol misuse/heavy drinking from the NIAAA guidelines for all study candidates, i.e. drinking 4+ drinks on a given day or \>7 drinks/week over the past 30 days 6. Able to speak English (in Nairobi spoken English is near universal as English is an official language of Kenya) 7. Willingness to accept behavioral and/or pharmacologic tobacco and alcohol treatment 8. Willingness and ability to provide informed consent to participate.

Exclusion criteria

1. Current receipt of any tobacco or alcohol use behavioral or pharmacologic treatment 2. Previous allergic reaction or hypersensitivity to cytosine (CYT) (unlikely since CYT is not available in Kenya) 3. History of severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the past 12 months, including seizure or hallucinations 4. Pregnant, nursing, or becoming pregnant during the study 5. Current use of any medication that would interfere with the protocol in the opinion of the Medically Accountable Physician 6. Meets criteria for possible dementia by scoring below 10 on the Hopkins HIV Dementia Scale 7. Unstable psychiatric illness 8. Known plans to re-locate or travel away from the study site for more than two consecutive months during the study period 9. Expected survival of less than 6 months.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
7-day point prevalence abstinence (PPA)36 monthsDefined as self-reported no smoking in the past 7 days + Carbon Monoxide (CO)\<7 ppm
Dried blood spot phosphatidylethanol (PEth)36 monthsPEth level of less than 50ng/dl for cessation from heavy drinking linked (P30D)
Timeline Follow-Back (TLFB)36 monthsdenial of self-reported heavy drinking days (denying any prior 7-day period with \>7 drinks or any single day with 4 drinks) for the past 30 days

Countries

Kenya

Contacts

CONTACTWalter Mchembere
wmchembere@cihebkenya.org+254 20 3908219
CONTACTEmily Koech, MD
ekoech@cihebkenya.org+254 20 3908219
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORSeth Himelhoch

University of Chicago

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jul 31, 2026