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On 17th March, ERGO's own Catrin Moore paid a visit to the budding scientists at Freeland School. There, pupils had the opportunity to learn about vectors and the diseases that they carry, getting a close look at specimens of ticks and mosquitos under a microscope.
We gathered rich insights into child survival in Kenya by mapping patterns over 22 years
KWTRP Research
5 May 2021
Although improvements in child survival globally have been remarkable, 5.2 million children still died in 2019, over half of these in sub-Saharan Africa. A range of factors likely include disparities in childhood immunisations, supplements and breastfeeding practices, antenatal care, skilled birth attendants working in healthcare facilities. Kenya needs to prioritise its child care plans, based on localities and populations with the greatest need. Two KWTRP studies give granular insights into the situation in regions across Kenya.
Risks of serious adverse events following treatment for visceral leishmaniasis
OCGHR Publication Research
30 March 2021
This large-scale systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to collate all reported serious adverse events in visceral leishmaniasis clinical trials and quantify the incidence of mortality during the first 30 days of therapy. The analyses, which included clinical data from more than 35,000 patients, found that mortality following treatment was an extremely rare event and serious adverse events following treatments were poorly reported.
The RECOVERY Trial: One year on
OCGHR Research
23 March 2021
The Randomised Evaluation of COVid-19 thERapY (RECOVERY) trial was officially launched on 23 March 2020. It is the world's largest COVID-19 drug trial. Thanks to the ground-breaking work of RECOVERY, clinicians treating patients hospitalised with severe COVID-19 now have two treatments that are known to improve survival.
Researchers call for access to Ivermectin for young children
OCGHR Publication Research
19 March 2021
Millions of children weighing less than 15kg are currently denied access to Ivermectin treatment due to insufficient safety data being available to support a change to the current label indication. The WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network’s new meta-analysis provides evidence that supports removing this barrier and improving treatment equity.
Gender imbalance in visceral leishmaniasis clinical trials
OCGHR Publication Research
17 March 2021
Researchers have found that despite an ongoing trend for a decreasing proportion of males being enrolled in antileishmanial therapeutic efficacy trials over time, there are still 1.8 times as many males as females involved in clinical trials. A new systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that existing knowledge on drug efficacy is derived from a study population that is heavily skewed towards adult males. At the same time, substantially less is known about the optimal treatment response in female patients.
RECOVERY trial closes recruitment to colchicine treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19
OCGHR Research
5 March 2021
Established to test a range of potential treatments for COVID-19, the RECOVERY trial has included a comparison of colchicine, an anti-inflammatory drug that is commonly used to treat gout, vs. usual care alone. There has been no convincing evidence of the effect of colchicine on clinical outcomes in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, and recruitment to the colchicine arm of the RECOVERY trial has now closed. Recruitment to all other treatment arms – aspirin, baricitinib, Regeneron’s antibody cocktail, and dimethyl fumarate – continues as planned.
World’s largest clinical trial for COVID-19 treatments expands internationally
EOCRU OCGHR OUCRU OUCRU-Nepal Research
22 February 2021
The Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy (RECOVERY) Trial, the world’s largest clinical trial for COVID-19 treatments, has now expanded internationally with Indonesia and Nepal among the first countries to join. The first patients have been recruited to RECOVERY International.
Tocilizumab reduces deaths in patients hospitalised with COVID-19
OCGHR Research
12 February 2021
The Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy (RECOVERY) trial has demonstrated that tocilizumab, an anti-inflammatory treatment, reduces the risk of death when given to hospitalised patients with severe COVID-19. The study also showed that tocilizumab shortens the time until patients are successfully discharged from hospital and reduces the need for a mechanical ventilator.
Evidence supports WHO recommendation for primaquine combined with ACTs to block Plasmodium falciparum transmission
OCGHR Publication Research
12 February 2021
Evidence from a new study, initiated by the Primaquine Roll Out Group and conducted at WWARN, supports the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation for use of 0.25mg/kg dose of primaquine (PQ) combined with artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT) to block Plasmodium falciparum transmission.
Baricitinib to be investigated as a possible treatment for COVID-19 in the RECOVERY trial
OCGHR Research
3 February 2021
Baricitinib – an anti-inflammatory treatment for rheumatoid arthritis– is being investigated in the RECOVERY trial, the world’s largest clinical trial of treatments for patients hospitalised with COVID-19, taking place in 177 hospital sites across the UK and with over 33,000 patients recruited so far. As an anti-inflammatory, baricitinib may block the signalling activity of cytokine molecules which contribute to the hyper-inflammatory state seen in severe COVID-19. It is thought that baricitinib may act also have some anti-viral activity. The other treatments currently being investigated in the RECOVERY trial are Regeneron’s antibody cocktail, Aspirin and Colchicine.
RECOVERY trial closes recruitment to convalescent plasma treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19
OCGHR Research
15 January 2021
Convalescent plasma has been widely used as a treatment for COVID-19 but to date there has been no convincing evidence of the effect of convalescent plasma on clinical outcomes in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Recruitment to the convalescent plasma arm of the RECOVERY trial has now closed. The preliminary analysis based on 1873 reported deaths among 10,406 randomised patients shows no significant difference in the primary endpoint of 28-day mortality. Recruitment to all other treatment arms – tocilizumab, aspirin, colchicine, and Regeneron’s antibody cocktail – continues as planned.
Check-list recommended to improve reporting of microscopy methods and results in malaria studies
MORU OCGHR Publication Research
13 January 2021
A study to explore the variations of how microscopy methods are reported in published malaria studies has recommended standardised procedures should be implemented for methodological consistency and comparability of clinical trial outcomes.
Receiving and responding to community feedback during health system crises in Kenya
KWTRP Publication Research
18 December 2020
The responsiveness of a health system is one of its goals, alongside fairness in financing and outcomes. Listening and responding to the public can make a health system stronger and fairer. However, responsiveness is likely to be undermined, especially for vulnerable and marginal populations, in periods of crises such as disease outbreaks. In the current COVID-19 crisis, there has been more focus on health system control interventions, with minimal consideration of community views. KWTRP colleagues in Kenya consider community engagement and citizens feedback channels, concerns raised by the public and how they were handled, and highlight lessons learned.
RECOVERY trial finds no benefit from azithromycin in patients hospitalised with COVID-19
OCGHR Research
15 December 2020
Established in March 2020, the RECOVERY trial tests a range of potential treatments for COVID-19, including azithromycin, a widely used antibiotic that also reduces inflammation. The azithromycin arm of the trial was established to determine whether or not the drug has a meaningful benefit among patients hospitalised with COVID-19. A preliminary analysis shows no significant difference in the primary endpoint of 28-day mortality; there was also no evidence of beneficial effects on the risk of progression to mechanical ventilation or length of hospital stay.
New study on the risk of Plasmodium vivax parasitaemia after Plasmodium falciparum malaria
MORU OCGHR Publication Research
1 December 2020
A new study quantifying the high risk of Plasmodium vivax parasitaemia after treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria aims to identify populations in which a policy of universal radical cure, combining artemisinin-based combination therapy with a hypnozoitocidal antimalarial drug, would be most beneficial.
Aga Khan University enrols first COPCOV Pakistan participant
MORU Research
18 November 2020
As the world anxiously awaits COVID-19 vaccines, people working in healthcare settings remain at risk of infection from COVID-19. The Pakistani arm of COPCOV, the global study to test if hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine can prevent COVID-19 in healthcare workers, has begun to enrol participants at Aga Khan University, joining sites in the UK and Thailand.
Aspirin to be investigated as a possible treatment for COVID-19 in the RECOVERY trial
OCGHR Research
6 November 2020
Aspirin will be investigated in the world’s largest clinical trial of treatments for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. The RECOVERY trial is taking place in 176 hospital sites across the UK, and has so far recruited over 16,000 patients. Patients with COVID-19 are at higher risk of blood clots forming in their blood vessels. Platelets seem to be hyperreactive in COVID-19 and may be involved in the clotting complications. As an antiplatelet agent, aspirin may reduce the risk of blood clots in patients with COVID-19.
Trials of Oxford coronavirus vaccine begin in Kenya
KWTRP Research
30 October 2020
Kenya has joined the global efforts in search of an effective vaccine for COVID-19 with the start of a trial evaluating the ChAdOx1 nCoV-2019 Oxford coronavirus vaccine. Following the necessary approvals from regulators, as well as the national ministry of health, and Kilifi county, the first volunteers for the trial have recently received their vaccinations.
IDDO and ISARIC partner to support data collection and analysis for COVID-19
OCGHR Research
27 October 2020
In January 2020, ISARIC launched an international initiative for standardised COVID-19 clinical data collection. To date, ISARIC has collected data from over 118,000 individuals from 648 sites across 52 countries. To maximise the impact of this global collaboration, ISARIC has partnered with IDDO, which has over a decade’s worth of experience in collecting and standardising disparate data from various diseases and areas around the world. Together, ISARIC and IDDO are developing systems that include working with those who collect the data to generate collaborative analysis, and building data governance systems that allow data to be shared more widely.
COVID-19 vaccine research in Kenya
KWTRP Research
24 September 2020
Researchers at KWTRP and University of Oxford collaborate to evaluate the ChAdOx1 nCOV-19 vaccine in Kenya