Should Low Birth Weight Infants Be Vaccinated With BCG Vaccine at Birth in Developing Countries?
![]() |
The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details. |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00146302 |
Recruitment Status :
Completed
First Posted : September 7, 2005
Last Update Posted : March 19, 2012
|
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment | Phase |
---|---|---|
Tuberculosis | Biological: Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) | Phase 4 |
Criteria for verification: 1,600 low birth weight (LBW) infants recruited at the national hospital and local health centres and enrolled in a randomised trial of BCG vaccination at birth versus later vaccination; information on potential adverse events following early BCG vaccination of LBW infants; follow-up of children to 12 months of age with home visits at 2, 6 and 12 months of age; assessment of tuberculin reaction and scar-formation at 2, 6 and 12 months of age; assessment of BCG vaccination coverage during infancy; and assessment of all-cause mortality during infancy.
Recruitment: All LBW children delivered at the maternity ward of the national hospital at the local Health Centre will be offered enrolment in the study. Furthermore, all children born at home in the study area will be weighed and referred for BCG vaccination at the health centres as quickly as possible. For mothers of LBW children, the current policy and the purpose of the study will be explained. If she accepts participation, she will draw a randomisation number indicating whether the children will be BCG vaccinated early or not. At the time of enrolment, children will be examined clinically with anthropometrics, and major risk factors will be documented (including TB exposure at home, recent infections, access to malaria drugs, ethnic group, schooling, housing conditions, mother's recent drug consumption). Newborns will only be included in the study if they are considered sufficiently healthy to be discharged from the hospital, or when they arrive at the health centre if born at home. Twins will be a large part of the LBW children as twinning is common in the study area (around 2% of births). They will be allocated to the same group, as there could be confusion for the mother as to who had been vaccinated. As is happening at the moment, mothers of children not receiving vaccination at birth will be recommended to attend a local health centre as soon as the child has gained weight. For ethical reasons, it will not be possible to use a placebo as this could mean that some children would not be BCG vaccinated if the mother believed that the child had in fact been vaccinated. The children who are not vaccinated initially will subsequently be vaccinated at the limited number of health centres in the capital, which administer BCG vaccination. The intradermal vaccination technique and vaccine storage will be supervised, and it will be monitored as to whether scar-formation and PPD reactivity is similar in children vaccinated at the different centres to assure that vaccinations have been administered in the same way.
Follow-up: To assure proper identification of the children, the mother and newborn child will be driven home to document the location of the home. The children included in the study will be visited at 2, 6, and 12 months of age, to identify subsequent BCG vaccinations by inspection of the vaccination card, to weigh the child and measure arm-circumference, to assess BCG scarring and to document morbidity, hospitalisations and survival. Sick children identified during these visits will be referred for treatment at the relevant health institution. If the child has still not been vaccinated, the mother will be encouraged to bring the child for vaccination. Should the child have died, a verbal autopsy will be conducted. The children will be followed for morbidity, hospitalisations, and mortality up to 12 months of age. Within the study area they may be followed longer. In order to assure detection of possible complications to BCG vaccination, LBW children enrolled in the study will be provided with a card identifying the child, and the mother will be told to bring the child for consultation at the local Health Centre where consultations and treatment will be free of charge. The expected very rare complications will be treated according to WHO's recommendations.
A subgroup of the children will be enrolled in immunological studies. To assess the effect of BCG vaccination on the immune profile, initially unvaccinated LBW children will have a blood sample collected when they turn up for BCG vaccination at a health centre. For each child examined, a BCG vaccinated LBW child matched for age and sex will be examined and a blood sample collected.
Study Type : | Interventional (Clinical Trial) |
Actual Enrollment : | 2320 participants |
Allocation: | Randomized |
Intervention Model: | Parallel Assignment |
Masking: | None (Open Label) |
Primary Purpose: | Prevention |
Official Title: | BCG Vaccination and Childhood Morbidity and Mortality: Interventions With Possible Implications for the Immunisation Policy in Developing Countries. Should Low Birth Weight Infants Be Vaccinated With BCG Vaccine at Birth? |
Study Start Date : | November 2002 |
Actual Primary Completion Date : | March 2008 |
Actual Study Completion Date : | March 2008 |

- Mortality until 12 months of age
- Hospitalisations until 12 months of age
- Adverse events within 12 months after intervention
- Tuberculin reaction 2 and 6 months after intervention
- BCG scar reaction 2 and 6 months after intervention
- Assessment of antibody and cellular immune responses following intervention

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
Ages Eligible for Study: | up to 30 Days (Child) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Inclusion Criteria:
- Must weigh less than 2500 g at birth
- Must be able to nurse
- Must be healthy enough to be discharged from the hospital
Exclusion Criteria:
- Overt illness
- Malformation

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00146302
Guinea-Bissau | |
Bandim Health Project, Apartado 861 | |
Bissau, Guinea-Bissau |
Principal Investigator: | Peter Aaby | Bandim Health Project |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT00146302 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
ICA4-CT-2002-10053LBW ICA4-CT-2002-10053 #6-FY04-51 |
First Posted: | September 7, 2005 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | March 19, 2012 |
Last Verified: | March 2012 |
Non-specific effects of vaccines Infant mortality Morbidity Low income country BCG |
Vaccine policy immunisation Low birth weight Tuberculin Mortality |
Tuberculosis Birth Weight Mycobacterium Infections Actinomycetales Infections Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections |
Bacterial Infections Bacterial Infections and Mycoses Infections Body Weight |