A Clinical Trial of Gargling Agents in Reducing Intraoral Viral Load Among COVID-19 Patients (GARGLES)

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. Know the risks and potential benefits of clinical studies and talk to your health care provider before participating. Read our disclaimer for details.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04341688

Recruitment Status : Not yet recruiting

First Posted : April 10, 2020

Last Update Posted : July 20, 2021

See Contacts and Locations

View this study on Beta.ClinicalTrials.gov

Sponsor:

Collaborator:

University of Karachi

Information provided by (Responsible Party):

Farhan Raza Khan, BDS, MS, FCPS, Aga Khan University

Study Description

Brief Summary:

Pakistan is a resource restraint country, it's not possible to carry out coronavirus testing at mass scale. Simple cost effective intervention against the present pandemic is highly desirable.

For patients: Identifying an antiviral gargle that could substantially reduce the colonies of COVID-19 residing in mouth and oro-naso-pharynx is likely to reduce the viral load. Such reduction in the viral load through surface debridement could aid the effective immune response in improving the overall symptoms of the patients.

For dentists: This study is important because the nature of the dental profession involves aerosol production, carrying out dental work on asymptomatic patients carrying coronavirus puts the entire dental team at a great risk of not only acquiring the infection but also transmitting it to the others. Antiviral gargles could be used by dentist and their auxiliaries as prophylaxis.

For physicians and nurses: The risk of morbidity and mortality is high among physicians and nurses involved in the screening and management of Covid-19 patients. Globally, over 215 physicians and surgeons have died while taking care of Covid-19 patients. The cause of death is attributed to high exposure of viral load. The antiviral gargles and nasal lavage can decrease the fatalities among doctors and nurses.

Thus, patients, physicians, nurses and dentists, all could be benefited with this findings of this study.

Condition or disease	Intervention/treatment	Phase
Covid-19	Drug: Gargle/Mouthwash	Not Applicable

Show detailed description

Detailed Description:

It will be a parallel group, quadruple blind-randomized controlled pilot trial annexed with a laboratory based study. Clinical trial will be carried out at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Karachi, Pakistan. Patients will be inducted from the pool of known patients (laboratory confirmed COVID-19 participants) within 7 days of the onset of viral infection symptoms, already admitted at AKUH. Molecular and immunological testing will be done at the Juma laboratory of AKUH. The intervention drugs (Povidone-Iodine, Hydrogen Peroxide and Hypertonic Saline will be obtained from the AKUH distribution department and/ or AKUH pharmacy. The Neem extract will be compounded at the Chemistry department, University of Karachi/ HEJ institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Karachi.

We will need 50 patients. There will be five study groups. Group A (n=10) patients on 10 ml gargle and nasal lavage with of 0.2% Povidone-Iodine for 20-30 seconds, twice daily for 5 days. Group B (n=10) patients will be subjected to 10 ml gargle and nasal lavage with 1% Hydrogen peroxide for 20-30 seconds, twice daily for 5 days. Group C will comprise of (n=10) subjects using 10ml gargle and nasal lavage with Neem extract (Azardirachta indica) for 20-30 seconds, twice daily for 5 days. Group D (n=10) patients will use 2% hypertonic saline gargle and nasal lavage for a similar time period. Group E (n=10) will serve as positive controls. These will be given simple distilled water gargles and nasal lavage for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for six days. For nasal lavage, a special douche syringe will be provided to each participant. Its use will be thoroughly explained by the data collection officer.

Data collection: The baseline oral swab will be taken from the posterior pharyngeal wall/ tonsillar area on day one before initiating the gargles by trained dentist. The end-point oral swab will be taken on day 7, just after using the prescribed gargle. Patient will be provided with a special hood so that they themselves don't generate aerosol in the immediate vicinity while carrying out the gargling and nasal lavage.

Data will be analyzed using SPSS for Windows (version 23.0 SPSS) and Graph Pad Prism 7.0 software.

Mean and standard deviation of the continuous variables (age, COVID-19 viral counts and cytokine profiles at baseline and endpoint etc.) will be computed. Frequency distribution of the categorical variables will be determined (gender, co-morbids, presence of hypertension, diabetes, periodontal status etc.) Repeated measures ANOVA will be used to compare the reduction in intra-oral viral load and the changes in the inflammatory biomarkers in the study groups. In case of substantially low count of participants in the study groups, non-parametric tests such as Kruskal-Wallis or Friedman test will be employed. Multiple linear regression (MLR) will done to predict changes in the Covid-19 viral load and cytokine profiles. A subset analysis using Zero inflated negative binomial (ZINB) model will be employed, provided a significant reduction in viral load is observed in any of the study groups. A p-value of <0.05 will be taken as statistically significant. {20a}

The biases and confounders can be taken care at following four levels:

At recruitment stage, we will use restriction i.e. only those COVID positive subjects will be recruited who have no other major co-morbidities. At intervention assignment, the random group allocation will ensure even distribution of the confounders in the study groups thus their differential effect on the outcome will be addressed. At analysis, we will employ regression analysis (as described above) to account for biases and confounders and lastly, the subset analysis will stratify the data and nullify the effect of biases.

Interim analysis {20b} is not planned on account of a short duration of the study. Missing data/ uncompliant patients {20c} will be omitted from the final analysis.

Study Design

Layout table for study information

Study Type :	Interventional (Clinical Trial)
Estimated Enrollment :	50 participants
Allocation:	Randomized
Intervention Model:	Parallel Assignment
Intervention Model Description:	A quadruple blind randomized controlled trial followed by laboratory based analysis. Six parallel groups of participants using various gargles and nasal lavage.
Masking:	Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Masking Description:	Identical colored and shaped bottles containing different study drugs. This will be provided by the pharmacy services of the university hospital.
Primary Purpose:	Supportive Care
Official Title:	A Double Blind, Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial of Gargling Agents in Reducing Intraoral Viral Load Among Laboratory Confirmed COVID-19 Patients: GARGLES STUDY
Estimated Study Start Date :	December 1, 2021
Estimated Primary Completion Date :	June 30, 2022
Estimated Study Completion Date :	July 31, 2022

Resource links provided by the National Library of Medicine

MedlinePlus related topics: COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019)

U.S. FDA Resources

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/treatment
Experimental: Povidone-Iodine 0.2% (BETADINE®) 0.2% Povidone-Iodine (BETADINE®) 10 ml gargle and nasal lavage for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days.	Drug: Gargle/Mouthwash There will be 50 patients in six study groups. Group A (n=10) patients on 10 ml gargle and nasal lavage using 0.2% Povidone-Iodine (Betadiene®) for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days. Group B (n=10) patients will be subjected to 10 ml gargle and nasal lavage using 1% Hydrogen peroxide (ActiveOxy®) for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days. Group C will comprised of (n=10) subjects on 10ml gargle and nasal lavage using Neem extract solution (Azardirachta indica) formulated locally) for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days. Group D (n=10) patients will use 2% hypertonic saline (Plabottle®) gargle and nasal lavage for a similar time period. Group E (n=10) will serve as positive controls. These will be given simple distilled water gargles and nasal lavage for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for six days Whereas Group F (n=5) will comprise of negative controls, who will not use any gargles or nasal lavage during study period. Other Names: Gargling agent Mouthrinse
Experimental: Hydrogen peroxide 1% (ActiveOxy) ActiveOxy (1% Hydrogen peroxide) 10 ml gargle and nasal lavage for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days.	Drug: Gargle/Mouthwash There will be 50 patients in six study groups. Group A (n=10) patients on 10 ml gargle and nasal lavage using 0.2% Povidone-Iodine (Betadiene®) for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days. Group B (n=10) patients will be subjected to 10 ml gargle and nasal lavage using 1% Hydrogen peroxide (ActiveOxy®) for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days. Group C will comprised of (n=10) subjects on 10ml gargle and nasal lavage using Neem extract solution (Azardirachta indica) formulated locally) for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days. Group D (n=10) patients will use 2% hypertonic saline (Plabottle®) gargle and nasal lavage for a similar time period. Group E (n=10) will serve as positive controls. These will be given simple distilled water gargles and nasal lavage for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for six days Whereas Group F (n=5) will comprise of negative controls, who will not use any gargles or nasal lavage during study period. Other Names: Gargling agent Mouthrinse
Active Comparator: Neem extract (Azadirachta indicia) Neem extract (Azadirachta indicia) gargle will be prepared by chemistry laboratory. patients will do 10ml gargle and nasal lavage for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days.	Drug: Gargle/Mouthwash There will be 50 patients in six study groups. Group A (n=10) patients on 10 ml gargle and nasal lavage using 0.2% Povidone-Iodine (Betadiene®) for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days. Group B (n=10) patients will be subjected to 10 ml gargle and nasal lavage using 1% Hydrogen peroxide (ActiveOxy®) for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days. Group C will comprised of (n=10) subjects on 10ml gargle and nasal lavage using Neem extract solution (Azardirachta indica) formulated locally) for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days. Group D (n=10) patients will use 2% hypertonic saline (Plabottle®) gargle and nasal lavage for a similar time period. Group E (n=10) will serve as positive controls. These will be given simple distilled water gargles and nasal lavage for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for six days Whereas Group F (n=5) will comprise of negative controls, who will not use any gargles or nasal lavage during study period. Other Names: Gargling agent Mouthrinse
Active Comparator: Hypertonic saline (2%NaCl) 10 ml gargle and nasal lavage using Hypertonic saline for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days.	Drug: Gargle/Mouthwash There will be 50 patients in six study groups. Group A (n=10) patients on 10 ml gargle and nasal lavage using 0.2% Povidone-Iodine (Betadiene®) for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days. Group B (n=10) patients will be subjected to 10 ml gargle and nasal lavage using 1% Hydrogen peroxide (ActiveOxy®) for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days. Group C will comprised of (n=10) subjects on 10ml gargle and nasal lavage using Neem extract solution (Azardirachta indica) formulated locally) for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days. Group D (n=10) patients will use 2% hypertonic saline (Plabottle®) gargle and nasal lavage for a similar time period. Group E (n=10) will serve as positive controls. These will be given simple distilled water gargles and nasal lavage for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for six days Whereas Group F (n=5) will comprise of negative controls, who will not use any gargles or nasal lavage during study period. Other Names: Gargling agent Mouthrinse
Placebo Comparator: Positive controls 10 ml gargle and nasal lavage using distilled water for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days.	Drug: Gargle/Mouthwash There will be 50 patients in six study groups. Group A (n=10) patients on 10 ml gargle and nasal lavage using 0.2% Povidone-Iodine (Betadiene®) for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days. Group B (n=10) patients will be subjected to 10 ml gargle and nasal lavage using 1% Hydrogen peroxide (ActiveOxy®) for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days. Group C will comprised of (n=10) subjects on 10ml gargle and nasal lavage using Neem extract solution (Azardirachta indica) formulated locally) for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for 6 days. Group D (n=10) patients will use 2% hypertonic saline (Plabottle®) gargle and nasal lavage for a similar time period. Group E (n=10) will serve as positive controls. These will be given simple distilled water gargles and nasal lavage for 20-30 seconds, thrice daily for six days Whereas Group F (n=5) will comprise of negative controls, who will not use any gargles or nasal lavage during study period. Other Names: Gargling agent Mouthrinse

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures :

Intraoral viral load [ Time Frame: Five days of using gargles ]
Intraoral viral load as deciphered by RT-PCR

Secondary Outcome Measures :

Salivary cytokine profile [ Time Frame: Five days of using gargles ]
Salivary cytokine profiles of IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-17.

Eligibility Criteria

Information from the National Library of Medicine

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.

Layout table for eligibility information

Ages Eligible for Study:	18 Years to 65 Years (Adult, Older Adult)
Sexes Eligible for Study:	All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:	No

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

The inclusion criteria are laboratory confirmed Covid-19 positive male or female subjects in the age range of 18-65 years, within seven days of the onset of mild to moderate symptoms of viral infection, already admitted in the hospital.

Exclusion Criteria:

Edentulous patients, patients with low Glasgow coma score, intubated, immune-compromised, history of radiotherapy or chemotherapy will be excluded. Patients with known pre-existing chronic mucosal lesions such as lichen planus will also be excluded.

Contacts and Locations

Information from the National Library of Medicine

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): NCT04341688

Contacts

Layout table for location contacts

Contact: Farhan R Khan, MS, FCPS	03052225117	farhan.raza@aku.edu

Sponsors and Collaborators

Aga Khan University

University of Karachi

Investigators

Layout table for investigator information

Study Director:	Syed MR Kazmi, FCPS	Aga Khan University

More Information

Additional Information:

Burden of disease in COVID-19 pandemic This link exits the ClinicalTrials.gov site

Recommendation on elective and cosmetic dental procedures by ADA This link exits the ClinicalTrials.gov site

Report on mortality of doctors and nurses combating corona virus pandemic This link exits the ClinicalTrials.gov site

Data of Covid-19 patients in Pakistan This link exits the ClinicalTrials.gov site

Publications:

Peng X, Xu X, Li Y, Cheng L, Zhou X, Ren B. Transmission routes of 2019-nCoV and controls in dental practice. Int J Oral Sci. 2020 Mar 3;12(1):9. doi: 10.1038/s41368-020-0075-9.

Shafiq HB, Amin U, Nawaz S. Comparative analysis of various antimicrobial agents present in locally available mouthwashes against oral pathogens. Pak J Pharm Sci. 2018 Sep;31(5):1881-1887.

Tanzer JM, Slee AM, Kamay BA. Structural requirements of guanide, biguanide, and bisbiguanide agents for antiplaque activity. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1977 Dec;12(6):721-9. doi: 10.1128/AAC.12.6.721.

Lai P, Coulson C, Pothier DD, Rutka J. Chlorhexidine ototoxicity in ear surgery, part 1: review of the literature. J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2011 Dec;40(6):437-40.

Hirata K, Kurokawa A. Chlorhexidine gluconate ingestion resulting in fatal respiratory distress syndrome. Vet Hum Toxicol. 2002 Apr;44(2):89-91.

Eggers M, Koburger-Janssen T, Eickmann M, Zorn J. In Vitro Bactericidal and Virucidal Efficacy of Povidone-Iodine Gargle/Mouthwash Against Respiratory and Oral Tract Pathogens. Infect Dis Ther. 2018 Jun;7(2):249-259. doi: 10.1007/s40121-018-0200-7. Epub 2018 Apr 9.

Tiwari V, Darmani NA, Yue BY, Shukla D. In vitro antiviral activity of neem (Azardirachta indica L.) bark extract against herpes simplex virus type-1 infection. Phytother Res. 2010 Aug;24(8):1132-40. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3085.

Ahmad A, Javed MR, Rao AQ, Husnain T. Designing and screening of universal drug from neem (Azadirachta indica) and standard drug chemicals against influenza virus nucleoprotein. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2016 Dec 16;16(1):519. doi: 10.1186/s12906-016-1469-2.

Ramalingam S, Graham C, Dove J, Morrice L, Sheikh A. A pilot, open labelled, randomised controlled trial of hypertonic saline nasal irrigation and gargling for the common cold. Sci Rep. 2019 Jan 31;9(1):1015. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-37703-3.

Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, Ren L, Zhao J, Hu Y, Zhang L, Fan G, Xu J, Gu X, Cheng Z, Yu T, Xia J, Wei Y, Wu W, Xie X, Yin W, Li H, Liu M, Xiao Y, Gao H, Guo L, Xie J, Wang G, Jiang R, Gao Z, Jin Q, Wang J, Cao B. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet. 2020 Feb 15;395(10223):497-506. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30183-5. Epub 2020 Jan 24. Erratum In: Lancet. 2020 Jan 30;:

Chen L, Liu HG, Liu W, Liu J, Liu K, Shang J, Deng Y, Wei S. [Analysis of clinical features of 29 patients with 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia]. Zhonghua Jie He He Hu Xi Za Zhi. 2020 Feb 6;43(0):E005. doi: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.1001-0939.2020.0005. Online ahead of print. Chinese.

Xu Z, Shi L, Wang Y, Zhang J, Huang L, Zhang C, Liu S, Zhao P, Liu H, Zhu L, Tai Y, Bai C, Gao T, Song J, Xia P, Dong J, Zhao J, Wang FS. Pathological findings of COVID-19 associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Lancet Respir Med. 2020 Apr;8(4):420-422. doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30076-X. Epub 2020 Feb 18. No abstract available. Erratum In: Lancet Respir Med. 2020 Feb 25;:

Sharma R, Hebbal M, Ankola AV, Murugaboopathy V, Shetty SJ. Effect of two herbal mouthwashes on gingival health of school children. J Tradit Complement Med. 2014 Oct;4(4):272-8. doi: 10.4103/2225-4110.131373.

Chatterjee A, Saluja M, Singh N, Kandwal A. To evaluate the antigingivitis and antipalque effect of an Azadirachta indica (neem) mouthrinse on plaque induced gingivitis: A double-blind, randomized, controlled trial. J Indian Soc Periodontol. 2011 Oct;15(4):398-401. doi: 10.4103/0972-124X.92578.

Chava VR, Manjunath SM, Rajanikanth AV, Sridevi N. The efficacy of neem extract on four microorganisms responsible for causing dental caries viz Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus salivarius, Streptococcus mitis and Streptococcus sanguis: an in vitro study. J Contemp Dent Pract. 2012 Nov 1;13(6):769-72. doi: 10.5005/jp-journals-10024-1227.

Alzohairy MA. Therapeutics Role of Azadirachta indica (Neem) and Their Active Constituents in Diseases Prevention and Treatment. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2016;2016:7382506. doi: 10.1155/2016/7382506. Epub 2016 Mar 1.

Badam L, Joshi SP, Bedekar SS. 'In vitro' antiviral activity of neem (Azadirachta indica. A. Juss) leaf extract against group B coxsackieviruses. J Commun Dis. 1999 Jun;31(2):79-90.

Arora R, Chawla R, Marwah R, Arora P, Sharma RK, Kaushik V, Goel R, Kaur A, Silambarasan M, Tripathi RP, Bhardwaj JR. Potential of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Preventive Management of Novel H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) Pandemic: Thwarting Potential Disasters in the Bud. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2011;2011:586506. doi: 10.1155/2011/586506. Epub 2010 Oct 13.

Siddiqui BS, Ali SK, Ali ST, Naqvi SN, Tariq RM. Variation of major limonoids in Azadirachta indica fruits at different ripening stages and toxicity against Aedes aegypti. Nat Prod Commun. 2009 Apr;4(4):473-6.

Publications automatically indexed to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number):

Burton MJ, Clarkson JE, Goulao B, Glenny AM, McBain AJ, Schilder AG, Webster KE, Worthington HV. Antimicrobial mouthwashes (gargling) and nasal sprays administered to patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection to improve patient outcomes and to protect healthcare workers treating them. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Sep 16;9(9):CD013627. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013627.pub2.

Khan FR, Kazmi SMR, Iqbal NT, Iqbal J, Ali ST, Abbas SA. A quadruple blind, randomised controlled trial of gargling agents in reducing intraoral viral load among hospitalised COVID-19 patients: A structured summary of a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials. 2020 Sep 14;21(1):785. doi: 10.1186/s13063-020-04634-2.

Layout table for additonal information

Responsible Party:	Farhan Raza Khan, BDS, MS, FCPS, Associate Professor, Aga Khan University
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT04341688
Other Study ID Numbers:	2020-Sur-ERC-4926
First Posted:	April 10, 2020 Key Record Dates
Last Update Posted:	July 20, 2021
Last Verified:	July 2021
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:
Plan to Share IPD:	No

Layout table for additional information

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product:	No
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product:	No

Keywords provided by Farhan Raza Khan, BDS, MS, FCPS, Aga Khan University:


Covid-19; coronavirus disease povidone hydrogen peroxide	neem extracts topical therapy gargle

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Layout table for MeSH terms

COVID-19 Respiratory Tract Infections Infections Pneumonia, Viral Pneumonia Virus Diseases	Coronavirus Infections Coronaviridae Infections Nidovirales Infections RNA Virus Infections Lung Diseases Respiratory Tract Diseases

To Top