A Platform Trial for Gram Negative Bloodstream Infections

Last updated: March 20, 2025
Sponsor: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Overall Status: Active - Recruiting

Phase

N/A

Condition

Sepsis And Septicemia

Soft Tissue Infections

Treatment

Central vascular catheter retention VS Central vascular catheter replacement

Routine follow-up blood culture VS No routine follow-up blood culture

Oral beta-lactams VS non beta-lactams

Clinical Study ID

NCT06537609
4369-1
  • Ages < 130
  • All Genders

Study Summary

BALANCE+ is a perpetual multiple domain randomized controlled platform trial to evaluate various treatment strategies for Gram-negative bloodstream infections (GN BSIs). Each domain addresses critical questions in the management of GN BSIs, aiming to refine treatment strategies, enhance patient outcomes, and reduce antimicrobial resistance.

The initial vanguard pilot RCT (NCT05893147) started on 29 August 2023 and has successfully completed the pilot phase on 24-Apr-2024. All patients enrolled in the vanguard phase are part of the main platform trial.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion

PLATFORM INCLUSION CRITERIA

Platform Inclusion Criteria:

  • admitted to a participating hospital

  • positive blood culture with Gram negative (GN) bacterium

Exclusion

Platform Exclusion Criteria:

  • patient's goals of care are for palliation with no active treatment

  • moribund patient, not expected to survive > 72 hours

  • previously enrolled in the platform trial

  • not eligible for any domain at the time of screening

DOMAIN SPECIFIC INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA

  1. De-escalation versus no de-escalation domain Inclusion Criteria
  • included in BALANCE+ platform Exclusion Criteria

  • receiving an empiric antibiotic regimen at the time of blood culturefinalization to which the GN pathogen(s) are not sensitive

  • arbapenem-non-susceptible

  • no de-escalation option due to any or all of:

  • antimicrobial resistance

  • allergies

  • medical contraindications

  • drug-drug interaction risk

  • other relevant reason

  • patients with a suspected or proven polymicrobial source of infection

  • > 24 hours since index blood culture susceptibility results finalization

  1. Beta-lactam versus non-beta-lactam oral/enteral treatment domain Inclusion Criteria
  • included in BALANCE+ platform

  • initially treated with intravenous antibiotics, but clinical team transitioningpatient to oral/enteral antibiotic within 7 days of starting treatment Exclusion Criteria

  • enrolled in an arm of another BALANCE+ platform domain which limits the use oforal/enteral therapy:

  • no-de-escalation arm (patients in the no de-escalation arm cannot be randomizedinto this domain unless they are ready for discharge home, in which casede-escalation is allowable to oral agents at discharge)

  • no non-beta-lactam options due to any or all of:

  • resistance

  • allergies

  • medical contraindications

  • drug-interaction risk

  • other relevant reason

  • no beta-lactam options due to any or all of:

  • resistance

  • allergies

  • medical contraindications

  • drug-interaction risk

  • other relevant reason

  • pregnancy

  • already received >24 hours of oral antibiotics after index blood culturefinalization

  1. Central vascular catheter replacement domain Inclusion Criteria
  • included in BALANCE+ platform

  • has an indwelling central vascular catheter that was already in place withinthe 48-hour period before the onset of bloodstream infection (i.e. is not a newcatheter placed within 48 hours of the onset of infection) Exclusion Criteria

  • patient has no ongoing need for a central vascular catheter

  • patient has definite indication for central vascular catheter removal

  • ongoing septic shock with definite/probable line source

  • concomitant S. aureus bacteremia

  • concomitant candidemia

  • local suppurative signs (severe redness, warmth, pain, swelling orfluctuance/collection) necessitating catheter removal, or other clinicalevidence of infected line (e.g. imaging/echocardiographic findings)

  1. Low-risk AmpC domain Inclusion Criteria
  • included in BALANCE+ platform

  • positive blood culture with GN bacterium, of the following species: i. Serratiaspp. ii Morganella spp. iii Providencia spp. iv Proteus spp. other thanP.mirabilis

  • organism is susceptible to ceftriaxone Exclusion Criteria

  • severe allergy to beta-lactams (e.g., type 4 hypersensitivity reaction orDRESS)

  • baseline phenotypic non-susceptiblity to ceftriaxone

  • more than 1 calendar day beyond availability of susceptibility results

  1. Follow up blood culture domain

Inclusion Criteria

  • included in BALANCE+ platform

Exclusion Criteria

  • patient died or discharged from hospital prior to day 4

  • blood culture already collected by the treating team at day 4±1

  • >5 days since index positive blood culture collection

  • definite indication for repeat blood culture testing

  • concomitant S. aureus bacteremia

  • concomitant Candidemia

  • clinical suspicion for infective endocarditis

Study Design

Total Participants: 2500
Treatment Group(s): 5
Primary Treatment: Central vascular catheter retention VS Central vascular catheter replacement
Phase:
Study Start date:
April 24, 2024
Estimated Completion Date:
April 30, 2028

Study Description

BALANCE+ is an adaptive platform trial evaluating multiple treatment options in patients admitted to the hospital due to Gram negative bloodstream infections (BSIs). It focuses on both cross-cutting and subgroup-specific questions, using an open-label, pragmatic design embedded in routine care.

BALANCE+ addresses the significant health concern of BSIs, which have high morbidity and mortality rates, exacerbated by the global public health threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). With rising resistance rates and limited new drug development, effective treatment strategies for BSIs remain under-researched.

BALANCE+ follows the BALANCE trial, which evaluated duration of antibiotic treatment, and aims to further investigate critical questions in managing Gram-negative BSIs. This platform trial will explore various aspects of BSI treatment, including antibiotic de-escalation, oral antibiotic choices, central line management, treatment of specific pathogens, and the necessity of follow-up blood cultures.

BALANCE+ is using Bayesian methods without a fixed sample size. Interim analyses will occur after every 1000th patient in each domain, and then for every 200th patient thereafter. The trial will stop if futility or superiority thresholds are met, or if a domain reaches its ceiling sample size (2500 patients for most domains and 4000 for the beta-lactam versus non-beta-lactam domain) without meeting a stopping threshold.

A vanguard pilot trial involving over 150 patients at 9 hospitals across Canada confirmed the feasibility of the BALANCE+ trial. The main trial will include patients from the vanguard pilot phase since there has been no major change in the overall study design and domains. The adaptive design allows for interim analyses and adjustments by adding or removing domains as per the statistical analysis plan, enhancing the trial's efficiency and relevance.

Connect with a study center

  • Redcliffe Hospital

    Redcliffe, Queensland
    Australia

    Active - Recruiting

  • Monash Medical Center

    Clayton, Victoria
    Australia

    Active - Recruiting

  • St John of God

    Murdoch, Western Australia
    Australia

    Active - Recruiting

  • Foothills Hospital

    Calgary, Alberta
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • Peter Lougheed Centre

    Calgary, Alberta
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • Rockyview General Hospital

    Calgary, Alberta
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • South Health Campus

    Calgary, Alberta
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • University of Alberta

    Edmonton, Alberta
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • Surrey Memorial Hospital

    Surrey, British Columbia
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • Vancouver General Hospital

    Vancouver, British Columbia
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • Eastern Regional Health Authority

    Saint John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • North York General Hospital

    North York, Ontario
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • The Ottawa Hospital

    Ottawa, Ontario
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • Niagara Health System

    St. Catharines, Ontario
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • Michael Garron Hospital

    Toronto, Ontario
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • Mount Sinai Hospital

    Toronto, Ontario
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • St. Joseph's Health Centre

    Toronto, Ontario
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

    Toronto, Ontario M4N3M5
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • University Health Network

    Toronto, Ontario
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • Montreal General Hospital- McGill

    Montreal, Quebec
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • Royal Victoria Hospital- McGill

    Montreal, Quebec
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • Université de Sherbrooke

    Sherbrooke, Quebec
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • Sheba Medical Center

    Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv
    Israel

    Active - Recruiting

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