Clinical Trial
Study Details
Arginine will be dispensed intravenously (in the vein) in the standard dose of arginine as 100 mg/kg three times a day for seven days or until discharge.
* Loading dose: 200 mg/kg once
* Continuous IV: 300 mg/kg/24 hours
Arginine will be dispensed intravenously (in the vein) as an initial bolus (loading) at each specified group dose once, followed by a standard dose of 100mg/kg every 8 hours until discharge or for a total of 21 doses of arginine, whichever comes first.
Arginine will be dispensed intravenously (in the vein) as a continuous IV infusion of 300 mg/kg/24hr
The purpose of this study is to determine whether giving extra arginine to patients with sickle cell disease seeking treatment for vaso-occlusive painful events (VOE) will decrease pain scores, decrease need for pain medications or decrease length of hospital stay or emergency department visit.
Study Overview
Arginine is a simple amino acid that is found in many foods and is part of the proteins in a human's body. Patients with sickle cell disease have low levels of the amino acid arginine and these low levels may be related to pain episodes. Increasing levels of arginine in the blood may lower pain and/or lower the amount of pain medication (like morphine) that is needed to treated them. It may also decrease the amount of time spent in the hospital.
Available data suggest that, L-arginine is a safe \& efficacious intervention with narcotic-sparing effects in pediatric SCD patients with VOE. The addition of a higher loading dose to the standard dose or use of a continuous infusion may provide additional clinical benefits by overcoming multiple mechanisms that limit global arginine bioavailability in SCD.
Contacts and Locations
Children's Healthcare fo Atlanta at Hughes Spalding
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
United States
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Arthur M. Blank Hospital
Atlanta, Georgia 30329
United States