Protocol of the study: the effectiveness of pleuran in the treatment of acute gastroenteritis in children—a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial (EPTAGE)

INTRODUCTION: Acute gastroenteritis is one of the most common causes of children’s morbidity and mortality globally. Oral or intravenous rehydration was proven effective in reducing the mortality rates in acute gastroenteritis, although it does not affect the course of the disease. Attempts to identify new therapeutic methods effective in reducing the symptoms of diarrhoea are of interest. Pleuran’s potential immunomodulatory effect in acute gastrointestinal infection relies on the stimulation of innate immunity. The effectiveness of pleuran (β-(1,3/1,6)-d-glucan) administration to treat acute infectious diarrhoea remains unknown. This study evaluates the efficacy of pleuran in reducing diarrhoea duration and the severity of acute gastroenteritis symptoms in children. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Our study is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled superiority trial with two parallel groups and a 1:1 allocation ratio. A total of 120 children aged 2–10 years hospitalised or requiring a visit to the emergency department because of acute gastroenteritis will be randomly assigned to receive either pleuran oral suspension in the experimental group or matching placebo in the control group. The primary outcome measure will be the duration of diarrhoea. We will analyse the results in both intention-to-treat and per-protocol approaches. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The Bioethics Committee of The Medical University of Warsaw approved the study protocol (approval number: KB/45/2018). Written informed consent of the patients’ caregivers participating in the study will be obligatory. The results of this study will be published in a medical journal, regardless of whether they confirm or deny the research hypothesis. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03988257; Pre-results.