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A Study of N-acetylcysteine in Patients With COVID-19 Infection

NCT04374461 · Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · Phase: PHASE2 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 48

Last updated 2026-05-01

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The study researchers think that a medication called N-acetylcysteine can help fight the COVID-19 virus by boosting a type of cell in your immune system that attacks infections. By helping your immune system fight the virus, the researchers think that the infection will get better, which could allow the patient to be moved out of the critical care unit or go off a ventilator, or prevent them from moving into a critical care unit or going on a ventilator.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved N-acetylcysteine to treat the liver side effects resulting from an overdose of the anti-inflammatory medication Tylenol® (acetaminophen). N-acetylcysteine is also used to loosen the thick mucus in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study is the first to test N-acetylcysteine in people with severe COVID-19 infections.

Conditions

Interventions

DRUG

N-acetylcysteine

Patients in both arms will receive N-acetylcysteine IV 6 g/day in addition to supportive and/or COVID-19 directed treatments at the discretion of the treating physician. Treatment interruptions for up to 48 hours are permissible if there is a clinical indication to hold the study drug. Patients can restart drug if they have been off drug for less than 48 hours. Patients are also eligible to restart N-acetylcysteine treatment on the same treatment arm without reconsent if they are within the 30 day followup period after their prior course of treatment on this protocol.

OTHER

Peripheral Blood

A total of 16mL of research whole blood will be collected in CPT tubes at baseline, Cycle 2 Day 1 (or as close as feasible, when still coordinating sample collection across patients in a critical-care unit), and at end of study.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Principal Investigators

  • Santosha Vardhana, MD, PhD · Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Study Design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2020-05-01
Primary Completion
2027-05-31
Completion
2027-05-31
FDA Drug
Yes

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases
Companies

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT04374461 on ClinicalTrials.gov