The Staphylococcus aureus Network Adaptive Platform Trial Protocol: New Tools for an Old Foe

TL;DR

The SNAP trial is a new clinical trial design to efficiently study treatments for Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections, which are deadly but under-researched.

Contribution

The paper introduces an adaptive platform trial framework to improve clinical trial efficiency for S. aureus infections.

Findings

The SNAP trial commenced in 2022 with a target of 7000 participants across multiple countries.

The adaptive platform trial design allows multiple treatment questions to be addressed simultaneously.

This approach could serve as a model for other infectious disease trials.

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream (SAB) infection is a common and severe
infectious disease, with a 90-day mortality of 15%–30%. Despite this, <3000 people have
been randomized into clinical trials of treatments for SAB infection. The limited evidence
base partly results from clinical trials for SAB infections being difficult to complete at
scale using traditional clinical trial methods. Here we provide the rationale and
framework for an adaptive platform trial applied to SAB infections. We detail the design
features of the Staphylococcus aureus Network Adaptive Platform (SNAP)
trial that will enable multiple questions to be answered as efficiently as possible. The
SNAP trial commenced enrolling patients across multiple countries in 2022 with an
estimated target sample size of 7000 participants. This approach may serve as an exemplar
to increase efficiency of clinical trials for other infectious disease syndromes.

The Staphylococcus aureus Network Adaptive Platform (SNAP) trial is a
multicenter international adaptive platform trial that will simultaneously address
multiple key questions in the management of S. aureus bloodstream
infections and involve >7000 adult and child participants.

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