The PRevention Of Methamphetamine Use among Postpartum Women Trial (PROMPT) is randomized controlled trial of postpartum individuals with methamphetamine use disorder to 12 weeks of 200 mg oral micronized progesterone twice daily or placebo. The aims of this study are to assess the feasibility, safety and preliminary efficacy of micronized progesterone for the prevention of return to methamphetamine use. A secondary aim is to assess participant's salivary levels of allopregnanolone with methamphetamine cravings. This study has the potential to provide effective interventions to prevent methamphetamine use among postpartum women.
While substantial attention and resources have been directed at the opioid epidemic in the US, another deadly drug epidemic - methamphetamine use (MU) - has been evolving. While most pregnant women achieve abstinence by late pregnancy, the postpartum period is a particularly vulnerable time. Postpartum return to use is high and potentially deadly. Data from the Utah Maternal Mortality Review Committee indicate that from 2005-2016 (n=176), MU contributed to one out of every five deaths of pregnant and postpartum women; 85% of these deaths occurred in the postpartum period and, 70% of methamphetamine-related deaths also involved opioids. While medications for OUD reduce return to opioid use among postpartum women, similar interventions to reduce return to MU are lacking. In developing novel interventions to address MU in this vulnerable population, it is critical to consider important hormonal changes that mediate drug cravings and place postpartum women at particular risk of return to MU. Among women, higher systemic levels of progesterone and its active metabolite allopregnanolone appear to attenuate drug craving, urges, and return to use. Postpartum women may be particularly sensitive to increased craving and urges given the precipitous post-delivery drop in endogenous progesterone and allopregnanolone levels. Supplementation of exogenous progesterone is a novel therapy that has shown promising results in decreasing return to use among women using cocaine, tobacco, and benzodiazepines. Among postpartum women who used cocaine in pregnancy, micronized progesterone (which metabolizes to allopregnanolone) was associated with a reduction in cocaine use in the first 12 weeks postpartum in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. The investigator's long-term goal is to advance the understanding of how pregnant and postpartum women's unique physiology impacts the trajectory of MUD and to apply this knowledge to developing novel interventions aimed at reducing MU in this population. The objectives of the PROMPT study is to determine: 1) the effect of micronized progesterone on return to MU among postpartum women with MUD, and, 2) determine the association between allopregnanolone levels and methamphetamine craving in this population. The central hypothesis is that micronized progesterone is a feasible, safe, and effective intervention that reduces the risk of return to MU among postpartum women with methamphetamine use disorder
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
40
Randomized to 400 mg (200 mg twice daily) oral micronized progesterone daily
Randomized to placebo twice daily
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
RECRUITINGSuccessful recruitment and randomization of 40 postpartum women into the PROMPT study
Recruit and enroll 40 eligible women in a 15 month period from time of study initiation.
Time frame: 15 months after study initiation
Assess medication side effects through review of the GASE in enrolled participants
Investigators will track medication side effects over the study period by reviewing participant responses to the GASE (Generic Assessment of Side Effects). Benchmark is fewer than 20% positivity, based on GASE.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Assess depression and suicidality status in enrolled participants
Depression and suicidality will be assessed through review of Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at weekly study visits. Edinburg postnatal depression scale min 0 max 30; increase in score indicates higher depression with any response above 0 on question 10 indicates potential suicidality. Benchmark is fewer than 5% of participants with have a greater than 30% increase in EPDS score that cannot be attributed to anything else.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Assess anxiety status in enrolled participants
Anxiety will be assessed through review of the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) screening tool at weekly study visits. Generalized anxiety disorder 7 (GAD7) scale has minimum of zero and a maximum of 21. Benchmark is fewer than 5% of participants with have a greater than 30% increase in GAD-7 score that cannot be attributed to anything else.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Assess breastfeeding difficulty in enrolled participants
Breastfeeding difficulties will be assessed through review of the Bristol Breastfeeding Assessment Form at weekly study visits. Benchmark is subjects expressing difficulty less than 30%, based on Bristol Breastfeeding Assessment Form.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Assess return to methamphetamine use (MU) in enrolled participants
Assess the efficacy of micronized progesterone to decrease return to methamphetamine use (MU) among postpartum women with methamphetamine use disorder. Return to use will be defined as either self-reported MU or positive urine toxicology result. Results will be compared between placebo and active ingredient groups.
Time frame: 12 weeks
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.