Could donor stem cells help lungs heal in ARDS?
NCT ID NCT03818854
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested whether a single infusion of stem cells from donor bone marrow could help people with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a severe lung condition. 120 adults on ventilators received either stem cells or a placebo. Researchers measured changes in oxygen levels and lung injury scores over the first 36 hours and beyond.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- human mesenchymal stromal cells (stem cells from donor bone marrow)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a new treatment for severe lung failure (ARDS) that reduces the need for high oxygen and ventilator support.
- What could go wrong
- This is a mid-stage trial with only 120 participants, so results may not apply to all ARDS patients. The treatment is still experimental and may not improve outcomes.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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120 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Nov 2019
- Finished
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Jun 2024
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: Patients will be eligible for inclusion if they meet all of the below criteria within 14 days of initial ICU admission. Criteria 1-3 must all be present within a 24-hour time period and at the time of enrollment: Acute onset (defined below) of: 1. A need for positive pressure ventilation by an endotracheal or tracheal tube with a PaO2/FiO2 ratio \<250 mmHg and ≥5 cm H2O positive end-expiratory airway pressure (PEEP), as per the Berlin Criteria. 2. Bilateral infiltrates consistent with pulmonary edema (defined below) on the frontal chest radiograph, or bilateral ground glass opacities on a chest CT scan. 3. No clinical evidence of left atrial hypertension as a primary explanation for the bilateral pulmonary infiltrates. 4. If the cause of ARDS is trauma, additional inclusion criteria will include ONE of the following relevant risk factors for developing ARDS: 1. Hypotension (systolic blood pressure\[SBP\] \< 90 mmHg) in the field or in the first 24 h after injury, or 2. Transfusion of 3 units of blood products in the first 24 hours following injury, or 3. Meets the new Critical Administration Threshold (CAT) criteria with at least 3 units of blood in one hour, or 4. Blunt or penetrating torso trauma, or 5. Long bone fractures, or 6. The highest level of institutional trauma activation Exclusion Criteria: 1. Age less than 18 years 2. Greater than 72 hours since first meeting ARDS criteria per the Berlin definition of ARDS 3. Greater than 14 days since initial ICU admission 4. Inability to administer study product within 14 days of ICU admission 5. PaO2/FiO2 ≥ 250 mmHg after consent obtained and before study product is administered 6. Unable to obtain informed consent/no surrogate available 7. Pregnant or lactating 8. In custody of law enforcement officials 9. Burns \> 20% of total body surface area 10. WHO Class III or IV pulmonary hypertension 11. History of cancer treatment in the last 2 years except for non-melanotic skin cancers 12. Underlying medical condition for which 6-month mortality is estimated to be \> 50% 13. Moribund patient not expected to survive 24 hours 14. Advanced chronic liver disease (Child-Pugh Score \> 12) 15. Severe chronic respiratory disease with the use of home oxygen 16. Severe traumatic brain injury - defined as: 1. A patient who has undergone intracranial neurosurgical intervention for monitoring or therapy (intracranial pressure monitoring, external ventricular drain, craniotomy), or 2. Intracranial injury by head CT (does not include patients with minimal subarachnoid injury and/or minor skull fracture), or 3. Post-resuscitation Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) \< 9 assessed after sedation interruption, or 4. Non-survivable head injury as assessed by neurosurgery 17. Evidence of anoxic brain injury 18. History of stroke within the last 3 years 19. No intent/unwillingness to follow lung protective ventilation strategy 20. Currently receiving extracorporeal life support (ECLS) or high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) 21. Anticipated extubation within 24 hours of enrollment 22. Clinical evidence of left atrial hypertension as measured by a pulmonary arterial wedge pressure \> 18mmHg or left ventricular failure measured by an echocardiogram with a left ventricular ejection fraction less than 40%. Clinical judgement will determine if either of these measurements needs to be carried out.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Harborview Medical Center
Seattle, Washington, 98112, United States
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Memorial Hermann Hospital - Texas Medical Center
Houston, Texas, 77030, United States
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Oregon Health & Science University
Portland, Oregon, 97239, United States
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University of California Davis Medical Center
Sacramento, California, 95817, United States
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University of California San Francisco
San Francisco, California, 94143, United States
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Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tennessee, 37232, United States
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Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center
San Francisco, California, 94110, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can adjusting breathing effort during ventilation improve lung function in ARDS?
- Can tracking ambulance ventilators improve emergency breathing care?
- Which steroid best fights ARDS? a Head-to-Head trial aims to find out
- Inhaled DNA-buster may shield trauma patients from lung failure
- Three blood markers may flag who develops lung failure after chest injury
- Can a Radiation-Free scan reveal how ARDS treatments reshape lung blood flow?