Can a phone call save lives after sepsis? new trial in africa aims to find out
NCT ID NCT07407868
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Aug 13, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study tests two ways to follow up with adult patients who survived sepsis in the hospital. One group gets enhanced discharge instructions, and the other gets those instructions plus automated phone calls checking on symptoms and providing health tips. The goal is to see if these strategies reduce deaths within 90 days after leaving the hospital. About 1,410 patients from Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, and Mozambique will take part.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Interactive Voice Response system (phone call system) plus enhanced discharge instructions
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could show that simple phone-based follow-up after hospital discharge reduces deaths in sepsis survivors in low-resource settings.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage trial testing a behavioral intervention, not a drug. Results may not apply broadly, and phone-based follow-up may not work in all settings.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 1,410 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2026
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- 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: * At admission 1. Adults ≥18 years. 2. Participant's hospital admission diagnosis is consistent with the following broad definition of sepsis, incorporating its principal components (signs of infection plus signs of severity/organ dysfunction): 1. Signs of infection: Suspected or proven infection, as determined by the medical team in charge. 2. Illness severity: Decision of the medical team to admit the patient to an adult medical ward of the study hospital, according to clinical appraisal of the treating physician and applicable guidelines. 3. Participant/proxy is willing to have their medical records reviewed by the trial team and get daily follow-ups until the time of discharge and to be approached again by the study team for a second informed consent process towards the time of hospital discharge. 4. Evidence of a personally signed and dated informed consent form stating that the participant/proxy has been informed of, had opportunity to ask questions about and have consented to the initial study procedures that will be conducted during their hospitalization. At discharge 5. Patient has overcome the critically ill phase of their hospitalization and is, according to the non-study clinical team caring for the patient, expected to be discharged within the next 24 hours. 6. Participant is willing and able to comply with scheduled phone follow-ups, and other study procedures. 7. Evidence of a personally signed and dated informed consent form stating that the participant has been informed of, had opportunity to ask questions about and have consented to all procedures that will be conducted at the time of and after their discharge, and alternatives and risks for the study. 8. The participant confirms that there is availability of mobile network coverage in their place of residence. Exclusion Criteria: At Admission; 1. Patient who requires hospitalization for a condition that requires emergent or urgent obstetric or surgical intervention (including burns, trauma, abscess) 2. Persons who are currently or have been previously enrolled into this study. 3. Patient is terminally ill due to an underlying condition other than sepsis. 4. The patient is a detainee or prisoner. 5. The patient is unable to speak English and Luganda. * At Discharge: At discharge 6. The patient is unable to hear. 7. Participant states they will be unable to return to same health facility for the scheduled 14-day post-discharge clinic assessment (provided by the non-study clinical team) 8. Patients requiring clinical care for more than 10 days (if clinical care was completed and participant is ready for discharge but are still in hospital for financial or logistical reasons beyond 10 days, they can still be eligible)
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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.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
2 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Masaka Regional Referral Hospital
RECRUITINGMasaka, Uganda
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Mulago National Specialised Referral Hospital
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGKampala, Uganda
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can two blood markers catch sepsis before it turns deadly?
- Two cheap blood ratios put to the test as sepsis death predictors
- Can a computer model speed up sepsis blood tests?
- Stem cells put to the test against Sepsis's immune chaos
- Can the immune system reveal who will suffer kidney injury after sepsis?
- A routine calcium reading could reveal how sick a sepsis patient really is