ClinicalTrials.gg
TerminatedNCT01441271Updated May 1, 2015

Optimal Surgical Treatment Of Fulminant Clostridium Difficile Colitis

An interventional study of Ileal diversion and lavage and total abdominal colectomy in Clostridium Difficile Colitis, sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital. Terminated at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2015-05-01.

Sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Why this study was terminated
Numer of eligible patients markedly decreased since the initiation of the study.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
1
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The investigators hypothesize that minimally invasive ileal diversion with intraoperative colonic lavage using a high volume polyethylene glycol/electrolyte solution will clear Clostridium difficile infection resulting in eradication of Fulminant C. difficile colitis (FCDC) while preserving the colon. Furthermore, the investigators hypothesize this will reduce morbidity and mortality compared to total abdominal colectomy.

Read the detailed description

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) affects more than 3 million patients per year in the United States, and is increasing in frequency [2-15]. Approximately 8 % of hospitalized patients are infected with C. difficile [12]. Of these patients 3% - 8% will develop the fulminant disease, defined as C. difficile colitis with significant systemic toxic effects and shock, resulting in need for colectomy or death [2].

Fulminant C. difficile colitis (FCDC) is a highly lethal disease with mortality rates ranging between 12% - 80% [2-6,8-15]. A retrospective study in our own institution identified a 35% mortality rate for FCDC [2].

The indications for surgical management of patients with FCDC are not clearly defined, however most advocate surgical intervention in patients with worsening clinical exams, peritonitis, or patients in shock. Total abdominal colectomy (also called subtotal colectomy) with end ileostomy has been advocated as the operation of choice and has been demonstrated to marginally improve survival compared to non-operative management in these critically ill patients. A total abdominal colectomy has many disadvantages. Most important, mortality rates continue to range from 35-80%. Additionally, total abdominal colectomy (subtotal colectomy) can result in significant morbidity, and many survivors will have a permanent ileostomy.

The new treatment option that will be tested in this randomized controlled trial (RCT) may change the standard of care. Based on a small prospective series from Neal and colleagues [1] the investigators propose an alternative surgical approach for the management of FCDC, which may prove a safer and simpler option. Based on the nature of the disease as a bacterial toxin-mediated mucosal inflammatory process with delayed and indirect systemic threats to life, the investigators think that minimally invasive ileal diversion with intraoperative colonic lavage using a high volume polyethylene glycol/electrolyte solution will clear Clostridium difficile infection resulting in eradication of FCDC while preserving the colon.

02

Conditions studied

  • Clostridium Difficile Colitis
03

In context

Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous

43 studies on the registry are indexed under Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous; 5 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 1 is below the median of 100 across 29 interventional studies indexed under Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous.

Browse Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous studies →

Lead sponsor

Massachusetts General Hospital is the lead sponsor of 2,586 studies on the registry; 447 are open to participants now.

Of its 222 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 168 (76%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  1. Adult patients >18 years of age
  2. Able to provide , or presence of a legally authorized representative able and willing to provide informed consent
  3. Candidates for total abdominal colectomy due to severe, complicated FCDC per consulting surgeon and team providing care
  4. Subjects must meet criteria for operative management of FCDC (find in detailed protocol)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Children (\<18 years of age)
  2. Allergy or reaction to study medications: Vancomycin, Metronidazole, GoLytely
  3. Intra-operative evidence of colonic perforation
  4. Intra-operative evidence of colonic necrosis
  5. Pregnancy (this will be ruled out by a urine test at the time of indication for surgery)
  6. Prisoners
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(2)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

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You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
1 participant (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    total abdominal colectomy

    the standard of care for fulminant clostridium difficile colitis is a total abdominal colectomy

    Procedure: total abdominal colectomy

  • Experimental
    Ileal diversion and lavage

    The tested intervention in this trial will be: intraoperative colonic lavage using a high volume polyethylene glycol/electrolyte solution, that will clear Clostridium difficile infection resulting in eradication of FCDC while preserving the colon.

    Procedure: Ileal diversion and lavage

Interventions

  • ProcedureIleal diversion and lavage

    The surgical approach involves an attempted laparoscopic creation of a loop ileostomy after visually assessing the colon to assure viability. If the loop is unable to be safely performed laparoscopically an open loop ileostomy will be performed. Intraoperatively, 8 liters of warmed polyethylene glycol 3350/electrolyte solution \[GoLytely®; Braintree Laboratories\] will be infused into the colon via the ileostomy and collected via a rectal drainage tube. Post-operatively, the patients will receive antegrade vancomycin flushes \[500 mg in 500 ml of Lactated Ringers; q8 hours for duration of 10 days\] via a Malecot catheter \[24 French\] left in the efferent limb of the ileostomy (Figure 1). Additionally patients will be continued on intravenous metronidazole \[500mg q8 hours\] for 10 days.

  • Proceduretotal abdominal colectomy

    The surgical approach of the colon in a total abdominal colectomy involves a midline incision. The complete colon in the abdomen (from ileum to rectum) will be removed and an end ileostomy is performed.

    Also known as: subtotal colectomy

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Mortality

    Both groups will be compared using mortality as the primary outcome.

    Time frame: 28 day

Secondary outcomes

  1. ICU Length of Stay (LOS

    14 days

    Time frame: during hospitalization

  2. Hospital LOS

    1 year

    Time frame: hospitalization

  3. ventilation days

    1 year

    Time frame: while in ICU

  4. morbidity

    1 year

    Time frame: during hospitalization

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Massachusetts General Hospital
    Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States
08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
Not marked actual or estimatedDates not marked actual or estimated

The record gives a start of Sep 2012, a primary completion of Oct 2012 and a completion of Sep 2013. It does not say whether these dates are actual or estimated.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Sep 17, 2011
First posted
Sep 27, 2011
Start
Sep 2012
Primary completionActual
Oct 2012
CompletionActual
Sep 2013
Last update
May 1, 2015
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 1, 2015, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01441271
Responsible party
Marc A. de Moya (Assistant Professor of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital) — Principal investigator
First posted
Sep 27, 2011
Start date
Sep 2012
Primary completion
Oct 2012
Completion
Sep 2013
Last update
May 1, 2015

Study contacts

Marc de Moya, MD
principal investigator · Massachusetts General Hospital

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is terminated, as verified in Apr 2015. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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