ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT03438916Updated Mar 14, 2023

MRI to Assess the Effect of Non-selective Beta-blocker in Patients With Cirrhosis

An observational study in Portal Hypertension, Cirrhosis and Esophageal Varices, sponsored by Hvidovre University Hospital. Completed at 1 site in Denmark. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 78 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-03-14.

Primary conditionEsophageal and Gastric VaricesRegistry: Hypertension, PortalReclassifiedWhy we changed it
Registry
Hypertension, Portal — the first condition term the registry derived for this study.
ClinicalTrials.gg
Esophageal and Gastric Varices
Why
  1. The study's listed conditions name Esophageal and Gastric Varices, a narrower term within Hypertension, Portal.
Confidence
High: the new condition is named in the study's own listed conditions. Of 351 hand-checked studies reclassified this way, 68% were exactly right and 84% in the right disease family; the registry's first term was right for 5% (measured 2026-10-21). How we classify →
Wrong?
Tell us the study's main condition →

Sponsored by Hvidovre University Hospital · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
40
Ages
18 Years to 78 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Background:

Standardization and new therapeutic treatments of variceal bleeding has significantly reduced the mortality the last 25 years, but there is still a high 6-week mortality around 15-20% and 1-year mortality of about 40%. Cirrhotic patients without prophylactic treatment suffer a risk of 60% of re-bleeding within the first year after the first bleeding episode. Variceal ligation and NSBB are the standard therapy as secondary prophylaxis, while only non-selective beta-blocker (NSBB) is offered as first-line therapy in primary prophylaxis. If portal pressure is reduced to a value below 12 mmHg or by 20% (10% if assessed by intravenous administrations), the risk of bleeding is substantially reduced, but not all patients respond to the treatment with propranolol (40-50%). Hence, patients who are non-responders to NSBB should be offered alternative treatment with e.g. carvedilol, which is a combined alpha-beta-receptor blocker or endoscopic band ligation. Currently, the response to NSBB is assessed invasively during a liver vein catheterization (LVC). Unfortunately, only a few centres in the world can perform this procedure and there are no reliable non-invasive alternatives to assess the respond to NSBB, which is of extreme importance, since non-responders have three fold increased risk of a new variceal bleeding episode.

Aim:

In general the aim of the project is to develop faster and non-invasive methods to evaluate portal hypertension and individual pharmacological response of NSBB in patients with cirrhosis. Furthermore, we expect to detect changes in liver and spleen stiffness as measured by MR-Elastography (MRE) after NSBB and that these depend on the drug-related effects on portal pressure.

Study design and patients:

39 patients with cirrhosis and esophageal varices that require NSBB (propranolol) treatment.

Patients are assessed with LVC, MR-scans, echocardiography and biochemical tests. LVC is the gold standard method to test if patients respond to propranolol treatment. At visit 1. the response to NSBB is defined as a reduction of HVPG ≥10%, or to a HVPG\< 12mmHg after intravenous NSBB administrations during LVC. MRI-scan with intraveneus NSBB administration is performed at visit 2. Minimum 5 days of NSBB wash out between visit 1 and 2.

Read the detailed description

MR-elastography and Phase Contrast MRI compared to LVC

02

Conditions studied

  • Portal Hypertension
  • Cirrhosis
  • Esophageal Varices
  • Gastric Varices Bleeding
  • Varice Bleed
  • Liver Diseases
  • Liver Cirrhosis

Keywords

  • Non-selective beta-blocker
  • Pharmacological respons
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Hemodynamic assessments
  • Echocardiography
  • MR-elastography
  • Propranolol
  • Liver vein catheterization
03

In context

Esophageal and Gastric Varices Reclassified

150 studies on the registry are indexed under Esophageal and Gastric Varices; 39 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 40 is below the median of 130 across 44 observational studies indexed under Esophageal and Gastric Varices.

Browse Esophageal and Gastric Varices studies →

Lead sponsor

Hvidovre University Hospital is the lead sponsor of 299 studies on the registry; 20 are open to participants now.

Compared within Esophageal and Gastric Varices, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Hypertension, Portal. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 78 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No
Sampling method
Probability sample

Study population

39 patients with cirrhosis and esophageal varices that require NSBB (propranolol) treatment.

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

  • Patients with cirrhosis and esophageal varices that require NSBB treatment
  • Patients of more than 18 and less than 78 years of age
  • Patients with a portal pressure HVPG ≥ 12mmHg

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who are unable to give
  • Patients with absolute for MRI
  • Patients with absolute contraindication for NSBB
  • Pregnant women
  • Patient with severe hemodynamic comorbidity
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

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

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.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

05

Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
40 participants (actual)
Patient registry
No
Biospecimen retention
Samples without dna
06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. NSBB response defined as a reduction in HVPG >10% or HVPG <12 mmHG after intraveneus NSBB administrations compared to flow (mL/min) in splanchnic vessels

    To assess if changes in MR flow induced with NSBB (propranolol) administrations can predict the changes in HVPG after NSBB administration (NSBB respons) assessed by LVC

    Time frame: after 20 minutes respons time

Secondary outcomes

  1. MR-elastography

    To assess the liver and spleen stiffness (kPa) with MRE before and after intraveneus NSBB administration

    Time frame: after 20 minutes

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Centre of Gastroenterology, Dept. of medicine. Hvidovre University Hospital
    Hvidovre, 2650, Denmark
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Danielsen KV, Hove JD, Nabilou P, Yin M, Chen J, Zhao M, Kallemose T, Teisner AS, Siebner HR, Ehman RL, Moller S, Bendtsen F. Using MR elastography to assess portal hypertension and response to beta-blockers in patients with cirrhosis. Liver Int. 2021 Sep;41(9):2149-2158. doi: 10.1111/liv.14981. Epub 2021 Jun 16. PubMed 34060714 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Ran from Apr 2017 to primary completion in Dec 2020, 44 months.

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

Registered
Feb 10, 2018
First posted
Feb 20, 2018
StartActual
Apr 1, 2017
Primary completionActual
Dec 8, 2020
CompletionActual
Dec 8, 2020
Last update
Mar 14, 2023
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 Mar 14, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03438916
Responsible party
Flemming Bendtsen (Professor, MD, Hvidovre University Hospital) — Principal investigator
First posted
Feb 20, 2018
Start date
Apr 1, 2017
Primary completion
Dec 8, 2020
Completion
Dec 8, 2020
Last update
Mar 14, 2023

Study contacts

Flemming Bendtsen, Professor
principal investigator · Professor

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Mar 2023. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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