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TerminatedNCT05220709Updated Nov 5, 2026

Bio Impedance Monitoring as a Tool to Assess Fluid Status in the Pediatric Surgical Patient? (PedFluid Study)

An interventional study of bio impedance spectroscopy by means of the Body Composition Monitor (Name of the device is BCM from Fresenius Medical Care D GmbH) in Fluid and Electrolyte Imbalance, Body Weight Changes and Children, Only, sponsored by University Hospital, Antwerp. Terminated at 1 site in Belgium. Open to participants aged 1 Month to 16 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-05.

Sponsored by University Hospital, Antwerp · Not applicable, Interventional, and Diagnostic

Why this study was terminated
difficult inclusion
Updated Nov 5, 2026Now TerminatedPrimary completion moved+2 moreGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
132
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
1 Month to 16 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The baseline infusion rate during surgery for pediatric patients still is the 'Holliday and Segar' rule (also known as the 4/2/1 rule) The question arises if this rule is not outdated, since it was calculated based on the caloric need of the pediatric population, calculated for cow milk. The study tends to validate the use of bio impedance measurements for registering fluid shifts in the pediatric surgical patients.

Read the detailed description

The Body Composition Monitor (BCM, Fresenius Medical Care, Germany) is the first device that determines individual fluid status and body composition in an easy and objective way. The technology uses bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) to determine total body water (TBW) and extracellular water volume (ECW).It measures at 50 frequencies over a range from 5 to 1000 kHz to determine the electrical resistances of the total body water and the extracellular water. While high-frequency current passes through the total body water, low-frequency current cannot penetrate cell membranes and thus flows exclusively through the extracellular water.

To obtain the clinically relevant output parameters, two advanced physiological models are used in the BCM: a volume model, describing electrical conductance in a cell suspension enabling the total body water and extracellular water as well as the intracellular water (ICW) to be calculated, and a body composition model calculating the three principal body compartments overhydration, lean tissue and adipose tissue from ECW and TBW information.

The measurement is a non-invasive and accurate method that is easy to apply and results are obtained within just two minutes. It has been extensively used in patients with kidney disease receiving dialysis, both in adult and pediatric patients. However, bio impedance spectrometry has not yet been tested in the perioperative setting.

This is a single-center pilot study to evaluate if bio impedance measurement is a workable tool to determine fluid shifts in the pediatric population after a surgical procedure was performed under general anesthesia. Patients will be seen preoperatively by an anesthesiologist which is standard of care upon surgery under general anesthesia and eligibility will be evaluated. Informed consent will be asked and has to be signed by the accompanying parent or legal guardian. Where possible, care will be taken to inform the child itself about the content of the study and to get a written acknowledge. There are no other investigations necessary for this research. All patients on the day of surgery will be fasted as by the guidelines of the European Society of Anesthesia. For patients in daycare surgery, measurements with BCM will be performed preoperatively and postoperatively before ending the IV line on the ward. For inpatient hospitalisation, measurements by BCM will be performed preoperatively, postoperatively 6 hours after induction and postoperatively 24 h after induction.. Age, gender, height, weight and blood pressure are registered in the device before starting the measurement. If the quality calculated by BCM is \< 60%, the measurement will be repeated again and only good quality measurements will be used.

Data are collected on chip cards by the BCM. Data can be transferred to a personal computer for further analysis with the Fluid Management Tool (FMT). Site requirements is the availability of a low electronic surrounding for correct measurement. After discharge of the hospital no further follow up assessments regarding this study are needed.

02

Conditions studied

  • Fluid and Electrolyte Imbalance
  • Body Weight Changes
  • Children, Only

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Keywords

  • bio impedance spectroscopy
03

In context

Body Weight Changes

231 studies on the registry are indexed under Body Weight Changes; 30 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 132 is above the median of 80 across 179 interventional studies indexed under Body Weight Changes.

Browse Body Weight Changes studies →

Lead sponsor

University Hospital, Antwerp is the lead sponsor of 242 studies on the registry; 66 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
1 Month to 16 Years
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

  • Scheduled for elective surgery or investigation under general anesthesia
  • Day care or inpatient hospitalisation

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • If sedation is needed instead of general anesthesia
  • Critically ill patients for urgent surgery
  • Patients who cannot lie still for performing correct measurements on the bio impedance monitor
  • No obtained
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

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.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Diagnostic
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
132 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Other
    Bio impedance spectroscopy in children scheduled for elective surgery under general anesthesia

    All subjects receive bio impedance monitor measurements pre operatively and post operatively.

    Diagnostic Test: bio impedance spectroscopy by means of the Body Composition Monitor (Name of the device is BCM from Fresenius Medical Care D GmbH)

Interventions

  • Diagnostic testbio impedance spectroscopy by means of the Body Composition Monitor (Name of the device is BCM from Fresenius Medical Care D GmbH)

    The Body Composition Monitor provides information about the hydration status by a bioimpedance spectroscopy measurement of the body composition from which the level of overhydration can be derived. Four electrodes are used per measurement. All subjects get electrodes attached, following the wrist-ankle approach, in a tetrapolar arrangement. Two electrodes are placed on the hand: one on the wrist, and the second on the dorsal side of the metacarpalia, close to the phalanges. The other two electrodes are placed on the foot: one on the ankle, and the second on the dorsal side of the metatarsals, close to the phalanges of the toes. Age, gender, height, weight and blood pressure are registered in the device before starting the measurement. If the quality calculated by BCM is \< 60%, the measurement will be repeated again. Measurements are taken under supervision of a trained technician or nurse.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. total body water

    sum of intracellular water and extracellular water, calculated in liter

    Time frame: measurements with BCM will be done pre-surgery

  2. total body water

    sum of intracellular water and extracellular water, calculated in liter

    Time frame: measurements with BCM will be done within 6 hours post-surgery for patients in day care

  3. total body water

    sum of intracellular water and extracellular water, calculated in liter

    Time frame: measurements with BCM will be done within 24 hours post-surgery for hospitalized patients

07

Study locations

1 site
08

Updates

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
Status
Recruiting→Terminated difficult inclusion
changed Nov 5, 2026
Primary completion
Dec 30, 2025→Mar 31, 2025 (actual)
Nov 5, 2026
Study completion
May 31, 2026→Mar 31, 2025 (actual)
Nov 5, 2026
Enrollment
100 (estimated)→132 (actual)
Nov 5, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Nov 5, 2026
    Recruiting→Terminated
    Why stopped difficult inclusion
    Primary completion Dec 30, 2025→Mar 31, 2025 (now actual)
    Study completion May 31, 2026→Mar 31, 2025 (now actual)
    Enrollment 100 (estimated)→132 (actual)
    + 4 other changes: index terms, verification date, contact details and site details

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05220709
Responsible party
Vera Saldien (Principal Investigator, University Hospital, Antwerp) — Principal investigator
First posted
Feb 2, 2022
Start date
Apr 5, 2022
Primary completion
Mar 31, 2025
Completion
Mar 31, 2025
Last update
Nov 5, 2026

Study contacts

Vera Saldien, MD,PhD
principal investigator · University Hospital, Antwerp

Oversight

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

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