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RecruitingNCT05640752OPERATEUpdated Dec 24, 2024

Optimal Evaluation to Reduce Cardiovascular Imaging Testing

An interventional study of 2019 ESC guideline-determined diagnostic strategy and 2016 NICE guideline-determined diagnostic strategy in Chronic Coronary Syndrome, sponsored by Tianjin Chest Hospital. Recruiting at 4 sites in China. Open to participants aged 30 Years to 90 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-12-24.

Sponsored by Tianjin Chest Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Diagnostic

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Dec 2023; still recruiting 2 years 11 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
800
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
30 Years to 90 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

In daily clinical routine, the evaluation of new-onset and stable chest pain (SCP) suggestive of chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) remains a challenge for physicians. Although coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) seems to be the first-line cardiac imaging testing (CIT) according to the recommendations from current guidelines, the optimal diagnostic strategy to identify low risk patients who may derive minimal benefit from further CIT is the cornerstone of clinical management for SCP. Recently, different diagnostic strategies were provided to effectively defer unnecessary CIT, but few studies have prospectively determined the actual effect of applying these strategies in clinical practice. Therefore, the OPERATE study was designed to compare the effectiveness and safety of two proposed diagnostic strategies in identification of low risk individual who may derive minimal benefit from CCTA among patients with SCP suggestive of CCS in a pragmatic randomized controlled trial (RCT).

Read the detailed description

OPERATE trial was an investigator-initiated, multicenter, prospective, CCTA-based, 2-arm 1:1 parallel-group, double-blind and pragmatic RCT planned to include 800 subjects with SCP suggestive of CCS. Subjects were assigned randomly to two groups: 1) 2016 National Institutes for Clinical Excellence guidelines-determined diagnostic strategy (NICE strategy) and 2) 2019 European Society of Cardiology guidelines-determined diagnostic strategy (ESC strategy) The primary objective of OPERATE trial is to compare the rates of CCTA without obstructive CAD according to NICE and ESC strategy. The key secondary objective is to assess whether the two strategies have no significant difference in terms of major adverse cardiac events (MACE). The investigators hypothesize that when comparing with NICE strategy, ESC strategy which sequentially incorporated the ESC-PTP model with RF-CL model will decrease the probability of CCTA without obstructive CAD but not at the expense of safety and cost over a follow-up period of 1 year.

02

Conditions studied

  • Chronic Coronary Syndrome

Keywords

  • Stable Chest Pain
  • Pretest Probability
  • Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography
  • Diagnostic Strategy
  • Coronary Artery Disease
03

In context

Coronary Artery Disease

4,857 studies on the registry are indexed under Coronary Artery Disease; 890 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 800 is above the median of 124 across 3,006 interventional studies indexed under Coronary Artery Disease.

Browse Coronary Artery Disease studies →

Lead sponsor

Tianjin Chest Hospital is the lead sponsor of 9 studies on the registry; 4 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
30 Years to 90 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

  1. SCP or equivalenta suggestive of CCS and clinically stability
  2. No history of CAD (prior myocardial infarction, CR or any CAD documented by previous CIT)
  3. Age ≥30 years
  4. Willing and able to provide

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria

  1. Prior CIT within 1 year prior to randomization
  2. Clinically instability (e.g. cardiogenic shock, ACS, severe arrhythmias or III or IV heart failure)
  3. Non-sinus rhythm
  4. Concomitant participation in another clinical trial
  5. Complex structural heart disease
  6. Non-cardiac illness with \< 2 years
  7. Allergy to iodinated contrast agent
  8. Estimated \<60 ml/min/1.73m2 within 90 days
  9. >35kg/m2
  10. Expressing a clear preference for undergoing CIT or not
  11. Pregnancy
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(5)

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.

NYHA class (heart failure)

The New York Heart Association’s four classes of how much heart failure limits physical activity.

I
No limits: ordinary activity causes no undue tiredness or breathlessness.
II
Slight limits: comfortable at rest, ordinary activity causes symptoms.
III
Marked limits: comfortable at rest, less than ordinary activity causes symptoms.
IV
Symptoms even at rest; any activity makes them worse.

Studies set their own limit — many outside heart failure leave out class III–IV, while heart failure studies may ask for a particular class. Check the class this study names.

Life expectancy

The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.

GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)

GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².

Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Diagnostic
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Care provider, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
800 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    ESC strategy

    ESC-PTP is calculated using age, sex and type of chest pain according to 2019 ESC guideline for the diagnosis and management of CCS and RF-CL is calculated using age, sex, type of chest pain, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, smoking and family history of CAD based on the publication of Winther et al., respectively. According to ESC strategy, subjects with ESC-PTP ≤5% are classified into low risk group and ones with ESC-PTP ≥15% are classified into high risk group. For subjects with ESC-PTP of 5%-15%, ones with RF-CL ≥15% are classified into high risk group and ones with RF-CL \<15% are classified into low risk group. CCTA should be referred for a subject in high risk group. Subjects determined to be at low risk will be referred to optimal medication treatment with no immediate CCTA.

    Diagnostic Test: 2019 ESC guideline-determined diagnostic strategy

  • Experimental
    NICE strategy

    According to NICE strategy, subjects with nonanginal chest pain and normal ECG are classified into low risk group and ones with typical and atypical angina or nonanginal chest pain with abnormal ECG are classified into high risk group. CCTA should be referred for a subject in high risk group. Subjects determined to be at low risk will be referred to optimal medication treatment with no immediate CCTA.

    Diagnostic Test: 2016 NICE guideline-determined diagnostic strategy

Interventions

  • Diagnostic test2019 ESC guideline-determined diagnostic strategy

    ESC-PTP is calculated using age, sex and type of chest pain according to 2019 ESC guideline for the diagnosis and management of CCS and RF-CL is calculated using age, sex, type of chest pain, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, smoking and family history of CAD based on the publication of Winther et al., respectively. According to ESC strategy, subjects with ESC-PTP ≤5% are classified into low risk group and ones with ESC-PTP ≥15% are classified into high risk group. For subjects with ESC-PTP of 5%-15%, ones with RF-CL ≥15% are classified into high risk group and ones with RF-CL \<15% are classified into low risk group. CCTA should be referred for a subject in high risk group. Subjects determined to be at low risk will be referred to optimal medication treatment with no immediate CCTA.

  • Diagnostic test2016 NICE guideline-determined diagnostic strategy

    For subjects assigned to NICE strategy, ones with nonanginal chest pain and normal ECG were classified into low risk group and ones with typical and atypical angina or nonanginal chest pain with abnormal ECG were classified into high risk group. Subjects determined to be at low risk will be referred to optimal medication treatment with no immediate CCTA.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. CCTA without obstructive CAD

    The summary of nonobstructive CAD, no sign of CAD and nondiagnostic result detected by CCTA according to each strategy

    Time frame: Through the initial management, an average of 2-5 days

Secondary outcomes

  1. MACE

    All-cause death, myocardial infarction and hospitalization due to unstable angina.

    Time frame: 1 year

  2. All-cause death

    Any death.

    Time frame: 1 year

  3. Myocardial infarction

    Myocardial infarction was defined and classified as spontaneous or coronary procedure-related MI according to the Fourth Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction.

    Time frame: 1 year

  4. Hospitalization due to unstable angina

    An hospitalization event in which the final diagnosis was myocardial ischemia.

    Time frame: 1 year

  5. Exposure to radiation

    All exposure to radiation related to CIT and other cardiovascular procedures.

    Time frame: 1 year

  6. Procedural complications

    All procedural complications related to CIT and other cardiovascular procedures.

    Time frame: 1 year

  7. Cumulative proportion of patients receiving other CITs

    Time frame: 1 year

  8. Cumulative proportion of patients receiving CR

    Time frame: 1 year

  9. Cumulative proportion of patients who had alteration in OMT based on results of CCTA

    Time frame: Thtough the initial management, an average of 2-5 days

  10. Proportion of normal CCTA

    Time frame: Through the initial management, an average of 2-5 days

  11. Proportion of necessary CCTA

    Time frame: Through the initial management, an average of 2-5 days

Other outcomes

  1. The health-related quality of life assessment (SAQ)

    Seattle Angina Questionnaire

    Time frame: 1 year

  2. The health-related quality of life assessment (EQ-5D)

    Visual-analogue scale of the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions

    Time frame: 1 year

07

Study locations

4 of 4 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 24, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05640752
Lead sponsor
Tianjin Chest Hospital
Responsible party
Zhou Jia (Principal Investigator, Tianjin Chest Hospital) — Principal investigator
First posted
Dec 7, 2022
Start date
Dec 11, 2023
Primary completion
Dec 11, 2024
Completion
Dec 11, 2025 (estimated)
Last update
Dec 24, 2024

Study contacts

Jia Zhou, MD
Contact
zhoujiawenzhang@126.com
+8615522485560
Jia Zhou, MD
principal investigator · Tianjin Chest Hospital

Oversight

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

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