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RecruitingNCT06316869Updated Sep 16, 2026

Noninvasive Prediction of Portal Hypertension in Cirrhosis Using Sound Touch Viscoelastography

An observational study in Portal Hypertension and Cirrhosis, sponsored by First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. Recruiting at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-16.

Sponsored by First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University · Observational

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Sep 2024; still recruiting 2 years 2 months later.
Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
216
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The objective of this observational study is to investigate and validate the utility of the Sound Touch Viscoelastography(STVi) technique in patients with liver cirrhosis for noninvasive prediction of Portal hypertension (PH). The primary research questions it seeks to address are as follows:

  • What is the correlation between the liver STVi index and Portal Venous Pressure Gradient (HVPG)?
  • Is STVi an available tool to non-invasively predict PH in patients with liver cirrhosis? And the effectiveness and practicality of STVi will be validated.
  • To establish a predictive model for Clinically Significant Portal Hypertension (CSPH) utilizing liver STVi index as the primary indicator.

The HVPG is considered as the gold standard in this study and STVi was employed to quantify the STVi index of the liver in patients with liver cirrhosis. Researchers will compare the two patients groups, HVPG≥10 mmHg and HVPG\<10 mmHg, to see the usage of STVi in the noninvasive prediction of PH.

Read the detailed description
  1. Research subjects: Subjects were included in strict accordance with the preparation procedures (inclusion criteria, informed consent), and with the approval of the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, relevant data were collected within 1 week after the patients were enrolled and before the HVPG test..
  2. Clinical baseline information and laboratory data: including name, gender, age, blood pressure, BMI (height, weight), causes of liver cirrhosis and other general information, and relevant laboratory tests, including platelet count, hemoglobin, albumin, prothrombin time, international normalized ratio, total bilirubin, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, blood ammonia, etc.
  3. Conventional gray-scale ultrasound and color Doppler examination: including hepatic artery inner diameter, hepatic artery peak flow velocity, hepatic artery resistance index, portal vein trunk inner diameter, portal vein average flow velocity, spleen size, etc.
  4. STVi detection: Use the color Doppler ultrasound system (including elastic components) of Shenzhen Mindray Biomedical Electronics Co., Ltd., equipped with an abdominal convex array probe with a probe frequency of 1\~6 MHz. The probe was placed in a supine position or slightly tilted to the left, with the right arm raised and fully abducted to increase the width of the intercostal space, and the liver viscoelastic index of the right lobe of the liver was measured between the intercostals. During measurement, the subject should hold his breath for 3 to 5 seconds in a calm state. Do not hold his breath after taking a deep breath. The sampling frame should be placed in a place with uniform echo in the liver parenchyma, avoiding large blood vessels, bile ducts and ribs. The sampling frame should be as parallel to the liver capsule as possible and placed 1 to 2 cm below the liver capsule and no more than 6 cm. The region of interest is preferably placed in the center of the elastogram, and the diameter of the sampling frame is recommended to be ≥1.5 cm. Take the median after 3 valid measurements of the same site. The sampling results require measurement success rate ≥60% and IQR/Median≤0.3.
  5. HVPG detection: Use the right jugular vein approach, refer to the Chinese Expert Consensus on Clinical Application of Hepatic Venous Pressure Gradient (2018 Edition) , and select the balloon catheter to the hepatic vein under fluoroscopy, at a distance from the inferior vena cava 2\~4 cm, wait at least 20 s (some patients may take longer to reach a stable reading), and then read the Free Hepatic Venous Pressure (FHVP) after the pressure value is stable. After injecting contrast medium or air to expand the balloon to fully block the hepatic venous blood flow, wait at least 40 s until the pressure value is stable, and then read the Hepatic Venous Wedge Pressure (WHVP). Keep the balloon in the inflated state, instruct the patient to hold his breath, slowly inject 5 ml of contrast agent through the balloon catheter, and perform hepatic venography to confirm that there is no contrast agent reflux or venous-venous collateral shunt. Calculated according to the formula HVPG = WHVP - FHVP, HVPG should be the average of 2 measurements.
  6. Group according to the HVPG test results and divide them into 2 groups: CSPH group (HVPG≥10 mmHg) and non-CSPH group (HVPG\<10 mmHg).
  7. Build a model: Screen out independent variable information related to the occurrence of CSPH through model variable screening and correlation analysis, and use it to build a prediction model. And establish a Nomogram model to realize the visualization of the model.
  8. Evaluate the model: Discrimination of the model: ROC curve analysis, C-index; Calibration of the model: Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test, consistency curve (test); Clinical net benefit assessment: Decision curve analysis ( DCA).
02

Conditions studied

  • Portal Hypertension
  • Cirrhosis

Keywords

  • Sound Touch Viscoelastography
  • Clinically Significant Portal Hypertension
  • Portal Venous Pressure Gradient
  • Cirrhosis
03

In context

Hypertension, Portal

375 studies on the registry are indexed under Hypertension, Portal; 114 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 216 is above the median of 150 across 135 observational studies indexed under Hypertension, Portal.

Browse Hypertension, Portal studies →

Lead sponsor

First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University is the lead sponsor of 83 studies on the registry; 57 are open to participants now.

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
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Portal Hypertension (PH) is the primary consequence of liver cirrhosis and a crucial factor leading to severe complications such as ascites, rupture and bleeding of esophageal and gastric varices (EGV), and hepatic encephalopathy. It annually results in a significant number of deaths, posing a serious threat to life and health. In China, there is a large population of PH patients, and the long-term follow-up and treatment processes require substantial medical resources. Currently, there is no reliable non-invasive method for convenient and rapid monitoring of portal vein pressure in PH patients. This hinders timely clinical intervention and compromises patient prognosis.

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

  • Age older than 18 years.
  • Clinically diagnosed with cirrhosis. Meeting the diagnostic criteria of the 2019 edition of the "Cirrhosis Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines": (1) Histology consistent with cirrhosis diagnosis; (2) Endoscopy shows esophageal gastric varices or ectopic varices, excluding non-cirrhotic portal hypertension; (3) Imaging examinations such as ultrasound, LSM, or CT suggest features of cirrhosis or portal hypertension: such as splenomegaly, portal vein ≥1.3 cm, LSM measurements meeting diagnostic thresholds for cirrhosis of different etiologies; (4) In the absence of histology, endoscopy, or imaging examinations, the following abnormal indicators suggest the presence of cirrhosis (must meet 2 of the 4 criteria): a. \<100×10\^9/L, with no other explanations; b. Serum ALB \<35 g/L, excluding malnutrition or other causes such as renal disease; c. >1.3 or prolonged PT (discontinuation of thrombolytics or anticoagulants for >7 days); d. /PLT ratio index (APRI): Adult APRI score >2, with attention to the influence of hepatotoxic drugs and other factors on APRI.
  • Planning to undergo HVPG testing and meeting the indications for HVPG testing in the "Chinese Expert Consensus on the Clinical Application of Hepatic Venous Pressure Gradient (2018 edition)" : (1) Assessing the efficacy of drug therapy for primary and secondary prevention of esophageal gastric variceal bleeding; (2) Predicting the risk of esophageal gastric variceal bleeding and guiding treatment plan selection; (3) Predicting the risk, degree of progression, and clinical prognosis of decompensated events in cirrhosis; (4) Evaluating the efficacy of related new drugs; (5) Evaluating the accuracy of related non-invasive techniques; (6) Diagnosis and differential diagnosis of portal hypertension types.
  • Able to understand and voluntarily sign a written form.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Post-TIPS procedure;
  • Post-hepatectomy splenectomy;
  • Hepatic ;
  • Portal vein thrombosis;
  • Individuals with severe cardiac, pulmonary, hepatic, or renal dysfunction;
  • Pregnant and postpartum women.
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.

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

INR, PT and aPTT (clotting tests)

Blood tests of how long blood takes to clot. The INR is the prothrombin time (PT) put on a common scale; about 1 is usual for someone not taking a blood thinner.

Criteria often make an exception for people on a blood thinner such as warfarin, whose INR is raised on purpose.

ALT and AST (liver enzymes)

Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.

Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.

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.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

05

Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
216 participants (estimated)
Patient registry
No

Groups and cohorts

  • CSPH group

    HVPG≥10 mmHg

    Diagnostic Test: ultrasound test

  • Non-CSPH group

    HVPG\<10 mmHg

    Diagnostic Test: ultrasound test

Interventions

  • Diagnostic testultrasound test

    Conventional gray-scale ultrasound and color Doppler examination: including hepatic artery inner diameter, hepatic artery peak flow velocity, hepatic artery resistance index, portal vein trunk inner diameter, portal vein average flow velocity, spleen size, etc. STVi detection: Use the color Doppler ultrasound system (including elastic components) of Shenzhen Mindray Biomedical Electronics Co., Ltd., equipped with an abdominal convex array probe with a probe frequency of 1\~6 MHz. The probe was placed in a supine position or slightly tilted to the left, with the right arm raised and fully abducted to increase the width of the intercostal space, and the liver viscoelastic index of the right lobe of the liver was measured between the intercostals. During measurement, the subject should hold his breath for 3 to 5 seconds in a calm state. Do not hold his breath after taking a deep breath. The sampling frame should be placed in a place with uniform echo in the liver parenchyma, avoiding large

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. The STVi index

    The ultrasound STVi index is derived from the acoustic factors that describe the variation of shear wave speed with frequency. The abdominal convex array probe equipped with the color Doppler ultrasound system (including elastic components) was used to measure the shear wave signals.This index is calculated using the Voigt model and a linear relationship model to determine viscosity and dispersion, employing specific computer algorithms to obtain the final value. Since the STVi index is a new evaluation metric based on novel ultrasound technology, no clear maximum or minimum values have been reported. STVi index is significantly higher in the CSPH group than in the non-CSPH group.

    Time frame: baseline, pre-intervention

07

Study locations

1 of 1 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 Sep 16, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06316869
Lead sponsor
First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Mar 19, 2024
Start date
Sep 2, 2024
Primary completion
Sep 20, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Sep 30, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 16, 2026

Study contacts

Shihao Xu, doctor
Contact
dcxshvip@wmu.edu.cn
+86 13857766918

Oversight

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

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