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RecruitingNCT06421025POLYVISCOUpdated Nov 21, 2025

Blood Viscosity in Polycythemia Patients

An observational study in Polycythemia Secondary and Polycythemia, Primary, sponsored by Hospices Civils de Lyon. Recruiting at 1 site in France. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-11-21.

Sponsored by Hospices Civils de Lyon · 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
160
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Polycythemia (PG) corresponds to an increase in erythrocyte parameters on a blood test. A distinction is usually made between primary and secondary PG. The most common primary PG is Vaquez's disease, a hematological cancer. In Vaquez disease, an increase in hematocrit has been reported to be associated with a logarithmic increase in blood viscosity.

The main complications of primary PGs (especially in Vaquez disease) are thromboembolic complications. In contrast, thromboembolic complications are rarer in secondary PG. In Vaquez disease, a hematocrit ≤ 45% has been defined as the therapeutic goal for significantly reducing thromboembolic risk. However, this has not been established for secondary PGs. All in all, the definition of the 45% threshold is based solely on clinical studies with no obvious biological argument. What's more, simply lowering blood mass through cytoreduction alone does not appear to be sufficient to significantly reduce thromboembolic risk.

To investigator knowledge, there are no studies prospectively evaluating blood viscosity, its determinants and coagulation in different types of polycythemia. Nor are there any data on the direct effect on blood viscosity of the various treatments usually offered.

02

Conditions studied

  • Polycythemia Secondary
  • Polycythemia, Primary

Keywords

  • Polycythemia
  • viscosity
  • thromboelastometry
  • thrombosis
03

In context

Polycythemia Vera

278 studies on the registry are indexed under Polycythemia Vera; 53 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 160 is below the median of 240 across 44 observational studies indexed under Polycythemia Vera.

Browse Polycythemia Vera studies →

Lead sponsor

Hospices Civils de Lyon is the lead sponsor of 1,866 studies on the registry; 448 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

Patients with polycythemia defined as hematocrit level greater than or equal to 49% in men and 48% in women, whatever the suspected etiology. Primitive and secondary polycythemia are eligible in this observational study. Patients should not have start any cytoreductive therapy prior inclusion.

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

  • 18 years of age or older
  • Followed for a diagnosis or suspicion of polycythemia (hematocrit greater than or equal to 49% in men and 48% in women), whatever the suspected etiology.
  • Patient affiliated to a social security scheme or similar

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patient having undergone therapeutic bloodletting within 3 months prior to inclusion, or having initiated cytoreductive therapy prior to inclusion.
  • Any disease or condition other than polycythemia, chronic or not, likely to induce a change in blood viscosity (at the investigator's discretion)
  • Patient participating in another interventional research protocol that may interfere with the present protocol (at the investigator's discretion).
  • Patient under guardianship, curatorship or safeguard of justice
  • Person under psychiatric care
  • Patient under legal protection.
05

Study design

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

Groups and cohorts

  • Patients with polycythemia

    Patients with polycythemia defined as hematocrit level greater than or equal to 49% in men and 48% in women, whatever the suspected etiology. Primitive and secondary polycythemia are eligible in this observational study. Patients should not have start any cytoreductive therapy prior inclusion.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Whole blood viscosity levels in patients with polycythemia

    The investigators expect higher blood viscosity values in polyglobulic patients with symptoms of clinical hyperviscosity than in polyglobulic patients without symptoms of clinical hyperviscosity, but no differences in hematocrit between the two polycythemia groups

    Time frame: Baseline

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • Service d'hématologie, Hôpital Lyon Sud
    Pierre-Bénite, Lyon 69495, France
    Recruiting
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Marchioli R, Finazzi G, Specchia G, Cacciola R, Cavazzina R, Cilloni D, De Stefano V, Elli E, Iurlo A, Latagliata R, Lunghi F, Lunghi M, Marfisi RM, Musto P, Masciulli A, Musolino C, Cascavilla N, Quarta G, Randi ML, Rapezzi D, Ruggeri M, Rumi E, Scortechini AR, Santini S, Scarano M, Siragusa S, Spadea A, Tieghi A, Angelucci E, Visani G, Vannucchi AM, Barbui T; CYTO-PV Collaborative Group. Cardiovascular events and intensity of treatment in polycythemia vera. N Engl J Med. 2013 Jan 3;368(1):22-33. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1208500. Epub 2012 Dec 8. PubMed 23216616 ↗
  • Vogel J, Kiessling I, Heinicke K, Stallmach T, Ossent P, Vogel O, Aulmann M, Frietsch T, Schmid-Schonbein H, Kuschinsky W, Gassmann M. Transgenic mice overexpressing erythropoietin adapt to excessive erythrocytosis by regulating blood viscosity. Blood. 2003 Sep 15;102(6):2278-84. doi: 10.1182/blood-2003-01-0283. Epub 2003 May 15. PubMed 12750170 ↗
  • Wade JP, du Boulay GH, Marshall J, Pearson TC, Russell RW, Shirley JA, Symon L, Wetherley-Mein G, Zilkha E. Cerebral blood flow, haematocrit and viscosity in subjects with a high oxygen affinity haemoglobin variant. Acta Neurol Scand. 1980 Apr;61(4):210-5. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1980.tb01485.x. PubMed 7376820 ↗
  • Barbui T, De Stefano V, Ghirardi A, Masciulli A, Finazzi G, Vannucchi AM. Different effect of hydroxyurea and phlebotomy on prevention of arterial and venous thrombosis in Polycythemia Vera. Blood Cancer J. 2018 Nov 26;8(12):124. doi: 10.1038/s41408-018-0161-9. No abstract available. PubMed 30478311 ↗
  • Pearson TC. Hemorheology in the erythrocytoses. Mt Sinai J Med. 2001 May;68(3):182-91. PubMed 11373690 ↗
09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Started Sep 2024 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Sep 2031, 84 months after the start.

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

Registered
May 15, 2024
First posted
May 20, 2024
StartActual
Sep 10, 2024
Primary completionEst.
Sep 10, 2031
CompletionEst.
Sep 10, 2031
Last update
Nov 21, 2025
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 Nov 21, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06421025
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 20, 2024
Start date
Sep 10, 2024
Primary completion
Sep 10, 2031 (estimated)
Completion
Sep 10, 2031 (estimated)
Last update
Nov 21, 2025

Study contacts

Mael HEIBLIG, MD,PhD
Contact
mael.heiblig@chu-lyon.fr
478862240 ext. +33

Oversight

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

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