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Not yet recruitingNCT06874673Updated Mar 13, 2025

Pronase in Improving Endoscopic Mucosal Clarity During Colonoscopy for Patients with Colitis

An interventional study of Pronase and Saline (NaCl 0,9 %) (placebo) in Pronase and Mucosal Clarity, sponsored by Changhai Hospital. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 75 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-03-13.

Sponsored by Changhai Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Diagnostic

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by Sep 2025, 1 year 1 month ago, but the record still lists the study as not yet recruiting.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
438
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 75 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Pronase is a proteolytic enzyme known for its ability to clear mucus by breaking down its main component, mucin, through enzymatic hydrolysis. This property makes it useful in gastroscopy, where it is employed to improve the visibility of the mucosal surface during endoscopic examinations. Given the same mechanism, pronase may also be beneficial in enhancing mucosal clarity during colonoscopy. This multicenter, prospective, double-blind randomized controlled trial is designed to assess the effectiveness and safety of pronase in improving mucosal visibility in patients with colitis during endoscopy.

02

Conditions studied

  • Pronase
  • Mucosal Clarity

Keywords

  • Pronase
  • Colonoscopy
  • Mucosal Clarity
  • Colitis
  • Ulcerative Colitis
  • Crohn's Disease
  • inflammatory bowel disease
03

In context

Colitis

127 studies on the registry are indexed under Colitis; 31 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 438 is above the median of 66 across 91 interventional studies indexed under Colitis.

Browse Colitis studies →

Lead sponsor

Changhai Hospital is the lead sponsor of 355 studies on the registry; 137 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 75 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

  • Patients presenting with intestinal inflammation during colonoscopy, accompanied by mucus obscuring visualization, were included, particularly those with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), regardless of the presence or absence of clinical symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, hematochezia, or mucoid stools.
  • Researchers assessed the current health status of potential participants to ensure they could tolerate colonoscopy (based on physical examination and medical history).
  • Age range was 18-75 years (inclusive).
  • Participants provided written to participate voluntarily.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participants with known or allergy to the study medication.
  • Participants with peritonitis, intestinal obstruction, severe intestinal infection, or radiation colitis.
  • Participants who did not exhibit intestinal mucus obscuring endoscopic visualization during colonoscopy.
  • Participants with severe cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, or renal disease, or those deemed unfit for colonoscopy.
  • Participants who did not provide written or lacked the capacity to do so.
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women.
  • Participants who had taken antiplatelet medications (e.g., aspirin, clopidogrel) or had abnormal coagulation function within 7 days prior to colonoscopy.
  • Participants currently participating in other clinical observation trials or who had participated in another clinical trial within 60 days.
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

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Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Diagnostic
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Investigator)
Enrollment
438 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Pronase Group (Group A)

    During colonoscopy, the mucosal surface of the intestine was rinsed with a pronase solution to remove mucus.

    Drug: Pronase

  • Placebo comparator
    Saline Group (Group B)

    During colonoscopy, the mucosal surface of the intestine was rinsed with saline solution to remove mucus.

    Drug: Saline (NaCl 0,9 %) (placebo)

Interventions

  • During the colonoscopy procedure on participants in Group A, when colitis with mucosal mucus impeding visualization is encountered, the gastroenterologist uses a solution of pronase (200 U/mL) delivered through the endoscope's biopsy forceps to irrigate the affected area. Images are captured before and after the irrigation, and a score for improvement in mucosal clarity is assigned. The location of the lesion, irrigation time, and volume of fluid used are recorded. During endoscope withdrawal, the same area is reassessed for improvement in clarity, and the disease activity is evaluated. Biopsy specimens are taken from the most severe inflammation site for histopathological examination.

  • DrugSaline (NaCl 0,9 %) (placebo)

    During the colonoscopy procedure on participants in Group B, when colitis with mucosal mucus impeding visualization is encountered, the gastroenterologist uses saline delivered through the endoscope's biopsy forceps to irrigate the affected area. Images are captured before and after the irrigation, and a score for improvement in mucosal clarity is assigned. The location of the lesion, irrigation time, and volume of fluid used are recorded. During endoscope withdrawal, the same area is reassessed for improvement in clarity, and the disease activity is evaluated. Biopsy specimens are taken from the most severe inflammation site for histopathological examination.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Improvement rate of intestinal mucosal clarity after rinsing

    This is defined as a mucosal clarity improvement score of 3 or higher on colonoscopy after rinsing of the mucoid attachment site, signifying achievement of mucosal clarity improvement. The improvement rate is calculated as the percentage of participants within a group who achieve mucosal clarity improvement divided by the total number of participants in that group.

    Time frame: From the start of the rinse to 30 seconds after the end of the rinse.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Colonoscopist satisfaction score

    This reflects the overall satisfaction of the colonoscopist with the effect of the rinsing solution on mucosal clarity, measured using a 5-point Likert scale.Scores range from 5 to 1, with higher scores meaning better results.

    Time frame: From start to finish of the colonoscopy.

  2. Rinsing solution volume

    This is defined as the volume of liquid consumed during rinsing of the area with the most severe mucosal mucus adhesion in each case.

    Time frame: From the start of the rinse to 30 seconds after the end of the rinse.

  3. Ulcerative colitis endoscopic index of severity,UCEIS

    The UCEIS score is a standardized tool for assessing the severity of inflammation in ulcerative colitis (UC) based on three core features: vascular Pattern, bleeding, and erosions/ulcers, as viewed through enteroscopy, with a total score of 0-8, with higher scores suggesting more severe lesions.

    Time frame: From the start of the rinse to 30 seconds after the end of the rinse.

  4. Endoscopic severity index of Crohn's disease, CDEIS

    The CDEIS is based on the assessment of 4 parameters (deep ulcers, shallow ulcers, extent of surface involvement, and extent of ulcer involvement) in 5 sites (terminal ileum, right hemicolon, transverse colon, left hemisphere and sigmoid colon, and rectum), and the total score for an individual segment divided by the number of segments assessed, plus the presence or absence of stenosis yields a total score that ranges from 0 \~ 44 points, with higher scores suggestive of more severe lesions.

    Time frame: From the start of the rinse to 30 seconds after the end of the rinse.

  5. Simplified Geboes Score, SGS

    The Simplified Geboes Score evaluates the degree of tissue inflammation by assessing neutrophils in the lamina propria, neutrophils in the epithelium and epithelial damage in the crypts and mucosal surfaces. The scale is as follows: grade 0 represents structural abnormalities or chronic infiltration without active inflammation; grade 1 represents basal plasmacytosis; grade 2 represents inflammatory cell infiltration in the lamina propria; grade 3 represents neutrophil infiltration in the epithelium; grade 4 represents crypt epithelial damage and grade 5 represents surface epithelial damage.

    Time frame: From the start of the rinse to 30 seconds after the end of the rinse.

  6. Colonic and ileal global histologic disease activity scores, CGHAS

    The CGHAS scoring system evaluates mucosal inflammation levels in Crohn's disease patients through histological assessment of mucosal tissue biopsies. Its assessment parameters include: lamina propria inflammatory cell infiltration (e.g., neutrophils, mononuclear cells); chronic structural damage (e.g., crypt distortion, glandular architectural disarray); epithelial injury (e.g., erosions, ulcerations); and the extent of lesion involvement (quantified by the number of affected biopsy specimens). The scoring scale ranges from 0 to 16 points, with higher scores indicating more severe inflammatory activity.

    Time frame: From the start of the rinse to 30 seconds after the end of the rinse.

07

Study locations

1 site
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References and documents

Publications

  • Kuo CH, Sheu BS, Kao AW, Wu CH, Chuang CH. A defoaming agent should be used with pronase premedication to improve visibility in upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Endoscopy. 2002 Jul;34(7):531-4. doi: 10.1055/s-2002-33220. PubMed 12170403 ↗
  • Han JP, Hong SJ, Moon JH, Lee GH, Byun JM, Kim HJ, Choi HJ, Ko BM, Lee MS. Benefit of pronase in image quality during EUS. Gastrointest Endosc. 2011 Dec;74(6):1230-7. doi: 10.1016/j.gie.2011.07.044. Epub 2011 Oct 1. PubMed 21963063 ↗
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Mar 13, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06874673
Lead sponsor
Changhai Hospital
Collaborators
Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, The Affiliated People's Hospital of Ningbo University, Shanghai 8th People's Hospital, Huashan Hospital, Shanghai Baoshan District Wusong Central Hospital, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Pudong Hospital, The People's Hospital of Leshan, Shanghai Pudong New Area Gongli Hospital, Huadong Hospital, Shanghai Songjiang District Central Hospital, Jinshan Hospital Fudan University, Dongfang Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Responsible party
Zhaoshen Li (Director of Gastroenterology Dept and Digestive Endoscopy Center, Changhai Hospital) — Principal investigator
First posted
Mar 13, 2025
Start date
Mar 17, 2025 (estimated)
Primary completion
Sep 30, 2025 (estimated)
Completion
Nov 30, 2025 (estimated)
Last update
Mar 13, 2025

Study contacts

Huan-Wei Zhang
Contact
zhanghuanwei@smmu.edu.cn
86-19921942094
Yu Bai, MD
Contact
baiyu1998@hotmail.com
86-021-31161335
Zhao-Shen Li, MD, PhD
study chair · Changhai Hospital

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Mar 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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