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Heart FailureNCT01999712

Right Ventricular Failure After Implantation of Left Ventricular Assist Devices

An observational study of Heart Failure, run by Emory University at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

The left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is a portable mechanical pump that helps the left side of the heart of patients with severe heart failure that are awaiting heart transplantation or are not transplant candidates. However, while LVAD supports the left side of the heart, the right side must work on its own. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 75 years
Conditions the study is for
Heart Failure
What is being tested?
Echocardiography
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
How many people
83 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Jul 2013to 31 Dec 2017
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 75 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Study population: Patients eligible for LVAD implantation seen at Emory University Hospital

Who may be able to join

  • Age 18-75 years
  • Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (INTERMACS) Class 2-7
  • Willing to participate
  • Able to give consent

Who cannot join

  • INTERMACS Class 1
  • Pre-operative advanced RVF, defined as planned or anticipated need for RVAD or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation at surgery
  • Unresponsive pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) >6 Wood units

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Emory University Hospital

    Atlanta, Georgia, 30322

Other trials in United States

About this study

The left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is a portable mechanical pump that helps the left side of the heart of patients with severe heart failure that are awaiting heart transplantation or are not transplant candidates. However, while LVAD supports the left side of the heart, the right side must work on its own. Sometimes the right side does not recover, a condition called right ventricular failure (RVF). This complication increases mortality, prolongs hospitalization, requires additional procedures, and increases costs. Several risk factors and scores have been proposed to identify patients at risk for RVF. However, these methods have proven inadequate; one out of three patients is still experiencing right ventricular failure after LVAD surgery.

Echocardiography, an established noninvasive method to see the heart without radiation or risk, has a lot of potential to identify patients at risk for RVF. The questions we will tray to answer with this American Heart Association funded project are:

Read more
  1. Can echocardiography before scheduled LVAD surgery predict who is going to develop RVF and poor quality of life so we can better select patients for LVAD surgery?
  2. Can echocardiography before scheduled LVAD surgery tell us the course of right ventricular function after implantation so we can potentially take additional measures and prevent RVF?

To answer these questions, we will record images of the heart with echocardiography before LVAD surgery in 120 LVAD recipients at Emory University. We will then follow the patients for 90 days to detect any symptoms and signs of clinical RVF and poor quality of life and record the course of right ventricular function with echocardiography.

Currently, it is estimated that 150,000 to 250,000 patients in US are potential LVAD recipients with 2,000 devices implanted in 2012. LVAD can improve survival and quality of life in suitable patients. However, implantation requires a major surgical procedure with associated risks and considerable resources. Thus, careful patient selection is necessary to minimize risk for patients and maximize benefit for patients and society. Our long-term goal is to use echocardiography as a tool to (1) optimally select patients for LVAD and offer alternatives to patients at increased risk for complications and (2) potentially, inform earlier LVAD implantation in patients with weakening right ventricular function.

Read the detailed description

Despite (1) improved outcomes and lower rates of right ventricular failure (RVF) with the newer, continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) over pulsatile-flow devices and (2) development of clinical prediction scores to identify patients at risk for RVF post LVAD, RVF still occurs in 20% to 40% of recipients, even with the newer devices.

In 2012, 2000 LVADs were implanted in U.S. and the number is rapidly increasing. Post-LVAD outcomes depend critically on right ventricular (RV) function. RVF can lead to:

  • Reduced survival and progression to transplant (Tx) and worse post-Tx outcomes
  • Significantly higher rates of resources utilization
  • Long-term poor exercise capacity and quality of life (QoL)

True echocardiographic quantification of RV function has only recently been considered in RVF prediction post LVAD; however these studies were retrospective and had inconsistent population and outcome definitions. Also, despite promising results in a retrospective study, preoperative RV mechanics have not been prospectively evaluated as RVF predictors to date.

In this study, we plan to enroll a total of 120 LVAD candidates to evaluate standard and mechanics-based echocardiographic measures of RV function for prediction of (1) RVF within 90 days; (2) QoL at 90 days; and (3) RV recovery at 90 days post LVAD implantation.

Aim 1: We will perform echocardiography within 7 days of planned LVAD surgery to evaluate the association of prespecified RV parameters with (1) RVF within 90 days and (2) QoL at 90 days. Our main hypotheses is an RV echo score will predict RVF within 90 days post LVAD with clinically relevant discrimination (C>0.85) and positive and negative predictive values (>80%). Our secondary hypothesis is that the RV score will predict poor QoL at 90 days with clinically relevant discrimination and predictive values.

Aim 2: We will repeat echocardiograms at 30 and 90 days post LVAD surgery to examine the association of baseline RV function with RV recovery. Our hypothesis is that the RV score will predict RV function recovery post LVAD and that RV mechanics will have incremental value for prediction of these outcomes.

These results may help improve LVAD outcomes and reduce resource utilization by facilitating shared decision-making and selection for LVAD vs. alternatives; provide insights into RV function recovery; and inform reassessment of LVAD timing.

Conditions
Heart Failure
Being tested
Echocardiography
Keywords
heart failure, left ventricular assist device, right ventricular failure
Medical subject headings
Heart Failure

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • EchocardiographyProcedure or surgery

    Patients will undergo an echocardiogram at baseline (preoperative) and at 30 and 90 days after LVAD implantation

Study groups in NCT01999712
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
LVAD recipientsPatients who are scheduled for LVAD implantation will undergo preoperative echocardiography
Receives: Procedure: Echocardiography

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Right ventricular failure

    Right ventricular failure (RVF) at 90 days, defined as RVF-related death (multi-organ failure), need for inhaled nitric oxide postoperatively for ≥48h, need for post-operative inotropes for ≥14 days, reinstitution of inotropes beyond 14 days, or need for a RV assist device (RVAD)

    Measured: 90 days

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. Quality of life

    QoL by Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire at 90 days defined as summary score <45

    Measured: 90 days

  2. Right ventricular recovery

    RV recovery, defined as 5% improvement in RV fractional area change at 30 days and 90 days

    Measured: 30 and 90 days

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted3 Dec 2013 (estimated)
  2. Study startJul 2013
  3. Primary completion31 Dec 2017
  4. Study completion31 Dec 2017

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Observational model
Case only
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrolment
83 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01999712
Sponsor's protocol ID
IRB00058588
Other IDs
13SDG15960001
Status last verified
May 2018
First submitted
26 Nov 2013
Last updated
31 May 2018
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Heart Failure, run by Emory University at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 31 May 2018. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Right ventricular failure (time frame: 90 days). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 31 May 2018.

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