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ALTA TIPS

  • Status
    Accepting Candidates
  • Age
    18 Years - N/A
  • Sexes
    All
  • Healthy Volunteers
    No

Objective

ALTA is a multicenter consortium focused on the management of portal hypertension. ALTA TIPS is a longitudinal observational study of patients who are undergoing transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) placement. ALTA will create a database that will provide clinical parameters and outcomes of patients undergoing TIPS as part of their standard of care in hopes of answering key clinical questions.

Description

This is a 5-year prospective, longitudinal, observational study of all patients undergoing TIPS placement. The study will accrue patients until the goal of 1,000 subjects is reached. Subjects will be followed prospectively for up to a total of 5 years. Patients will be clinically managed by their local physicians per standard of care and no specific treatments or interventions will be dictated by their enrollment in this study. Patients will be consented to enroll in the study prior to TIPS placement or within 14 days after TIPS placement (such as in the event of emergent TIPS) and their pertinent clinical information will be then collected. Subjects may be consented electronically using REDCap eConsent or docusign. Pre-TIPS participants will be asked to complete a short set of questionnaires and one verbal assessment both pre-TIPS and post-TIPS during regularly scheduled visits with their treating hepatologist. Blood and rectal samples will be collected as optional procedures, and participation in these procedures will not affect participation in the study. Patients will be asked to consent to three different 5mL blood samples (total 15mL) at the time of TIPS from the peripheral, central, and portal venous circulation. A 5 ml peripheral sample will also be collected at months 1, 6, and 12 post-TIPS. The peripheral blood samples will occur either prior to TIPS (time 0) in the IR suite or at months 1, 6 and 12 post-TIPS. The central and portal venous blood sample will occur during the TIPS procedure in the IR suite. The total blood volume collection throughout the study will be 30mL. The rectal swab will be performed by the IR/ anesthesia team prior to the TIPS procedure in the IR suite. During the prospective post-TIPS period all medical records will be reviewed including clinical notes, laboratory values, radiographic results and medication changes and this data will be inputted into the database. Participants will be asked to also complete the same questionnaires regarding their quality of life and patient reported outcomes at prespecified timepoints post-TIPS, at a minimum 3 months and 12 months post-TIPS placement and then yearly thereafter. The hepatic encephalopathy assessments and AUDIT-C questionnaire will be conducted at month 1, 3, 6,12 and then yearly thereafter as part of their usual post-TIPS care.

Details

Full study title ALTA TIPS: Advancing Liver Therapeutic Approaches (ALTA). The ALTA Consortium Study Group in the use of TIPS for the management of Portal Hypertension
Protocol number OCR29582
ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT03973372

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Subjects over the age of 18 able to provide consent or have a legally authorized consent in the event the subject is unable to consent due to a transient clinical condition

  • Subject scheduled to undergo a TIPS procedure

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Minors under the age of 18 at the time of enrollment

  • Prisoners

  • Pregnant Women

  • Subjects undergoing TIPS placement as part of an investigational study outside of usual clinical care

Lead researcher

  • Gastroenterologist, Transplant Hepatologist
    Languages: Italian
    Giuseppe Morelli

Participate in a study

Here are some general steps to consider when participating in a research study:

  1. Step
    1

    Contact the research team

    Call or email the research team listed within the specific clinical trial or study to let them know that you're interested. A member of the research team, such as the researcher or study coordinator, will be available to tell you more about the study and to answer any questions or concerns you may have.

    Primary contact

  2. Step
    2

    Get screened to confirm eligibility

    You may be asked to take part in prescreening to make sure you are eligible for a study. The prescreening process ensures it is safe for you to participate. During the prescreening process, you will be asked some questions and you may also be asked to schedule tests or procedures to confirm your eligibility.

  3. Step
    3

    Provide your consent to participate

    If you are eligible and want to join the clinical trial or study, a member of the research team will ask for your consent to participate. To give consent, you will be asked to read and sign a consent form for the study. This consent form explains the study's purpose, procedures, risks, benefits and provides other important information, such as the study team's contact information.

  4. Step
    4

    Participate

    If you decide to participate in a clinical trial or study, the research team will keep you informed of the study requirements and what you will need to do to throughout the study. For some trials or studies, your health care provider may work with the research team to ensure there are no conflicts with other medications or treatments.