Clinical Research Directory

Effect of Preoperative Oral Carbohydrate Loading on Postoperative Outcomes in Liver Transplant Patients

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of preoperative oral carbohydrate loading on postoperative outcomes in liver transplant recipients. The results of this study may contribute to improving recovery after liver transplantation and shortening postoperative hospital stay in these patients. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the study group or the control group. Patients assigned to the study group will receive 400 mL of a carbohydrate beverage (Nutricia preOp®), to be consumed up to 2 hours before the anesthesia induction. Patients assigned to the control group will receive 400 mL of a placebo administered in an identical manner as in the study group. Participants will not be informed which group they have been assigned to. In the postoperative period, routine laboratory and imaging tests will be performed, and their results will be used to assess the effects of the intervention. Follow-up of the patient's clinical course is planned for up to 30 days after surgery. The schedule of follow-up visits will not differ from standard clinical practice.

EVR and EPO for Liver Transplant Tolerance

This is an open label, single-arm, multicenter phase 1b study of stable adult liver transplant recipients on a tacrolimus (TAC)-based immunosuppression (IS) regimen who will transition from TAC to Everolimus (EVR), receive five doses of EPO and concurrently initiate phased withdrawal from EVR. The primary objective is to test the safety of administering Everolimus (EVR) and epoetin alfa (EPO) to induce operational tolerance in stable adult liver transplant recipients

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Vaccine in Orthotopic Liver Transplant Candidates

This is a multi-center clinical trial in Cytomegalovirus (CMV) seronegative prospective liver transplant recipients to determine the efficacy of two doses of Cytomegalovirus-Modified Vaccinia Ankara (CMV-MVA) Triplex CMV vaccine pre-transplant. The primary objective is to assess the effect of pre-transplant (Tx) Triplex vaccination on duration of CMV antiviral therapy (AVT) within the first 100 days post-Tx in CMV seropositive donor (D+) and seronegative (R-) (D+R-) liver transplant recipients (LTxRs). A protocol-mandated preemptive therapy (PET) will be used for CMV disease prevention in D+R- LTxRs.

Safety of Atezolizumab-Bevacizumab in Liver Transplanted Patients With Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The prognosis of liver transplanted (LT) patients with recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), especially those with progression after locoregional treatment or advanced HCC, remains poor. Current treatment modalities involve tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) characterized by a low response rate and often poor tolerability. Encouraging findings from the Imbrave 150 study, demonstrating increased survival rates coupled with favorable treatment tolerance, prompt the investigators to consider the potential of offering the combination of treatment with Atezolizumab-Bevacizumab (Atezo-Beva) to patients with LT. No data regarding the safety and efficacy of this new combination are available for patients with LT as they were not included in Imbrave 150. Immunosuppression after LT is low when compared to essentially all other organ recipients, liver recipients are considered with lower immunological risk. However, the use of ICIs has been associated with a risk of hepatic rejection in LT patients. In this study, in order to prevent acute cellular rejection (ACR) occurrence, we propose to adopt a standardized immunosuppressive regimen closed to the one used immediately after LT but with lower therapeutic goals for tacrolimus and everolimus to allow immunotherapy treatment to be effective. The better tolerance of liver grafts will probably lead to less risk of rejection with Atezo-Beva than in other organ transplants.

Transitional ePRO Diary Liver (Transitional-ePRO)

The study is part of the MACROLIVER Project, whose main objective is to create a digital tool for patients and caregivers for the management of liver disease that allows the optimization of therapy and/or the treatment process, even remotely. Such a tool not only reduces the movement of patients who are by definition fragile, but also enables the optimization of access and care by a multidisciplinary team. This tool is intended to support doctors and patients, but in no way replaces normal clinical practice. This study aims to explore the specificities of patients experiencing the transition from the pediatric ward to the adult ward in order to identify risk and protective factors that influence psychological well-being at both an individual and relational level. In order to gather all the information about the patients attending the transitional clinic and to obtain a more complete and truthful clinical-psychological picture, the study also includes the collection of retrospective data of the transplanted patients.

Auriculo-Nerve Stimulation on Post-Operative Opioid Requirement

The NSS-2 BRIDGE® device (NSS stands for Neuro-Stimulation System) is a disposable device that stimulates the branches of cranial nerves and of the superficial cervical plexus innervating the ear. Because the stimulation of the nerves of the ear by the NSS-2 BRIDGE® device (NBD®) has been shown to modulate pain pathways in rodents, decrease abdominal pain in adolescents with inflammatory bile syndrome and due to the results of our preliminary pilot study, the investigators hypothesized that this technique may also be effective in reducing the requirement for postoperative opioids and provide a non-pharmacological alternative to perioperative opioid use. To establish the role that the stimulation of the nerves of the ear may have in reducing postoperative opioid requirement, the investigators are proposing to conduct a randomized, placebo controlled study in patients undergoing open abdominal or pelvic surgery requiring at least 5 days of hospitalization. Subjects who have signed an informed consent will be randomized in 2 groups (active NBD® group or inactive NBD® group). Furthermore, since preoperative and postoperative mood disorders have been shown to increase postoperative pain levels and opioid requirement by up to 50%, the investigators further hypothesize that the stimulation of the ear nerves by the NSS-2 BRIDGE® effects may be in part mediated by a reduction of the level of anxiety, depression and catastrophizing as assessed using validated questionnaires.

Feasibility and Acceptability of a New Tool Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle in Liver and Kidney Transplant Recipients

This interventional clinical trial tests whether a doctor-delivered lifestyle counseling program, supported by two personalized digital tools, is feasible and helpful for improving healthy eating and physical activity in older adults (65 years or older) who previously received a liver or kidney transplant. All participants first receive medical counseling on healthy diet and physical activity. After 12 weeks, they begin using two smartphone apps ("Gamebus" and "Nutrida") designed to support behavior change at home. Each participant acts as their own comparison, and results after starting the apps are compared with their own results before using them. The main goal is to find out whether participants can safely use the apps and follow the program (for example: staying in the study, using the apps daily, completing weekly tasks). The study also looks at whether the combined approach-counseling plus digital support-can help improve eating habits, physical activity, body measurements, and routine lab values related to metabolic health. Participants attend three study visits over 24 weeks. At each visit, they complete questionnaires, undergo body measurements and body composition tests, review their recent diet, and receive lifestyle guidance. At the end, the study will help determine whether this digital-supported lifestyle program is practical and acceptable for older transplant recipients.

Renal Histopathology and Transcriptomic Analysis in Hepatorenal Syndrome During Liver Transplantation

Hepatorenal Syndrome (HRS) is a serious complication that can occur in patients with liver cirrhosis, characterised by kidney dysfunction, or acute kidney failure (AKI). While it has traditionally been thought that HRS affects structurally normal kidneys and is completely reversible with liver transplantation, recent evidence suggests this may not always be the case. The purpose of this study is to examine the actual structural changes in the kidneys of patients with HRS through tissue biopsy and advanced molecular analysis. This may help us better understand the disease mechanism and potentially improve treatment approaches. We aim to challenge the current understanding that HRS always occurs in structurally normal kidneys and is always reversible after liver transplantation. This study will provide valuable insights into the pathophysiology of HRS and may lead to improved diagnostic and treatment strategies in the future. This is a 3-year single center prospective, non-randomised, open label study at Queen Mary Hospital, The University of Hong Kong. All consecutive patients accepted on the liver transplant waiting list will be invited to participate. Patient will undergo several procedures related to liver transplant and kidney assessment, and receive liver transplantation and renal biopsy.

Long-term Follow-up of the Offspring Born to Mothers With a Solid Organ Transplant, Transplantlines Next Generation

Background Pregnancy after all types of solid organ transplantation (SOT) is possible, although these have higher risk of pregnancy complications for mother and child, such as preeclampsia and preterm birth. Thus, the development of the unborn child seems to be affected by the transplant and its consequences such as the immunosuppressive medication use. Worldwide data regarding follow-up after birth is scarce. The very limited existing data existing only in young children are reassuring. However, the investigators hypothesize that there are health risks for the children. Given the side effects of the immunosuppressive medication on patients and limited knowledge from animal studies, the investigators particularly expect cardiovascular effects such as hypertension and kidney damage. These develop over a long time-period and lead late to symptoms. Aims Aim of this study is to gain more insight into the overall health of offspring born after SOT. Primary aim is to assess the cardiovascular health and the presence of kidney disease, and compare these with reference values from the general population or birth cohorts. Secondary aims are the immunological status including the microbiome of the child given the maternal immunosuppressive medication use, and the overall development of the offspring, including qualitative research regarding the quality of life. Third aim is to assess if there are differences in health between offspring born to mothers with a kidney, liver, pancreas (including pancreas islet), heart and lung transplantation (KTx, LiTx, PTx, HTx, LuTx resp.). The investigators also want to establish a biobank for later follow-up research. Study design This will be a cross-sectional monocenter cohort study. All offspring ≥16 years of age born after KTx or LiTx and all offspring born at any age after PTx, HTx and LuTx in the Netherlands will be eligible for inclusion. The investigators estimate that there will be about 150(-220) participants. Before the study visit, participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire. Participants will be invited for a one-time study visit consisting of physical tests (including ultrasound of the kidneys and a 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure measurement) and biological sample (urine, blood and feces) collection, including sample collection for biobanking. Information about the growth and development of the offspring and, if present, diseases and medication use will be collected from the medical files of the general practitioner and pharmacy (LSP) and from data from the youth healthcare check-ups. As a control group pseudoanonymized data from the Lifelines cohort will be used. Deliverables To the best of our knowledge, this will be the first study worldwide that will gather and analyze detailed information about the cardiovascular, kidney and immunological health at a later age (≥16 years) in the offspring born to mothers after KTx, LiTx, PTx, HTx and LuTx. This information will be important for the preconceptional counseling of families with a pregnancy wish after transplantation and thereby contribute to the health of women with a SOT. Next to that, find adverse effects of the pregnancy after transplantation on the offspring are found, the investigators expect there will be modifiable factors and/or early screening/interventions that can reduce these risks and thereby contribute to the health of the offspring.

A Prospective Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Entecavir ODT Conversion in Stable Liver Transplant Patients

This clinical study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of switching to entecavir orally disintegrating tablets (ETV-ODT) in liver transplant recipients with chronic hepatitis B, with a particular focus on the impact of the conversion on renal function. After providing written informed consent, participants will undergo screening assessments to determine eligibility based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Eligible participants who receive the investigational product will visit the study site at predetermined time points over a 48-week period to complete the scheduled study procedures.

Cabozantinib to Treat Recurrent Liver Cancer Post Transplant

This is a phase 2 study that will assess the investigational drug, cabozantinib, in patients with liver cancer (specifically hepatocellular carcinoma) and who had received a liver transplant as a part of curative care, but the cancer has come back (recurred). The purpose of this study is to see how useful cabozantinib is in controlling the disease of these patients. Cabozantinib blocks the function of various proteins found on the surface of the body's cells (called receptor tyrosine kinases) that are important in the development of cancer tumors. All participants will receive cabozantinib until they are no longer receiving benefit from the study drug or they experience an intolerable side effect.

Liver Transplant CGM

This investigator initiated study aims to describe continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) based glycemic metrics after discharge from liver transplant and assess relationship with glycemic metrics and liver transplant outcomes.

Normothermic Machine Perfusion of Steatotic Livers for Expansion of Donor Organ Pool

The goal of this clinical trial is to assess the ability of Normothermic Machine Perfusion (NMP) to resuscitate moderately steatotic livers for transplantation in patients. This will be a single-site clinical trial placing donor livers with 30-60% macrosteatosis on NMP, and then transplanting those that meet commonly accepted viability criteria. The results of this study could lead to a trial extending NMP transplantation to severely steatotic livers, further expanding the donor organ pool.

"A Privacy-protecting Environment for Child Transplants Health Related and Genomic Data Integration in the European Reference Network"

Protect\_Child\_101 is an observational study to be performed in children that have undergone a liver or renal transplant. The aim of this study is to analyse small variations in the genetic material (DNA) of transplanted children. The investigators will also study a type of chemical 'marks' called methylations, which do not change the DNA itself, but can affect how it functions. These marks can influence how certain diseases develop or how the body responds to transplantation. Specifically, investigators seek to discover: * Whether there are genetic or epigenetic (methylation) alterations that may explain why some children develop serious diseases that require transplantation. * If these alterations can help us predict possible complications after transplantation, such as organ rejection, infections, organ failure, cancer development. Within this study, data from the child's medical history will be collected. The data to be collected are demographic data (gender, age, ethnicity), clinical data, personal and family history possibly related to his/her disease, course and evolution of the disease, and complementary and laboratory examinations collected from his/her clinical history. The only non-routine tests to be performed will be the genomic and methylomic tests. Nevertheless, these determinations will be performed on samples obtained during the child's routine care. No extra intervention is planned as part of this study. Samples and clinical data will be collected at different time points after transplantation. Schematically, collection is planned for months 0, 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 post-transplant. In addition to these pre-established points, comprehensive data collection will be attempted when the child suffers a relevant clinical event, e.g. infection, treatment toxicity, organ rejection (post-transplant complication).

Cardiovascular Risk in Children With Chronic Conditions Study

Children living with chronic health conditions face a higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases than their peers, largely due to the accelerated aging of the heart and blood vessels. Although experts recognize this elevated risk and recommend close monitoring and early intervention, the underlying mechanisms driving this phenomenon remain poorly understood. At present, no effective interventions specifically target its root causes. Recent research shows that both large blood vessels (such as the carotid artery) and small vessels (such as those in the retina) can display early signs of damage decades before clinically apparent heart or vascular disease emerges. This accelerated vascular aging can result from multiple factors - including disease-related processes such as persistent inflammation and metabolic disturbances, treatment-related effects such as chemotherapy or long-term steroid use, and lifestyle changes associated with chronic illness, such as reduced physical activity and altered eating habits. However, it is still unclear how these factors influence the development and progression of vascular changes in children as they grow. Importantly, these changes can be monitored through non-invasive methods, offering a unique opportunity to study at-risk patients many years before overt cardiovascular disease develops. Identifying these early changes may enable us to detect and track individuals at heightened risk well in advance of clinical disease. This study aims to deepen our understanding of the causes of increased cardiovascular risk in children with chronic conditions and to lay the groundwork for earlier, more targeted prevention strategies.

Biliary Anastomosis in Living Donor Liver Transplant With Amniotic Tissue

The goal of this single armed, non-randomized, pilot study is to demonstrate that placental tissue grafts are safe in living donor liver transplant and assess their impact on biliary outcomes in adults.

Perioperative Use of Amino Acids in Recipients of Orthotopic Liver Transplantation as a Renal Protective Factor

Orthotopic liver transplantation is the definitive treatment for end-stage liver failure, with renal failure being an important complication of this procedure that has implications for long- and short-term prognosis, affecting ICU stay and hospitalization time. Several studies have suggested that intravenous amino acids, particularly L-arginine, may have protective effects on renal function due to increased renal blood flow, which could be explained by enhanced production of nitric oxide among other mechanisms that are still unclear. In this context, we developed the hypothesis that the infusion of an amino acid solution in the perioperative period could reduce the incidence of acute renal failure in this group of patients; for this, we conducted a monocentric, analytical, prospective, interventional pilot study comparing standard treatment (in historically transplanted patients) with a group of patients who were administered amino acids in the perioperative period, considering that this medication is low-cost and has practically minimal side effects.

Expanding Liver Transplant Immunosuppression Minimization Via Everolimus

This is a study to determine the safety, efficacy, and tolerability of taking away the anti-rejection medicine, tacrolimus, in liver transplant recipients in conjunction with everolimus monotherapy to preserve renal function. Two hundred - seventy (270) subjects will be randomized 2:1 into one of two groups between 2-3 months post-transplant. Seventy participants will be placed into an observational group and will remain on their current post-transplant medications. The duration of the study from time of enrollment is 18-20 months.

Personalized ViscoElastic Testing-guided Bleeding Management In Liver Surgery, Neurosurgery and Obstetrics

The ClotPro analyzer is a new generation viscoelastic analyzer for the in vitro assessment of blood coagulation. This study aims to assess the agreement of ClotPro 6.0, ROTEM delta, and TEG 6s in three distinct cohorts: i) patients with liver disease undergoing liver surgery, ii) pregnant women undergoing elective cesarean section, and iii) patients undergoing elective intracranial neurosurgery. Further coagulation tests will be performed (standard laboratory coagulation tests, thrombin and plasmin generation tests) in an exploratory fashion to compare them with viscoelastic test results. The obtained test results will not result in any diagnostic or therapeutic consequences for patients included in this study.

Proteogenomic Monitoring and Assessment of Liver Transplant Recipients

This study is being done to test blood, urine and tissue samples to see if this can help decide if CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease), AR (Acute Rejection) and HCV (Hepatitis C Virus) can be identified in its early stages. CKD damage to the kidneys, AR and HCV all lower the body's ability to function properly. Early detection of these conditions could assist with successful treatment and possibly lead to less repeat organ transplants.

Efficacy and Safety of Liver Transplantation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma With Bile Duct Tumor Thrombus: a Single-arm, Multicenter, Prospective Study (HCC-BDTT in LT)

The prognosis for patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma with bile duct tumor thrombus (BDTT-HCC) remains notably grim, as there are presently no universally accepted treatment guidelines in place to address this complex condition. Long-term outcomes of liver transplantation (LT) for BDTT-HCC are unclear, whether LT is a proper therapeutic option for BDTT-HCC patients remains to be determined. Therefore, we designed a clinical trial to evaluate survival of BDTT-HCC patients in LT. This is an open-labeled, single-arm, prospective, multicenter and real-world study designed to assess the survival outcomes of BDTT-HCC patients in LT. Patients will be enrolled based on histological confirmation of HCC with BDTT. The study will span a total of 4 years, including a 2-year enrollment phase and a subsequent 2-year follow-up period. We anticipate that LT will provide favorable survival benefits for BDTT-HCC patients, particularly in the key indicator recurrence-free survival (RFS) and improved quality of life. Upon successful completion of the trial, we will extend our monitoring over a longer follow-up time to accurately estimate important indicators such as overall survival (OS). We expect that this study will provide substantial evidence to refine treatment guidelines through thorough data analysis, ultimately contributing to better patient outcomes and advancing our understanding of the disease.

Fluid Management Strategies on Blood Loss in Liver Transplantation

During liver transplantation, due to the complexity of the operation and abnormal coagulation function, there may be a large amount of bleeding and corresponding blood transfusion. Excessive blood transfusion will increase pulmonary complications and affect the prognosis. Infusion management to reduce bleeding is a very important issue in liver transplant surgery. Restrictive infusion management can effectively reduce the amount of bleeding in liver transplantation, but it remains unclear whether it will cause sequelae in other major organs. The investigators plan to study different infusion goals and strategies in liver transplant surgery using a randomized group model, using the PiCCO (Pulse Contour Cardiac Output) cardiopulmonary volume monitor, and setting the stroke volume variation (SVV) as the macroscopic circulation.The purpose of this study was to divide it into restrictive and liberal groups to explore the impact on liver transplantation bleeding volume and inflammatory response as well as postoperative lung and renal function, and to collect statistics on clinical care and postoperative sequelae (pulmonary liver, renal function impairment, etc.) in order to develop the most appropriate infusion management strategy in liver transplantation.

OCS Liver Perfusion (OLP) Post-Approval Registry

The objective of the OLP Registry is to collect more data on the post-transplant clinical outcomes of DBD and DCD donor livers preserved and assessed on OCS Liver System according to the approved indication and the OCS device performance in the real-world setting.

Perioperative Analgesia With Erector Spinae Plane Block in Liver Transplant Recipients

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if ESP block is safe and effective for perioperative analgesia in patients undergoing liver transplant. The main question it aims to answer are Is ESP block safe and has a minimum side effects, like hematoma? Is it effective for perioperative analgesia? Researchers will compare the results to a group of patients who underwent liver transplants without any regional anaesthesia techniques. Participants will receive bilateral thoracic ESP block on the day of the transplantation with a subsequent bilateral catheterization.