AzTrials
AzTrials

Systemic VasculitisMUSESNCT02042092

Magnetic Resonance Angiography vs Ultrasonography in Systemic Large vEssel vasculitiS

A study testing Ultrasound and MRA in people with Systemic Vasculitis, run by Hospital of Southern Norway Trust at 2 sites in Norway.

Completed

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

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

This study is a cross sectional comparison of the Color Doppler Ultrasonography (CDUS) and Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA) in patients diagnosed with sLVV. The supraaortic large vessels (aorta, carotid, subclavian, vertebral, and axillary arteries) and the temporal arteries of fifty patients suffering of sLVV… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Systemic Vasculitis
What is being tested?
Ultrasound and MRA
Type of treatment
Medical device
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
39 participants
Where
2 sitesNorway
Study dates
Dec 2013to Dec 2015
Phase
Interventional
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 years and older
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Patients >18 years
  • Diagnosis of large vessel vasculitis based on Ultrasonographic and/or Computed Tomography Angiography and/or Magnetic Resonance Angiography findings or biopsies of the temporal arteries
  • Fulfill the classification criteria for Giant Cell Arteritis /Takayasu Arteritis

Who cannot join

  • Patients <18 years
  • Moderate to severe kidney failure
  • Known allergic reactions to contrast agents
  • Inability to give informed consent

Trial locations and contacts

2 sites in 1 country.

Norway2 sites
  • Haugesund Sanitetsforenings Revmatismesykehus

    Haugesund, 5504

  • Department of Rheumatology, Hospital of Southern Norway Trust

    Kristiansand, 4604

Other trials in Norway

About this study

Official title: A Head-to-Head Comparison of Color Doppler Ultrasonography (CDUS) and Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA) in Patients With Systemic Large Vessel Vasculitis (sLVV) - A Cross Sectional Study

This study is a cross sectional comparison of the Color Doppler Ultrasonography (CDUS) and Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA) in patients diagnosed with sLVV. The supraaortic large vessels (aorta, carotid, subclavian, vertebral, and axillary arteries) and the temporal arteries of fifty patients suffering of sLVV will be examined by CDUS and MRA. The images will be evaluated by 2 blinded experts (one for CDUS and one for MRA). In addition, the intima media complex (IMC) thickness of the large vessels and temporal arteries will be measured by CDUS in 100 sex and age matched controls to the sLVV patients. Blood samples from patients and controls will be collected in order to perform genetic and cytokine analyses.

Read the detailed description

The proposed cross sectional study will recruit 50 patients diagnosed with sLVV. All patients recruited to this study will be referrals from outpatient clinic of the Department of Rheumatology, Hospital of Southern Norway Trust. The diagnosis will be based on previous CDUS, MRA, CTA and/or biopsies of the temporal arteries. The patients will be classified according to specific set of classification criteria for GCA (11) or TA (12). The patients will undergo a CDUS evaluation of the supraaortic large vessels and the temporal arteries. In addition, a thorough clinical assessment will be performed at the CDUS visit. A blood sample to test the acute phase response (CRP and ESR) and other biochemical parameters as part of standard care will also be collected.

Within one week after the CDUS evaluation, MRA of the thoracic aorta, the supra-aortic vessels and temporal artery will be performed. The images of both examinations will be uploaded anonymously in a database and two external experts blinded to the patients (one for CDUS and one for MRA) will evaluate the data. The completed evaluation form will be uploaded in the same database.

The ultrasound examination will be performed by using high-end equipment, a Siemens S-2000 with a high, or medium frequency linear (up to 18 MHz for the superficial vessels or medium frequency up to 13 MHz for the deeper vessels) or phased-array transducer (examination of the aorta). The supraaortic vessels and the thoracic aorta will be evaluated by Gadolinium contrast-enhanced T1-weighted spin echo sequence with fat saturation 1.5 Tesla MRI equipment.

In both examinations, a measurement of the intima-media complex (IMC) thickness will be performed. The highest IMC thickness measurement will be recorded in both longitudinal and transverse films (of >3 sec length both in B and color Doppler mode for CDUS). Positive examination will be considered a measurement of IMC thickness >1.5 mm for aorta, carotid, subclavian and >1.0mm for the vertebral and axillary arteries. For the temporal artery, the presence of halo (circumferential, hypoechoic thickness of IMC in transverse/longitudinal view) will be considered as a positive finding. Stenoses of more than 50% in both modalities will also be recorded. Retrograde flow of the vertebral arteries in CDUS examination will be also considered as a positive finding.

Additionally, 100 healthy individuals matched for sex and age to the sLVV patients will be examined in their supraaortic large vessels and temporal arteries by CDUS. The IMC thickness of the healthy individuals will be measured by CDUS, the recordings will be labeled and stored in a database at the Department of Rheumatology, Hospital of Southern Norway Trust, in Kristiansand.

The CDUS and MRA images will be submitted to external experts for evaluation by using a specific evaluation form (Appendix). Both the experts will be blinded to the clinical, laboratory and previous imaging findings of the patients.

In addition, the level of inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and vascular markers (e.g. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and Metalloproteinase (MMP) -9) in blood samples of the patients with sLVV will be measured and compared to healthy controls. Whole blood, plasma and serum samples stored at -70 oC will be analyzed for expression of a panel of inflammatory cytokines by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or related methods. Total RNA will be prepared from whole blood. All the blood samples will be stored in Revmabiobank at Hospital of Southern Norway Trust in Kristiansand.

Being tested
Ultrasound, MRA
Keywords
Ultrasound, MRA, Large Vessel Vasculitis, Giant Cell Arteritis, Takayasu Arteritis, Immunological abnormalities
Medical subject headings
Systemic Vasculitis, Giant Cell Arteritis, Takayasu Arteritis

What participants receive

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

  • UltrasoundDevice

  • MRADevice

Study groups in NCT02042092
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Color Doppler Ultrasound (CDUS)Active comparatorThe aorta, supraaortic large vessels and the temporal arteries of the sLVV patients will be evaluated by color Doppler ultrasound
Receives: Device: Ultrasound
Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA)Active comparatorThe aorta, supraaortic large vessels and the temporal arteries of the sLVV patients will be evaluated by Magnetic resonance angiography
Receives: Device: MRA

What is being measured

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

  1. Accuracy of CDUS vs MRA in the assessment of the IMC thickness of the supra-aortic vessels in patients with sLVV.

    CDUS is superior to MRA in the assessment of the abnormal IMC of supraaortic vessels and temporal artery and comparable to MRA in the assessment of proximal thoracic and abdominal aorta.

    Measured: 12 months

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. Measurement of the the average IMC thickness of aorta, carotid, subclavian, vertebral, axillary and temporal arteries in a population of healthy individuals.

    An estimation of the average IMC thicknesses of aorta, carotid, subclavian, vertebral, axillary and temporal arteries in a population of healthy individuals by ultrasound and a comparison to those of patients with sLVV will be performed.

    Measured: 12 months

  2. Cellular, cytokine and genetic abnormalities in sLVV patients compared to the control group of healthy individuals

    Measured: 12 months

Timeline

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

  1. First posted22 Jan 2014 (estimated)
  2. Study startDec 2013
  3. Primary completionNov 2015
  4. Study completionDec 2015

Resources

More details

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

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Diagnosis
Allocation
Non-randomised
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
39 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT02042092
Sponsor's protocol ID
SNT-2013/1655
Acronym
MUSES
Status last verified
Feb 2016
First submitted
27 Dec 2013
Last updated
23 Feb 2016
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No

Publications

  • Gonzalez-Gay MA, Garcia-Porrua C. Epidemiology of the vasculitides. Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 2001 Nov;27(4):729-49. doi: 10.1016/s0889-857x(05)70232-5.

    PubMed 11723761
  • Prieto-Gonzalez S, Arguis P, Garcia-Martinez A, Espigol-Frigole G, Tavera-Bahillo I, Butjosa M, Sanchez M, Hernandez-Rodriguez J, Grau JM, Cid MC. Large vessel involvement in biopsy-proven giant cell arteritis: prospective study in 40 newly diagnosed patients using CT angiography. Ann Rheum Dis. 2012 Jul;71(7):1170-6. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2011-200865. Epub 2012 Jan 20.

    PubMed 22267328
  • Schmidt WA, Blockmans D. Use of ultrasonography and positron emission tomography in the diagnosis and assessment of large-vessel vasculitis. Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2005 Jan;17(1):9-15. doi: 10.1097/01.bor.0000147282.02411.c6.

    PubMed 15604899
  • Blockmans D, Bley T, Schmidt W. Imaging for large-vessel vasculitis. Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2009 Jan;21(1):19-28. doi: 10.1097/BOR.0b013e32831cec7b.

    PubMed 19077714
  • Grayson PC, Maksimowicz-McKinnon K, Clark TM, Tomasson G, Cuthbertson D, Carette S, Khalidi NA, Langford CA, Monach PA, Seo P, Warrington KJ, Ytterberg SR, Hoffman GS, Merkel PA; Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium. Distribution of arterial lesions in Takayasu's arteritis and giant cell arteritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2012 Aug;71(8):1329-34. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2011-200795. Epub 2012 Feb 10.

    PubMed 22328740
  • Schmidt WA, Seifert A, Gromnica-Ihle E, Krause A, Natusch A. Ultrasound of proximal upper extremity arteries to increase the diagnostic yield in large-vessel giant cell arteritis. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2008 Jan;47(1):96-101. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/kem322.

    PubMed 18077499
  • Schmidt WA, Kraft HE, Borkowski A, Gromnica-Ihle EJ. Color duplex ultrasonography in large-vessel giant cell arteritis. Scand J Rheumatol. 1999;28(6):374-6. doi: 10.1080/03009749950155373.

    PubMed 10665744
  • Bley TA, Reinhard M, Hauenstein C, Markl M, Warnatz K, Hetzel A, Uhl M, Vaith P, Langer M. Comparison of duplex sonography and high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of giant cell (temporal) arteritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2008 Aug;58(8):2574-8. doi: 10.1002/art.23699.

    PubMed 18668559

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Ultrasound and MRA in people with Systemic Vasculitis, run by Hospital of Southern Norway Trust at 2 sites in Norway.

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 3 inclusion and 4 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 23 Feb 2016. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 2 sites in Norway. 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?

Accuracy of CDUS vs MRA in the assessment of the IMC thickness of the supra-aortic vessels in patients with sLVV. (time frame: 12 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT02042092, which also lists 8 linked publications.

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 23 Feb 2016.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in