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Acute Liver FailurePhase 2/3ALFSG-MBTNCT02786836

13C-Methacetin Breath Test for the Prediction of Outcome in in ALI or ALF

A Phase 2/3 study testing 13C-Methacetin in people with Acute Liver Failure, run by University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at 11 sites 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 ALFSG-MBT protocol is for a multicenter, open label, non-randomized study to determine the value of Breath Identification® (BreathID®) N-(4-Methoxy-13C-phenyl)acetamide (13C-Methacetin) Breath Test System in predicting the outcome of patients diagnosed with severe acute liver injury that is not related to… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 80 years
Conditions the study is for
Acute Liver Failure
What is being tested?
13C-Methacetin
Type of treatment
Pill or oral medicine
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
76 participants
Where
11 sitesUnited States
Study dates
10 Jun 2016to 18 Sep 2019
Phase
Phase 2/3
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

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 80 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Adult men or women (18-80 years of age)
  • Severe acute liver injury not related to acetaminophen overdose: INR ≥2.0; no evidence of HE
  • Acute liver failure: INR ≥1.5; presence of any degree of HE
  • Duration of illness <26 weeks
  • Enrolled into the ALFSG Registry.
  • Written informed consent from the patient or patient's legally authorized representative or family member as defined in the Federal Register Number 21 Congressional Federal Register (CFR)50.3(m)

Who cannot join

  • Evidence of pre-existing chronic liver disease
  • Pre-existing New York Heart Association stage III/IV heart failure
  • Evidence of pre-existing chronic renal failure
  • Chronic hemodialysis prior to hospital admission
  • Evidence of cirrhosis (unless clinically acute Wilson disease or autoimmune non-APAP ALI or ALF)
  • Severe obstructive lung disease (FEV1 <50% of predicted on previous spirometry)
Show all 22Show fewer
  • Severe shock, defined as mean arterial pressure (MAP) <70 mmHg despite >15 µg/kg/min dopamine, >0.1 µg/kg/min epinephrine, or >0.1 norepinephrine µg/kg/min
  • Extensive small bowel resection (>50 cm)
  • Any evidence of upper GI bleeding at enrollment requiring intervention (endoscopy or red blood cell (RBC) transfusion specifically for upper GI bleeding)
  • Liver transplantation (LT) prior to enrollment. (Note: Listing for LT does not preclude participation in the trial.)
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding women (Note: Pregnancy related non-APAP ALI or ALF may be considered for entry following the delivery of the baby and assuming the mother does not wish to breastfeed or collect breast milk during the study period.)
  • Allergic to acetaminophen (such as Tylenol® or any other acetaminophen-containing medications)
  • Participation in other clinical studies evaluating other experimental treatments or procedures. (Note: Participation in observatory studies is not an exclusion.)
  • Patients in whom enteral drugs or fluids are contra-indicated or the patient either does not have an appropriately placed naso-enteric/orogastric tube in situ or cannot tolerate taking the drug preparation orally (200 ml)
  • Budd-Chiari Syndrome
  • Non-APAP ALI or ALF caused by malignancy
  • Moderate and severe adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), as defined by Berlin Criteria.
  • Subjects who have received amiodarone in the 30 days prior to study enrollment
  • Consumption of any food or beverage that contains caffeine in the 24 hours prior to enrollment
  • Consumption of any of the following drugs that may interfere with the metabolism of 13C-Methacetin in the 48 hours prior to study enrollment including: allopurinol, carbamazepine, cimetidine, ciprofloxacin, daidzein, disulfiram, Echinacea, enoxacin, fluvoxamine, methoxsalen, mexiletine, montelukast, norfloxacin, phenylpropanolamine, phenytoin, propafenone, rifampin, terbinafine, ticlopidine, thiabendazole, verapamil, zileuton or oral contraceptives
  • Consumption of alcohol in the 24 hours prior to enrollment
  • Smoking cigarettes in the 8 hours prior to enrollment.

Trial locations and contacts

11 sites in 1 country.

11 sites in 1 country

United States11 sites
  • University of Michigan

    Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109

  • University of Alabama, Birmingham

    Birmingham, Alabama, 35294

  • Medical University of South Carolina

    Charleston, South Carolina, 29425

  • Northwestern University

    Chicago, Illinois, 60611

  • Ohio State University Medical Center

    Columbus, Ohio, 43210

  • UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

    Dallas, Texas, 75390-8887

  • University of Kansas Medical Center

    Kansas City, Kansas, 66160

  • Yale University School of Medicine

    New Haven, Connecticut, 06520

  • VCU Medical Center

    Richmond, Virginia, 23298

  • University of California, San Francisco

    San Francisco, California, 94143

  • University of Washington Medical Center

    Seattle, Washington, 98195

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: 13C-Methacetin Breath Test for the Prediction of Outcome in in Acute Liver Injury or Acute Liver Failure

The ALFSG-MBT protocol is for a multicenter, open label, non-randomized study to determine the value of Breath Identification® (BreathID®) N-(4-Methoxy-13C-phenyl)acetamide (13C-Methacetin) Breath Test System in predicting the outcome of patients diagnosed with severe acute liver injury that is not related to acetaminophen overdose or acute liver failure who meet inclusion/exclusion criteria.

Up to 200 evaluable patients will be enrolled. An evaluable patient is one who has completed one or more breath tests for at least 30 minutes after administration of the 13C-Methacetin solution (test substrate).

Read more

The Breath Test will be performed up to five times during the study period on all enrolled patients. The first Breath Test will be performed upon admission into the study (Day 1) and repeated on Days 2, 3, 5 and 7 provided no contra-indications are present. Each test continuously measures changes in the metabolism of the 13C-Methacetin in order to assess the improvement or deterioration in liver metabolic function about improvement or deterioration in liver metabolic function. If an enrolled non-APAP ALI or ALF patient receives a liver transplant, is discharged /transferred from the hospital or dies prior to Day 7, additional Breath Tests will not be performed.

Patients will be contacted for the Day 21 follow up (21 days after enrollment into the trial) to determine spontaneous survival, transplantation and occurrence of serious adverse events since the patient's last study treatment.

Read the detailed description

The importance of identifying the patient with with ALI or ALF who is likely to die without a liver transplant cannot be overstated and has remained a primary focus of clinical investigation for 25 years. A recent analysis also conducted by the Acute Liver Failure Study Group (ALFSG) found that poor outcomes in the ALI patients are less frequent than is observed in the ALF population. However, in cases where ALI was not related to an acetaminophen (APAP) overdose, progression to poor outcomes was similar. Traditional scoring systems and prognostic models, such as King's College Criteria (KCC), Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II), currently used to monitor patients with ALF lack individual sensitivity and specificity and do not provide direct information about the liver's metabolic function, which is a key variable in assessing liver status and potential disease progression versus recovery in ALF patients. Despite recent advances used by the ALFSG Prognostic Index (ALFSG-PI), ALI Prognostic Index (ALI-PI) and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD), better predictive modalities are still needed.

The 13C-Methacetin breath test is a rapid, reproducible, point-of-care test of liver metabolic function. After oral or naso-enteric/orogastric tube administration, the 13C labeled Methacetin is O-demethylated by cytochrome P450 1A2 (liver enzyme name) in the liver and further biotransformed into carbon dioxide labeled with carbon 13 (13CO2), which is expired in breath. The BreathID® Molecular Correlation Spectroscopy (MCS) device captures and quantifies expired 13CO2 and standardizes recovery against expired normal carbon dioxide (12CO2) through a nasal cannula (in conscious patients) or an adaptor connected to the ventilator line (for intubated patients). The results obtained from the device are expressed as delta over baseline (DOB), which expresses the change in 13CO2/12CO2 ratio in comparison to the baseline measurement. It can be transformed into the percentage of 13C dose recovered over time (PDR) after the ingestion of Methacetin, and the cumulative PDR (CPDR), the rate at which 13C substrate is metabolized, derived from the breath 13C/12C ratio.

This is a multicenter, open label, non-randomized study of the MBT to assess functional trends of liver metabolism in patients diagnosed with severe acute liver injury not related to acetaminophen overdose (non-APAP ALI) or acute liver failure (ALF). Up to 200 evaluable patients with non-APAP ALI or ALF present at the time of enrollment into the ALFSG Registry will be consecutively enrolled. An evaluable patient is one who has completed one or more Breath Tests measured for a minimum of 30 (and ideally 60) minutes after administration of the 13C-Methacetin solution. Study sites will include up to 11 of the clinical sites located in the United States that are involved in the ALFSG.

The Breath Test will be performed up to five times during the study period on all enrolled subjects. The first Breath Test will be performed as close to the time of study enrollment as possible upon admission into the study (Day 1). The Breath Test will be repeated on Days 2, 3, 5 and 7 as close as possible to the same time of day as the first Breath Test. If a subject who is enrolled into the ALFSG-MBT Trial with non-APAP ALI converts to ALF, breath test collection will continue until a maximum of five Breath Tests have been performed. If an enrolled non-APAP ALI or ALF subject receives a liver transplant, is discharged/transferred from the hospital or dies prior to Day 7, no additional Breath Tests will be performed. Enrolled patients will be contacted for the Day 21 follow up (21 days after the subject's enrollment into the trial) to determine spontaneous survival, transplantation and occurrence of serious adverse events since the subject's last study treatment.

Being tested
13C-Methacetin
Keywords
acute liver failure, methacetin, breath test, severe acute liver injury, hepatic encephalopathy, ALFSG Registry, acetaminophen toxicity
Medical subject headings
Liver Failure, Acute, Hepatic Encephalopathy

What participants receive

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

  • 13C-MethacetinDrug

    Also called N-(4)-13Cmethoxyphenyl acetamide

    The test substrate in this study, ¹³C-methacetin solution for single-use oral administration (75 mg in 150 ml purified water), is administered orally or via feeding tube, rapidly absorbed, exclusively metabolized by hepatic mixed function oxidase via O-demethylation, mainly by cytochrome P450 enzyme, subtype 1A2, into acetaminophen and formaldehyde. The formaldehyde is then transformed through two successive oxidative steps to ¹³carbon dioxide, the quantity of which is measured in exhaled breath as a ratio of 13C to 12C.

    The nasal or intubated breath sampling investigational device (ID) circuit continuously transports the breath sample from the patient to the BreathID® MCS device before and following administration of the 13C-methylacetanilide test substrate.

Study groups in NCT02786836
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
13C-Methacetin TestingExperimentalAll patients enrolled into the ALFSG Registry with the duration of illness <26 weeks with (1) severe acute liver injury; International Normalized Ratio (INR) ≥2.0) and not related to acetaminophen overdose, with no evidence of hepatic encephalopathy (HE); and (2) acute liver failure; INR ≥1.5 with presence of any degree of HE will perform the Breath Test.
Receives: Drug: 13C-Methacetin

What is being measured

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

  1. Peak Percent Dose Recovery (PDR) Value

    Peak PDR is the maximal percent dose recovery (PDR) rate which reflects the maximum rate of metabolism of 13C-methacetin measured as the change in 13CO2 / 12CO2 (normal carbon dioxide) ratio after ingestion of 13C-methacetin normalized using the patient's height and weight. The distributions of mean PDR Peak values were compared between TFS (transplant free survival) and non-TFS (death/transplant) at Day 21.

    Measured: Days 1 and 21

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. Peak Percent Dose Recovery (PDR) Value

    This outcome is similar to the peak PDR defined in the primary outcome but as a secondary we are looking at Day 1 or Day 2 peak PDR values. Peak PDR is the maximal percent dose recovery (PDR) rate which reflects the maximum rate of metabolism of 13C-methacetin measured as the change in 13CO2 / 12CO2 ratio after ingestion of 13C-methacetin normalized using the patient's height and weight. The distributions of mean PDR Peak values were compared between TFS and non-TFS (death/transplant) at Day 21.

    Measured: The first MBT reading either on Day 1 or Day 2 and Day 21

  2. Cumulative Percent Dose Recovery 20 (cPDR20) Value

    The relationship between the cPDR (cumulative PDR of metabolized 13C-Methacetin 20 minutes after ingestion) in single time points of MBT measurements and TFS and non-TFS (death/transplant) at Day 21.

    Measured: The first MBT reading either on Day 1 or Day 2 and Day 21

Timeline

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

  1. First posted1 Jun 2016 (estimated)
  2. Study start10 Jun 2016
  3. Primary completion18 Sep 2019
  4. Study completion18 Sep 2019

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 2/3
Primary purpose
Diagnosis
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
76 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT02786836
Sponsor's protocol ID
STU 122015-008
Other IDs
U01DK058369
Acronym
ALFSG-MBT
Status last verified
Nov 2020
First submitted
6 May 2016
Last updated
22 Dec 2020
Data monitoring committee
Yes
Individual data sharing
Yes: De-identified data for the overall study will be shared once the study is completed.

Publications

  • O'Grady JG, Alexander GJ, Hayllar KM, Williams R. Early indicators of prognosis in fulminant hepatic failure. Gastroenterology. 1989 Aug;97(2):439-45. doi: 10.1016/0016-5085(89)90081-4.

    PubMed 2490426
  • Cholongitas E, Senzolo M, Patch D, Kwong K, Nikolopoulou V, Leandro G, Shaw S, Burroughs AK. Risk factors, sequential organ failure assessment and model for end-stage liver disease scores for predicting short term mortality in cirrhotic patients admitted to intensive care unit. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2006 Apr 1;23(7):883-93. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2006.02842.x.

    PubMed 16573791
  • Craig DG, Ford AC, Hayes PC, Simpson KJ. Systematic review: prognostic tests of paracetamol-induced acute liver failure. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2010 May;31(10):1064-76. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2010.04279.x. Epub 2010 Feb 24.

    PubMed 20180786
  • Stravitz RT, Reuben A, Mizrahi M, Lalazar G, Brown K, Gordon SC, Ilan Y, Sanyal A. Use of the methacetin breath test to classify the risk of cirrhotic complications and mortality in patients evaluated/listed for liver transplantation. J Hepatol. 2015 Dec;63(6):1345-51. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2015.07.021. Epub 2015 Jul 26.

    PubMed 26220750
  • Lalazar G, Adar T, Ilan Y. Point-of-care continuous (13)C-methacetin breath test improves decision making in acute liver disease: results of a pilot clinical trial. World J Gastroenterol. 2009 Feb 28;15(8):966-72. doi: 10.3748/wjg.15.966.

    PubMed 19248196
  • Goetze O, Selzner N, Fruehauf H, Fried M, Gerlach T, Mullhaupt B. 13C-methacetin breath test as a quantitative liver function test in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection: continuous automatic molecular correlation spectroscopy compared to isotopic ratio mass spectrometry. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2007 Jul 15;26(2):305-11. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2007.03360.x.

    PubMed 17593076
  • Nista EC, Fini L, Armuzzi A, Candelli M, Zocco MA, Cazzato IA, Merra G, Finizio R, Miele L, Grieco A, Gasbarrini G, Gasbarrini A. 13C-breath tests in the study of microsomal liver function. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2004 Jan-Feb;8(1):33-46.

    PubMed 15209153
  • Starmer GA, McLean S, Thomas J. Analgesic potency and acute toxicity of substituted anilides and benzamides. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1971 May;19(1):20-8. doi: 10.1016/0041-008x(71)90185-2. No abstract available.

    PubMed 5570565
  • de Franchis R. Updating consensus in portal hypertension: report of the Baveno III Consensus Workshop on definitions, methodology and therapeutic strategies in portal hypertension. J Hepatol. 2000 Nov;33(5):846-52. doi: 10.1016/s0168-8278(00)80320-7. No abstract available.

    PubMed 11097497
  • Lalazar G, Pappo O, Hershcovici T, Hadjaj T, Shubi M, Ohana H, Hemed N, Ilan Y. A continuous 13C methacetin breath test for noninvasive assessment of intrahepatic inflammation and fibrosis in patients with chronic HCV infection and normal ALT. J Viral Hepat. 2008 Oct;15(10):716-28. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2893.2008.01007.x. Epub 2008 Jul 11.

    PubMed 18638013
  • Lalazar G, Mullhaupt, B., Margalit M. Point of care non-invasive 13C methacetin breath testing accurately identifies significant liver inflammation and fibrosis: a novel method for assessing liver damage. Gastroenterology; 2007 abstract

  • Allman K, Wilson I. Oxford Handbook of Anaesthesia. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press 2006;xxiv:1203.

  • Lee WM, James L, Wendon J, Stravitz RT, Pop OT, Audimoolam VK. Does Methacetin breath testing increase acetaminophen hepatotoxicity in the setting of acute liver failure? Hepatology 2015: Accepted for poster presentation at the AASLD Liver Meeting held in San Francisco from November 13-17, 2015.

  • Audimoolam VK, Patel VC, Bernal W, Meir M, Lalazar G, Ilan Y, Wendon J. Use of an on-line at the point of care 13C-methacetin breath test as an adjunct tool for decision making in patients with acute liver failure. Hepatology 56;4Suppl:970A.

  • Koch DG, Battenhouse H, Durkalski V, Lee WM, Reuben A. Clinical predictors of spontaneous survival in acute liver failure (ALF) patients with advanced coma. Hepatology 56;4Suppl:964A.

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 2/3 study testing 13C-Methacetin in people with Acute Liver Failure, run by University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at 11 sites 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 6 inclusion and 22 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 22 Dec 2020. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 11 sites 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.

What does this combined phase mean?

Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.

Phase 3 studies compare the treatment with the current standard treatment or a placebo in a large group, to confirm how well it works and watch for side effects.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 22 Dec 2020). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

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?

Peak Percent Dose Recovery (PDR) Value (time frame: Days 1 and 21). 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 NCT02786836, which also lists 17 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 22 Dec 2020.

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