Kidney Disease and Ultrasound Imaging (Imag-NCT)

November 17, 2025 updated by: Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

Non-invasive Diagnosis of Chronic Kidney Disease in Renal Transplants Kidney Transplanted Using Ultrasound Functional Imaging

The hypothesis of our study is that a correlation exists between the couple ultrasound elastography- renal perfusion estimated with contrast-enhanced ultrasound and the degree of fibrosis estimated in a semi-quantitative way in 4 stages (0; 25 %; 25-50 %; > 50 %), as elastography alone did not allow to differentiate moderated fibrosis at 3 months in our feasibility study.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Kidney transplant patients are exposed to long-term immunosuppressive therapy, and have an increased risk of infections and cancer, while a lack of treatment increases the risk of rejection. The development of imaging techniques to characterize the status of the graft remains a challenge in transplantation. Ideally, they should identify complications (acute rejection, chronic allograft nephropathy, nephrotoxicity ...) without the need for invasive procedures and thus lead to better customization of immunosuppressive therapy.

The post-transplant follow-up is based on the monitoring of graft function. Impaired function suggests the possibility of a complication, but requires confirmation by an invasive procedure such as renal biopsy. In addition, the diagnosis remains complex at a relatively advanced stage of the process due to damage to the graft parenchyma. To anticipate the altered function and detect subclinical lesions, screening biopsies have been used to diagnose chronic rejection. By definition, screening for subclinical lesions can not be based on any biological parameter; the diagnosis of subclinical complications thus requires performing multiple systematic biopsies, which are scheduled at 3 months and 1 year.

Doppler ultrasound is an imaging method of choice for the study of renal transplant, but it cannot diagnose the NCT due to the absence of specific findings. The lack of early diagnostic test for NCT is a major obstacle to the development and evaluation of new therapeutic options to prevent, slow or stabilize renal fibrosis. It is therefore necessary to develop a non-invasive imaging technique for the early diagnosis of NCT.

Ultrasound elastography is a technique that allows tissue stiffness measurements and provides a parametric picture.

The main objective of our study is to evaluate the performances of elastography and measurement of renal perfusion (area under the ROC curve) to diagnose the NCT and determine for each both measures a threshold to maximize the sensitivity. These performances will be evaluated at 3 months and 12 months. The results can also be compared to other imaging modalities such as functional MRI, and to clinical events (obstruction, infection…).

Functional ultrasound imaging should identify diagnostic and prognostic criteria of NCT, and enable the development of less invasive therapeutic protocols to evaluate new therapeutic approaches

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
141

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • France
      • Paris, France, 75015
        • Necker Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≥ 18 years;
  • Patient with informed consent;
  • Recipient of a living donor graft or cadaveric donor patient;
  • No contraindication for biopsy of the graft;

  • No contraindication to the injection of SonoVue ®:

    • hypersensitivity to sulfur hexafluoride
    • acute coronary syndrome, unstable ischemic heart disease (myocardial infarction phase formation or evolution, typical resting angina in the previous 7 days, significant worsening of cardiac symptoms in the previous 7 days, recent intervention on the coronary arteries or another factor suggesting clinical instability (eg, recent deterioration of ECG changes in clinical or laboratory parameters), acute heart failure, stage III or IV heart failure, severe arrhythmias.
    • right-left shunt, severe pulmonary hypertension (PAP> 90 mmHg), uncontrolled systemic hypertension, respiratory distress syndrome
  • Affiliated to a social security scheme

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Refusal to participate in the study;
  • Inability / refusal to give informed consent;
  • contraindication for biopsy testing graft;
  • Presence of a contraindication to the injection of SonoVue ®.
  • Presence of a peripheral venous access in a non-restricted already infused patient, not pickable under ultrasound
  • Breastfeeding, pregnancy

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Screening
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Other: Imag-NCT

The ultrasound functional imaging will be performed at J15 (before the patient is discharged from service Transplantation) and at 3 and 12 months after the transplant.

The functional imaging examinations will be held as follows:

  • 1st stage - the conventional Doppler ultrasound:
  • 2nd stage - the elastography:.
  • Step 3 - CEUS: It is performed on an ultrasound machine with a specific module with the same probes as conventional ultrasound. It requires the injection of 1.5 ml of SonoVue ®, a contrast ultrasound.

Renal biopsy will be performed after the functional ultrasound at 3 and 12 months.
Device: renal echography

Renal biopsy will be performed at 3 and 12 months.

The functional imaging examinations will be held as follows:

Step 1: the conventional Doppler ultrasound Step 2: ultrasound elastography Step 3: CEUS

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
renal Elastography
Time Frame: 3 months

The assessment of renal function is performed by the serum creatinine and calculation of glomerular filtration rate estimated by the formula Modified Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) 4-parameter at 3 and 12 months post-transplantation. In addition, a measure of glomerular filtration rate using the technique to iohexol is performed routinely at 12 months post-transplant as part of routine monitoring of transplant patient.

The ultrasound functional imaging will be performed at 15 days, 3 and 12 months after transplantation.

The functional imaging examinations will be held as follows:

Step 1: the conventional Doppler ultrasound 2nd step: the ultrasound elastography Step 3 : CEUS
3 months
Renal Elastography and contrast-enhanced US
Time Frame: 12 months

The assessment of renal function is performed by the serum creatinine and calculation of glomerular filtration rate estimated by the formula Modified Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) 4-parameter at 3 and 12 months post-transplantation. In addition, a measure of glomerular filtration rate using the technique to iohexol is performed routinely at 12 months post-transplant as part of routine monitoring of transplant patient.

The ultrasound functional imaging will be performed at 15 days, 3 and 12 months after transplantation.

The functional imaging examinations will be held as follows:

Step 1: the conventional Doppler ultrasound 2nd step: the ultrasound elastography Step 3 : CEUS
12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
renal Elastography
Time Frame: 3 months
Correlation between elastography and renal function with degree of fibrosis and renal function will be calculate using Pearson coefficient of correlation
3 months
Correlation between renal elastography and perfusion and degree of fibrosis and renal function
Time Frame: 12 months
Correlation between elastography and renal function with degree of fibrosis and renal function will be calculate using Pearson coefficient of correlation
12 months
renal Elastography in patients with chronic kidney disease
Time Frame: 12 months
this two measures will be express in evolution percentage at J15 and 3 months. The evolution percentage will be compared with imaging of patient with chronic kidney disease to determine if elastography and renal perfusion can predict chronic kidney disease at one year.
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Fondation de l'Avenir
URC-CIC Paris Descartes Necker Cochin
Bracco Imaging S.p.A.

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Jean-Michel CORREAS, PUPH, Necker Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
March 19, 2013

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 19, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 19, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 17, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 25, 2014

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 28, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
November 20, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 17, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2012-A01070-43

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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