Impact of Text Messaging in the Management of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

March 13, 2017 updated by: Ashwani Singal,MD
This randomized study aims at examining the impact of text messaging in the management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a disease frequently associated with obesity and varying components of metabolic syndrome including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. With rising incidence of obesity in the US, NAFLD and NASH are rapidly increasing with currently the second etiology for liver transplantation in the US. The objectives of this protocol are to a) prospectively enroll patients with NAFLD and NASH; b) randomize them to receiving text messaging to help manage obesity and other components od metabolic syndrome in addition to standard clinical care or receiving only standard clinical care; and c) follow up these patients at the end of 3 months period for weight loss, blood pressure control, HBA1c, and liver enzymes. The immediate aim of this protocol is to develop the pilot data on the usefulness of text messaging in the management of NAFLD and NASH. The long-term goals of this research are to establish text messaging as a beneficial intervention in the management of weight loss and control of risk factors of NAFLD and improve outcomes of these patients with NAFLD and NASH.

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

Patients will be recruited primarily from the outpatient Liver Kirklin Clinic setting.

  1. Informed consent will be obtained by one of the investigators named in the protocol or by research coordinators involved with the study
  2. Eligibility will be confirmed by interview and review of medical records using the inclusion and exclusion criteria as listed above.
  3. Complete history and physical examination will be recorded especially for weight and body mass index, associated components of metabolic syndrome (diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia), liver enzymes, and current medications list.
  4. All procedures such as imaging, endoscopy, and liver biopsy will be done as part of standard routine care of these patients and no procedure will be done as part of this research study.
  5. Patients would be randomized to standard clinical care or to text messaging in addition to standard clinical care. Standard clinical care includes obtaining data on history and physical examination, routine blood work as part of liver disease care, ultrasound and appropriate any other liver imaging as needed for patient care, counseling for at least 7-10% weight loss with discussion on strategies to achieve this, management of other risk factors including diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, and counseling for compliance to taking medications and following up on future clinic visits. The study investigator would be blinded to the randomization and which group the patient is randomized to.
  6. Patients would be followed at the end of 6 months period for assessing the study outcomes as detailed earlier. Follow up for patients with stable liver disease is usually done every 3-6 months. No additional clinic visits would be needed for this study.
  7. During these 6 months, patients would receive standard text messages as detailed later. Patients will use their own cell phone to receive the text messages and reply to these messages. There will be no additional intervention or device needed for this study

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.
30

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

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

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients with a diagnosis of NAFLD or NASH as determined with presence of steatosis and/or elevated liver enzymes, exclusion of other causes of liver disease, and history of alcohol use less than 10 g/d.
  2. Age >18 years
  3. Established patient at the UAB Kirklin clinic for at least 3-6 months
  4. Ownership of cell phone with text messaging service
  5. Ability to read and send text message

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Failure to meet the inclusion criteria.
  2. Any medical, psychiatric, or social conditions that, in the opinion of the investigators, would make participation in this protocol not in the best interest of the subject
  3. Refusal to consent for the study
  4. Pregnant females

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: TREATMENT
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: PARALLEL
  • Masking: SINGLE

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.
NO_INTERVENTION: Control
EXPERIMENTAL: Text Messaging
Behavioral: Text Messaging
Subjects contacted 3 times weekly via text messaging for the study period.

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
Time Frame
Change in weight
Time Frame: 6 months
6 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.
Ashwani Singal,MD

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 24, 2016

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.
December 1, 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 1, 2017

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).
March 13, 2017

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.
March 13, 2017

First Posted (ACTUAL)

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.
March 17, 2017

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.
March 17, 2017

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.
March 13, 2017

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.
March 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • X150420005

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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