Corticosteroids to Treat Pancreatitis (CRISP)

February 16, 2026 updated by: Michael Donnino, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Corticosteroids to Reduce Inflammation in Severe Pancreatitis: A Randomized, Controlled Study

This research is being done to determine if the administration of a short course of intravenous hydrocortisone, an anti-inflammatory medication, to patients with severe acute pancreatitis will improve their clinical outcomes and decrease the length of hospitalization. We think that because inflammation in the body drives the progression of pancreatitis, giving a short course of intravenous hydrocortisone may mitigate disease progression and improve clinical outcomes in patients with severe acute pancreatitis.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study to investigate the effect of intravenous hydrocortisone on clinical outcomes in patients with severe acute pancreatitis. The interventional drug is Hydrocortisone (100 mg of hydrocortisone in 50 milliliters of saline solution). The placebo is saline and is identical in appearance and volume to the interventional drug. Study drug will be administered intravenously every 8 hours for 72 hours as per standard clinical procedures by nursing staff. The patient's sequential organ failure assessment score (SOFA) will be assessed for changes over time. Blood will be drawn at several time points to assess biomarkers over time.

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 (Estimated)

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.
86

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.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
        • Recruiting
        • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
        • Contact:
          • Jeremy Silverman

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 to 99 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Adult (≥18 years)
  2. Acute pancreatitis as defined by a clinical diagnosis of pancreatitis and a lipase level ≥3x the upper limit of normal.
  3. Admission or planned admission to an intensive care unit
  4. SOFA disease severity score ≥3 (or at least 3 points above a known baseline)

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Known diagnosis of autoimmune pancreatitis
  2. Existing clinical indication for corticosteroids at a dose >5mg of oral prednisone daily (or equivalent)
  3. Contraindication to receiving corticosteroids
  4. Protected populations (prisoners)
  5. 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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

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.
Experimental: Hydrocortisone
Patients in this arm will be administered 100 mg of hydrocortisone in 50 milliliters of saline solution by nursing staff every 8 hours for 72 hours as per standard clinical procedures (9 administrations)
Drug: Hydrocortisone
Hydrocortisone is a steroid (corticosteroid) medication.
Other Names:
  • Cortef
  • Cortisol
  • Hydrocort
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Patients in this arm will be given matching placebo (50ml 0.9%NACL) by nursing staff every 8 hours for 72 hours (9 administrations)
Drug: Placebo
50ml of 0.9% NACL will serve as the placebo
Other Names:
  • Normal Saline
  • 0.9% NACL

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
Severity of Illness Measure
Time Frame: Enrollment to 72 hours
Change in Sequential Organ failure Assessment (SOFA) Score over 72 hours
Enrollment to 72 hours

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
Respiratory Failure Measure
Time Frame: Enrollment to 28 days [truncated at 28 days]
Progression to Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) assessed as a dichotomous variable for those patients without ARDS upon enrollment
Enrollment to 28 days [truncated at 28 days]
Alive and Ventilator Free Days
Time Frame: Enrollment to 28 days [truncated at 28 days]
Number of days during the 28-day period after enrollment in which the patient is alive and does not receive mechanical ventilation
Enrollment to 28 days [truncated at 28 days]
Long-term Functional/Quality of Life Measure
Time Frame: 90 days after Enrollment
Scores from Short Form 36 (SF36), a validated survey used measure health-related quality of life, with higher scores indicating better quality of life.
90 days after Enrollment
In-hospital mortality
Time Frame: Enrollment to 90 days [truncated at 90 days]
Dichotomous variable that assesses whether or not the patient expired prior to hospital discharge
Enrollment to 90 days [truncated at 90 days]
28-day mortality
Time Frame: Enrollment to 28 days [truncated at 28 days]
Dichotomous variable that indicates whether or not patient expired by the 28-day time-point while enrolled in the trial.
Enrollment to 28 days [truncated at 28 days]
90-day mortality
Time Frame: Enrollment to 90 days [truncated at 90 days]
Dichotomous variable that indicates whether or not patient expired by the 90-day time-point while enrolled in the trial.
Enrollment to 90 days [truncated at 90 days]
Alive and Hospital free days
Time Frame: Enrollment to 28 days [truncated at 28 days]
Number of days in which the patient was alive and not in the hospital.
Enrollment to 28 days [truncated at 28 days]
Severity of Illness Measure Stratified By Predicted Survival (Physician Opinion)
Time Frame: Enrollment to 72 hours
Sequential Organ failure Assessment (SOFA) Score over 72 hours compared for patients stratified by survival likelihood per physician opinion into three subgroups (likely, unlikely, or uncertain)
Enrollment to 72 hours
Severity of Illness Measure Stratified By Bedside Index of Severity in Acute Pancreatitis (BISAP) score
Time Frame: Enrollment to 72 hours
Sequential Organ failure Assessment (SOFA) Score over 72 hours compared for patients stratified by BISAP scores into two groups (BISAP ≥3; BISAP < 3)
Enrollment to 72 hours

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.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

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: Michael Donnino, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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 6, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
January 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
April 1, 2027

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).
December 7, 2021

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.
December 7, 2021

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.
December 16, 2021

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.
February 18, 2026

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.
February 16, 2026

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.
February 1, 2026

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.
  • 2021P-000803

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

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

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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