Impact of Propranolol on the Prognosis of Patients With Decompensated Cirrhosis and MELD Score > 9

June 11, 2026 updated by: Xingshun Qi, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region

Impact of Propranolol on the Prognosis of Patients With Decompensated Cirrhosis and MELD Score > 9: a Non-inferiority Randomized Controlled Trial

Non selective beta blockers (NSBBs), such as propranolol and nadolol, are mainstay therapies for portal hypertension in cirrhosis, but their efficacy and safety vary depending on the stage of the disease. Emerging evidence suggests that NSBBs may worsen the prognosis of advanced cirrhosis, especially in patients with a model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score of >9. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the effects of the use of propranolol as recommended by the guideline on the prognosis in cirrhotic patients with a MELD score of >9.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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 non-inferiority, randomized controlled trial. A total of 466 decompensated cirrhotic patients with a MELD score of >9 will be enrolled. Participants will be stratified based on the presence or absence of acute decompensation at enrollment, and then randomly assigned at a 1:1 ratio to conventional treatment combined with or without propranolol groups. All patients will receive standard medical therapy in both groups, and then regularly followed. The primary outcome is further decompensation. The secondary outcomes include recompensation and death.

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.
466

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 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

  • China
    • Liaoning
      • Shenyang, Liaoning, China
        • Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command (formerly called General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area)
        • Contact:
        • Contact:

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • patients' age ≥18 years;
  • patients with a definitive diagnosis of liver cirrhosis;
  • patients with a MELD score of >9;
  • patients with a history of decompensation or those who are experiencing their first decompensation, such as ascites, variceal bleeding, or hepatic encephalopathy (HE);
  • patients' informed consents.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • patients without a definite indication for NSBBs;
  • patients with an absolute contraindication of NSBBs (severe bronchospasm, asthma, severe psychosis, high-degree atrioventricular block, etc.);
  • patients with hypersensitivity to NSBBs;
  • patients who had been treated with NSBBs before 2 weeks of enrollment;
  • patients with occlusive portal vein thrombosis;
  • patients who had undergone liver transplantation;
  • patients who had undergone transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS);
  • patients with a definitive diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma;
  • patients with an estimated life time of <12 months due to the presence of any comorbidities;
  • patients who are currently pregnant or breast-feeding.

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: 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.
Experimental: Conventional treatment without propranolol
Patients are provided with conventional supportive treatment only, but without nonselective beta blockers.
Other: conventional therapy
Conventional treatment of decompensated cirrhosis mainly includes anti-hepatic fibrosis drugs, albumin infusion, diuretics, peritoneal drainage, esophageal variceal ligation, endoscopic tissue adhesive injection, blood purification, and liver transplantation.
Active Comparator: Conventional treatment combined with propranolol
Patients are administered with propranolol in addition to conventional treatment.
Drug: propranolol
Propranolol will be started with 10-20 mg/day for the propranolol group, which will be gradually increased to the maximum tolerance dosage or achieve a heart rate of 55-60 beats per minute and a systolic blood pressure of 90mmHg.
Other Names:
  • Inderal

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
The time from randomization to the occurrence of further decompensation
Time Frame: Time to first further decompensation event, assessed from randomization up to the end of the study (maximum of approximately 96 weeks)

Further decompensation is defined as any of the following conditions:

  1. the occurrence of a second portal hypertension driven decompensation event (ascites, variceal bleeding or HE) and/or non-obstructive jaundice;
  2. the occurrence of recurrent variceal bleeding, refractory ascites, recurrent HE, SBP, and/or HRS-AKI;
  3. the occurrence of ascites, HE, or jaundice in patients with bleeding alone after recovery from bleeding, according to the Baveno VII consensus.
Time to first further decompensation event, assessed from randomization up to the end of the study (maximum of approximately 96 weeks)

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
The time from randomization to the occurrence of recompensation
Time Frame: Time to first recompensation event, assessed from randomization up to the end of the study (maximum of approximately 96 weeks)

Recompensation is defined as all of the following criteria are met:

  1. removal/suppression/cure of the primary cause of cirrhosis (e.g., removal of hepatitis C virus, sustained suppression of hepatitis B virus, or sustained alcohol abstinence in alcoholic cirrhosis);
  2. resolution of ascites in the setting of discontinuation of diuretics, absence of HE in the setting of discontinuation of lactulose/rifaximin, and absence of recurrent variceal bleeding within at least 12 months;
  3. stable improvement of liver function (e.g., albumin, international normalized ratio, bilirubin)
Time to first recompensation event, assessed from randomization up to the end of the study (maximum of approximately 96 weeks)
The time from randomization to the occurrence of death
Time Frame: assessed from randomization up to the end of the study (maximum of approximately 96 weeks)
All-cause mortality during the study period
assessed from randomization up to the end of the study (maximum of approximately 96 weeks)
The composite endpoint of further decompensation and death
Time Frame: assessed from randomization up to the end of the study (maximum of approximately 96 weeks)
assessed from randomization up to the end of the study (maximum of approximately 96 weeks)
The hierarchical composite endpoint of death and further decompensation
Time Frame: assessed from randomization up to the end of the study (maximum of approximately 96 weeks)
assessed from randomization up to the end of the study (maximum of approximately 96 weeks)
The time from randomization to the occurrence of individual decompensation events
Time Frame: assessed from randomization up to the end of the study (maximum of approximately 96 weeks

Individual decompensation event is defined as the time from randomization to the first occurrence of each event during the follow-up period. Individual decompensation events include:

  1. first variceal bleeding (in patients without prior bleeding history);
  2. variceal rebleeding (in patients with prior bleeding history);
  3. ascites;
  4. HE;
  5. jaundice;
  6. hepatorenal syndrome (HRS);
  7. SBP
assessed from randomization up to the end of the study (maximum of approximately 96 weeks

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.
General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region

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: Li He, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command

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 (Estimated)

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.
June 1, 2026

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.
July 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.
July 1, 2028

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).
June 11, 2026

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.
June 11, 2026

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.
June 16, 2026

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.
June 16, 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.
June 11, 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.
June 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.
  • XHNKKY-NSBBs-2.2

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

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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