Ultrasound-Guided Versus Standard Margin Selection in Ileocecal Resection of Terminal Ileal CD (SMILE-CD)

August 26, 2026 updated by: Anthony de Buck van Overstraeten, The Cleveland Clinic

Ultrasound-Guided Versus Standard Margin Selection in Ileocecal Resection of Terminal Ileal Crohn's Disease: A Phase II Randomized Trial

This is a Phase II, single-center (Cleveland Clinic), two-arm, randomized, parallel-group superiority trial. The two arms will compare IOUS-guided margin selection against standard macroscopic margin selection in patients undergoing ileocolic resection for terminal ileal Crohn's disease. Patients and outcome assessors (pathologists, endoscopists) will be blinded to the intervention arm, while surgeons, by the nature of the intervention, cannot be blinded. Randomization will be computer-generated with concealed allocation using permuted blocks to ensure balanced group sizes.

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.

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.
22

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

  • United States
    • Ohio
      • Cleveland, Ohio, United States, 44195
        • Recruiting
        • Cleveland Clinic
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Anthony de Buck van Overstraeten, MD
        • 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:

  • Adults aged ≥18 years.
  • Diagnosis of terminal ileal Crohn's disease with inflammatory or fibrostenotic phenotype localized to terminal ileum/ileocecal region and assessed on either preoperative imaging or during surgical exploration at the time of surgery.
  • Scheduled to undergo primary ileocolic resection.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Penetrating disease with abscess or complex fistula requiring complex resection.
  • Prior ileocolic resection.
  • Diagnosis of Crohn's colitis.
  • Pregnancy or inability to provide informed consent.
  • Stoma at or before randomization: Participants in whom a stoma is required before randomization (identified intra-operatively) will not be randomized and will be excluded from the trial. Stoma after randomization: If a stoma is created after randomization-either during the index operation or at re-operation for postoperative complications-the participant remains in the trial. All feasibility, histopathology, operative, and safety outcomes will be collected and analyzed in the assigned arm (ITT). However, these participants will not be evaluable for the endoscopic-recurrence endpoint; they will be listed as "not assessed for endoscopic recurrence (stoma)" with reasons documented.
  • Contraindication to IOUS (as determined by the surgeon).

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: IOUS-guided margin selection "Margin B"
After the surgeon initially selects the macroscopic Margin A, IOUS will be performed to guide the selection of a proximal resection margin ("Margin B"). Margin B will be defined by specific IOUS criteria: mural thickness ≤ 2.5 mm and preserved stratification of the bowel wall.
Device: IOUS-guided margin selection
Intra-operative ultrasound (IOUS)-guided proximal resection margin selection during ileocolic resection for terminal ileal Crohn's disease
No Intervention: Macroscopic margin selection "Margin A"
The proximal transection site of the ileocecal resection will be chosen by the surgeon based on gross visual and tactile assessment of the bowel ("Margin A"). This represents the current standard of care.

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
feasibility in ultrasound assessment of resection margin
Time Frame: Intraoperative / day of surgery
Feasibility, defined as the proportion of cases in which IOUS is successfully performed with a designated proximal margin (Margin B) in the IOUS arm, will be reported as a percentage with 95% confidence intervals. Feasibility will be declared if ≥ 75% of randomized patients in the IOUS arm achieve successful designation of Margin B. Failure will be defined as such: Technical inability to measure bowel wall thickness with ultrasound or to stratify the bowel wall stratification; failure to identify an appropriate margin within 30min; resection exceeding the additional length by 20cm in more than 20% of the cases.
Intraoperative / day of surgery

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
Comparison of histologic inflammation within the IOUS arm at 6 to 12 months
Time Frame: 6 to 12 months
Comparison of histologic inflammation within the IOUS arm (Margin A versus Margin B versus distal margin) will be performed using McNemar's test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test for paired data, as appropriate. Between-arm comparison of histologic findings (IOUS arm versus standard arm) will be performed using Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, or Wilcoxon rank-sum test for unpaired comparisons.
6 to 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.
The Cleveland Clinic

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.
September 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.
August 1, 2028

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.
January 1, 2029

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 22, 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 29, 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.
July 2, 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.
August 27, 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.
August 26, 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.
August 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.
  • 26-491

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared outside the Cleveland Clinic study team. Results will be reported in aggregate form in presentations and publications. This is a small single-center feasibility study, and the consent form does not include a plan for external sharing of de-identified individual participant-level data.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

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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