Within-Session Repeatability of EUS-Guided Portal Pressure Gradient Measurement (REPEAT-PPG)

November 12, 2026 updated by: Prof. Dr. Michael Praktiknjo, University Hospital Muenster

Within-Session Repeatability and Inter-Operator Reproducibility of EUS-Guided Portal Pressure Gradient Measurement: A Prospective Multicentre Study

This prospective multicentre observational reliability study will determine how much a repeated endoscopic ultrasound-guided portal pressure gradient (EUS-PPG) measurement differs from the first measurement in the same patient during the same procedural session. Each participant will undergo two complete EUS-PPG measurement sets using an identical 22-gauge measurement setup. The study will quantify within-session repeatability when the same expert performs both sets and inter-operator reproducibility when different operators perform the sets.

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

Consecutive adults with an independently established clinical indication for EUS-PPG will be enrolled at five centres. The clinically indicated first measurement will be followed by a research-only second complete measurement set during the same sedation episode, without an intervention between sets. After the first set, the system will be flushed, the needle withdrawn from the liver, the system recalibrated, and the portal and hepatic veins punctured again for fresh triplicate readings. The interval between sets is targeted at 10 minutes or less. Two techniques of withdrawal are allowed. One technique includes transcapsular re-puncture. The needle is flushed and fully retracted from the liver. The other technique includes subcapsular retraction. The needle is flushed and withdrawn into the liver parenchyma to a position immediately beneath the capsule, without crossing it, so that no further capsular puncture is performed. Procedure lists will be cluster-randomised according to examination lists to one of three operator configurations: the same expert performs both sets, two different experts perform the sets, or an expert and a trainee under supervision perform the sets. The order within each pair will be randomised. Clinical decisions will be based exclusively on the first measurement set. Participants will undergo safety follow-up through day 30.

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.
Observational

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.
150

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

  • Belgium
      • Leuven, Belgium
        • UZ Leuven
        • Contact:
          • Wim Laleman, MD PhD
  • Canada
    • Quebec
      • Montreal, Quebec, Canada
        • McGill University Health Centre
        • Contact:
          • Amine Benmassaoud, MD
      • Montreal, Quebec, Canada
        • Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM)
        • Contact:
          • Philippe Willems, MD
  • Germany
    • North Rhine-Westphalia
      • Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 48149
  • Italy
    • Lazio
      • Rome, Lazio, Italy, 00168
        • Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS
        • Contact:
          • Francesco Santoapolo, MD

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

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Consecutive adult patients with an independently established clinical indication for EUS-guided portal pressure gradient measurement, including patients with and without clinically significant portal hypertension.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18 years or older
  • Clinical indication for EUS-guided portal pressure gradient measurement established independently of the study
  • Written informed consent, including consent for the additional measurement set

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Contraindication to endoscopy, sedation, or endosonography-guided vascular puncture
  • Non-correctable coagulation disorder
  • Hemodynamic instability at the time of the procedure
  • Any intervention between the two measurement sets that may alter portal pressure, including fluid administration beyond maintenance requirements, vasoactive substances, paracentesis, or variceal band ligation
  • Technically non-evaluable first measurement set
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding
  • Inability to provide informed consent

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

  • Observational Models: COHORT
  • Time Perspectives: PROSPECTIVE

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
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.
Same expert operator

Both complete measurement sets are performed by the same expert operator.
Diagnostic test: Repeated EUS-Guided Portal Pressure Gradient Measurement

During a clinically indicated EUS-PPG procedure, each participant undergoes a second complete EUS-PPG measurement set in the same session. For each set, pressures in a hepatic vein and an intrahepatic portal vein branch are measured in triplicate using the same 22-gauge measurement chain. Before the repeat set, the system is flushed, the needle is withdrawn with one of the allowed techniques, the transducer is recalibrated, and the target vessels are independently re-identified and punctured. No treatment or portal-pressure-altering intervention occurs between the two sets.
Two expert operators

The two complete measurement sets are performed by two different expert operators, with order randomised.
Diagnostic test: Repeated EUS-Guided Portal Pressure Gradient Measurement

During a clinically indicated EUS-PPG procedure, each participant undergoes a second complete EUS-PPG measurement set in the same session. For each set, pressures in a hepatic vein and an intrahepatic portal vein branch are measured in triplicate using the same 22-gauge measurement chain. Before the repeat set, the system is flushed, the needle is withdrawn with one of the allowed techniques, the transducer is recalibrated, and the target vessels are independently re-identified and punctured. No treatment or portal-pressure-altering intervention occurs between the two sets.
Expert and trainee operators

One complete measurement set is performed by an expert and the other by a trainee under direct supervision, with order randomised.
Diagnostic test: Repeated EUS-Guided Portal Pressure Gradient Measurement

During a clinically indicated EUS-PPG procedure, each participant undergoes a second complete EUS-PPG measurement set in the same session. For each set, pressures in a hepatic vein and an intrahepatic portal vein branch are measured in triplicate using the same 22-gauge measurement chain. Before the repeat set, the system is flushed, the needle is withdrawn with one of the allowed techniques, the transducer is recalibrated, and the target vessels are independently re-identified and punctured. No treatment or portal-pressure-altering intervention occurs between the two sets.

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
Within-session repeatability coefficient of EUS-PPG measured by the same expert operator
Time Frame: During the index EUS-PPG procedure

The repeatability coefficient will be calculated as 2.77 multiplied by the within-subject standard deviation of paired EUS-PPG measurements in the same-expert group. It will be reported in mmHg and as a percentage of the cohort mean, with a 95% confidence interval.
During the index EUS-PPG procedure

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
Inter-operator reproducibility coefficient of EUS-PPG
Time Frame: During the index EUS-PPG procedure

The reproducibility coefficient will be estimated from paired EUS-PPG differences when different operators perform the two measurement sets and will be reported in mmHg and as a percentage, with a 95% confidence interval.
During the index EUS-PPG procedure
Variance components of repeated EUS-PPG measurements
Time Frame: During the index EUS-PPG procedure

A mixed-effects model using all individual readings will estimate patient-, procedure-list-, operator-, measurement-set-, and reading-level variance components.
During the index EUS-PPG procedure
Intraclass correlation coefficient for paired EUS-PPG measurements
Time Frame: During the index EUS-PPG procedure

Two-way absolute-agreement intraclass correlation coefficients will be reported overall and by operator configuration with 95% confidence intervals.
During the index EUS-PPG procedure
Bland-Altman agreement of paired EUS-PPG measurements
Time Frame: During the index EUS-PPG procedure

Bias and 95% limits of agreement will be calculated overall and separately by operator pairing.
During the index EUS-PPG procedure
Discordant classification at portal pressure gradient thresholds of 10 mmHg and 12 mmHg
Time Frame: During the index EUS-PPG procedure

The proportion of participants whose classification crosses the 10-mmHg or 12-mmHg threshold between the two measurement sets will be reported.
During the index EUS-PPG procedure
Procedure-associated adverse events
Time Frame: From the index procedure through 30 days

Adverse events will include bleeding, pain, hemoglobin decrease, sedation-related events, unplanned admission or prolongation of stay, transfusion, and unplanned intervention.
From the index procedure through 30 days

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.
University Hospital Muenster

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.
January 1, 2027

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, 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.
October 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).
October 8, 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.
October 8, 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.
October 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.
November 13, 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.
November 12, 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.
November 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.
  • REPEAT-PPG

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

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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