Nesiritide in Chronic Heart Failure

October 7, 2013 updated by: University of Chicago

Continuous Infusion Nesiritide in Chronic Heart Failure-University of Chicago (CINCH-UC)

The purpose of this study is to look at the safety and effectiveness of longer term intravenous (IV) infusion of the study drug, nesiritide in patients with acutely decompensated chronic heart failure. Nesiritide (Natrecor) is a man-made version of a human hormone that dilates veins and arteries. Nesiritide (Natrecor) is currently FDA-approved for short-term inpatient IV treatment of acutely decompensated chronic heart failure.

Hypothesis: Nesiritide, administered by continuous intravenous infusion in the outpatient setting, is a safe treatment for refractory Class III & IV chronic heart failure due to systolic or diastolic dysfunction, regardless of renal function when administered over a 12-week period.

Corollary #1: Nesiritide, when infused continuously over 12 weeks will improve the overall condition of patients with chronic heart failure. These mechanisms include reducing hospitalizations when compared with the previous six months, improving symptoms as measured by the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure short questionnaire, and improving functional capacity as measured by 6-minute walk testing.

Corollary #2: Nesiritide infusion will be associated with a statistically significant decrease in N-terminal pro-BNP levels and cyclic GMP levels compared with patients receiving placebo infusions.

Study Overview

Status

Terminated

Conditions

Detailed Description

This is a single center, double-blinded, crossover, placebo-controlled pilot study to evaluate the effects of nesiritide in patients with chronic heart failure. This study will only take place at the University of Chicago Hospitals. It is double-blinded, which means that the neither subject nor their study doctor will know which study drug the subject will receive. However, in an emergency, this information can be obtained quickly. The study is placebo-controlled, which means subjects will not receive study drug at some point during the study; however because it is a cross-over study, subjects will be receiving nesiritide at some point in the study. Subjects will receive the study drug nesiritide for six out of the 12 weeks of the study-either the first six weeks or the last six weeks.

The procedures for the study consist of: informed consent, questions about the subjects heart failure, blood sample, assessment of heart failure severity based on symptoms, six minute walk test and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire, history of heart failure symptoms and emergency room visits, diuretic and baseline medication history, long term IV for medication infusions, adjustment of study drug and regularly taken medications, 6 weeks of receiving long term IV infusion of drug, blood taken for lab tests at each clinic visit and an informational card provided for subjects to use for on-call physicians.

Up to ten consecutive patients who decline participation in the study will be asked to participate in a registry to follow their course over the study interval. Baseline data, obtained from medical records will be recorded as will the number of hospitalizations/ER visits and NYHA class during the study period. These subjects will be surveyed by telephone monthly for the duration of the study.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

20

Phase

  • 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 Locations

    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60637
        • University of Chicago Hospitals

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Candidates for enrollment in this clinical trial are limited to adult patients (age>21) diagnosed with chronic heart failure > one year who are managed by heart failure specialists at the University of Chicago. Patients primarily managed by physicians other than the investigators will be enrolled with the concurrence of the treating physician. Study patients are characterized as "high risk" by fulfilling one or more of the following criteria:

  1. Refractory class III or IV heart failure despite optimal medical therapy by a heart failure specialist: Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI), angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB), beta-adrenergic blockers (BB), spironolactone (spiro), digoxin (dig), diuretics, and calcium channel blockers (CCB).
  2. Frequent hospitalizations or ER visits (>1/month on average).

Additionally, patients must be capable of giving informed consent and have adequate social supports to manage chronic, continuous IV infusion therapy with the assistance of home care nursing and the study coordinator.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Nesiritide infusion >24 hours in the previous 30 days.
  2. Stable chronic heart failure or NYHA Class I or II.
  3. Aortic stenosis greater than mild degree as determined by echocardiogram or catheterization.
  4. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with an outflow tract gradient.
  5. Isolated right heart failure (cor pulmonale).
  6. Unstable coronary syndrome or myocardial infarction< 3 months prior to enrollment.
  7. Chronic hypotension with systolic blood pressure < 80 mmHg.
  8. Terminal noncardiovascular illness with life expectancy <6 months. Moribund patients will not be considered for enrollment.
  9. Active substance abuse.
  10. Inadequate social support.
  11. Contraindication to long term IV access.
  12. Pregnant or lactating 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: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Double

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Change in NYHA status
Time Frame: Day 0, Day 42
Day 0, Day 42

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Collaborators

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Allen Anderson, MD, University of Chicago

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

August 1, 2003

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2006

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2006

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 1, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 1, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

September 5, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

October 8, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 7, 2013

Last Verified

September 1, 2006

More Information

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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