Effect of Celiac Plexus Block on Gastric Emptying and Symptoms Caused by Gastroparesis

August 26, 2020 updated by: Linda Nguyen

The investigators hypothesize that in patients with gastroparesis, gastric emptying will improve with celiac plexus block. By improving gastric emptying, symptoms related to gastroparesis including nausea, vomiting, bloating, abdominal pain, and weight loss, will also improve.

In order to study this hypothesis, the investigators will enroll patients with gastroparesis who are non-responsive to the current treatments available. Patients will fill out a questionnaire to assess the severity of their symptoms then undergo Ansar testing (a non-invasive test) to measure their autonomic function respectively. Then, patients will undergo a celiac plexus block which is performed via an upper endoscopy. One week after the procedure, patients will be asked to undergo a gastric emptying study as well as repeat the Ansar testing to evaluate for any improvement in the gastric emptying and autonomic function respectively. Patient will be asked to repeat the questionnaire, one, two, three, and eight weeks after their procedure.

Study Overview

Status

Withdrawn

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The investigators will identify patients with gastroparesis due to idiopathic causes (including post-viral) and diabetes who have undergone a 4 hour gastric emptying study showing delayed gastric emptying. Patients enrolled must have clinical symptoms due to gastroparesis including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, early satiety, bloating, reflux, postprandial fullness or weight loss. Patients included in the study may be refractory to treatment or ineligible for current standard of care with metoclopramide, domperidone, macrolide antibiotics, or pyloric injections with botulinum toxin.

Patients who agree to enroll in the study will sign an informed consent which will explain study purpose along with the risks of the procedures involved in the study. One of the team members will also explain the study to the patient either over the phone or in person and answer any questions they may have in regards to the study.

Patients who are enrolled in the study will fill out a questionnaire comprised of the gastroparesis cardinal symptom index daily diary (GCSI-DD) and visual analog scale (VAS) to assess severity of nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and bloating. Then, patients will undergo autonomic function measurements using the Ansar system which is a non-invasive measurement of the autonomic system using blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate monitoring. Ansar testing takes approximately 15 minutes.

Subsequently, patients will undergo a celiac plexus block, performed endoscopically with EUS- guidance by Ann Chen. Injections will be performed using 0.75% bupivicaine and 40mg/ml of triamcinolone, ideally 1ml each directly into the celiac ganglia. If no ganglia is identifiable, then the injection will be performed into the celiac space, located at the take off of the celiac artery from the aorta. One week after their block, a gastric emptying study and Ansar testing will be performed. The GCSI-DD/VAS questionnaire will be repeated 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, and 2 months after the procedure.

Study Type

Interventional

Phase

  • 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

    • California
      • Stanford, California, United States, 94305
        • Stanford Hospital and Clinics

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

16 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients must have gastroparesis due to idiopathic causes (including post-viral) and diabetes who have undergone a 4 hour gastric emptying study showing delayed gastric emptying
  • Patients may have been or currently on therapy for their gastroparesis including metoclopramide, domperidone, macrolide antibiotics, sapropterin dihydrochloride, or pyloric botox injections can be included
  • Patients who have undergone placement of electrical gastric stimulator >6 months after enrollment can be included

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with suspected mechanical obstruction resulting in delayed gastric emptying, patients chronically using narcotics (>3 times per week)
  • Patients who have undergone placement of gastric electrical stimulation device within 6 months of enrollment.
  • Patients with any history of small bowel obstruction and major abdominal surgeries (excluding appendectomy, cholecystectomy, Nissen fundoplication, or pelvic surgeries).

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Celiac Plexus Block
There is one treatment arm who undergoes celiac plexus block.
Patients will undergo celiac plexus block via upper endoscopy with endoscopic ultrasound guidance. Injections will be performed using 0.75% bupivicaine and 40mg/ml of triamcinolone, ideally 1ml each directly into the celiac ganglia. If no ganglia is identifiable, then the injection will be performed into the celiac space, located at the take off of the celiac artery from the aorta.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Increased gastric emptying
Time Frame: One week after intervention
We will assess for increased gastric emptying via a SmartPill study, one week after celiac plexus block is performed.
One week after intervention
Improvement of gastroparesis based on GCSI-DD score
Time Frame: 2 months
One, two, three weeks after the procedure as well as 2 months after the celiac plexus block, the patients will fill out a questionnaire questionnaire comprised of the gastroparesis cardinal symptom index daily diary(GCSI-DD).
2 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Improvement of individual symptoms related to gastroparesis based on VAS score
Time Frame: 1week-2 months after procedure
One, two, and three weeks after the celiac plexus block as well as 2 months after the procedure, the patients will fill out a VAS questionnaire to assess their symptoms related to their gastroparesis.
1week-2 months after procedure

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Collaborators

Investigators

  • Study Director: Irene Sonu, MD, Stanford University

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.

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

October 1, 2014

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

June 1, 2016

Study Completion (Anticipated)

June 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 15, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 17, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

April 20, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 28, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 26, 2020

Last Verified

August 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

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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