Contrast-enhanced Ultrasound of the Kidney (CEUS-CKD)

Contrast-enhanced Ultrasound for Complex Kidney Lesion Diagnosis in Patients With CKD (CEUS CKD)

The purpose of this research study is to evaluate contrast-enhanced ultrasound for kidney malignancies

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Chronic Kidney Disease; Cystic Kidney Disease
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Perflutren lipid microsphere

Detailed Description

This is an investigator-initiated, prospective study designed to evaluate the accuracy of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) with microbubble contrast agent (perflutren lipid; Definity®) to identify malignancy in patients with kidney disease, a known risk factor for kidney malignancy, in whom a conventional ultrasound (US) shows an indeterminate cystic kidney lesion.

The primary objective of the study is to estimate the sensitivity of CEUS in diagnosing kidney malignancy in patients with a risk factor for kidney malignancy and compare it to the current gold standard test in this patient population. Secondary analysis will include more optimal contrast-enhanced imaging with computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a subset of patients who can receive these studies. The study outcome will lead to immediate clinical application in patients with chronic kidney disease. Given the cost-effectiveness and adverse event profile, it has excellent potential to become established as first line diagnostics in the general patient population as well.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 63
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • North Carolina
    • Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, 27599-7510
      • University of North Carolina of Chapel hill
  • Tennessee
    • Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37232
      • Vanderbilt University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

To be eligible for the present study, patients must meet the following criteria:

1. Able to provide written informed consent
2. Willing to comply with protocol requirements
3. At least 18 years of age
4. Have kidney disease, defined as either CKD II-VI, determined by estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of <90 and derived from serum creatinine measurements, or albuminuria/proteinuria, determined by albumin to creatinine ratio or protein to creatinine ratio of >30mg/gm, or having received a kidney transplant
5. Have at least one kidney lesion identified but incompletely characterized on a non-contrasted US, CT, or MR exam for which the patient's provider recommends follow-up studies or further evaluation with an additional imaging tests.

Exclusion Criteria:

Patients who meet any of the following criteria will be excluded for enrollment:

1. Critically ill or medically unstable and whose critical course during the observation period would be unpredictable (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) requiring oxygen)
2. Known hypersensitivity to sulfur hexafluoride or to any component of perflutren lipid (Definity®)
3. Right to left shunt, severe pulmonary hypertension (Pulmonary artery pressure >90mmHg), or adult respiratory distress syndrome

4. Active cardiac disease including any of the following:

   • Severe congestive heart failure (class IV in accordance with the classification of the New York Heart Association)
   • Unstable angina.
   • Severe arrhythmia (i.e. ventricular tachycardia, flutter fibrillation; ventricular premature complexes occurring close to the preceding T- wave, multifocal complexes).
   • Myocardial infarction within 14 days prior to the date of proposed Definity® administration.
   • Uncontrolled systemic hypertension (systolic blood pressure (BP) >180 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP >100 mm Hg despite optimal medical management
5. Is in an intensive care setting
6. Has an unstable neurological disease (e.g cerebrovascular accident (including transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) within the 3 months before signing of informed consent
7. Has undergone an invasive procedure on kidney lesion (e.g. tissue biopsy, surgery, nonsurgical cytoreductive procedure) since identification of lesion via US without contrast

8. Has any other medical condition or other circumstances that would significantly decrease the chances of obtaining reliable data or of achieving the study objectives such as:

   • Mental illness
   • Drug abuse
9. Female patient who is pregnant or lactating (the possibility of pregnancy has to be excluded by negative serum or urine beta human chorionic gonadotropin results, obtained within 24 hours before the perflutren lipid administration, or on the basis of patient history, e.g.: tubal ligation, hysterectomy or a minimum of 1 year without menses)

10. Obesity that limits obtainment of acceptable images

    -

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Perflutren lipid microsphere; Activate by shaking for 45 seconds using VIALMIX. Use activated product within 5 minutes. Infusion: The recommended infusion dose for activated perflutren is via an IV infusion of 1.3 mL added to 50 mL of preservative-free saline. The rate of infusion should be initiated at 4.0 mL/minute, but titrated as necessary to achieve optimal image enhancement, not to exceed 10 mL/minute per P.I. approval

Drug: Perflutren lipid microsphere; Dosing per approved package label; Other Names: Microbubble contrast agent; Definity®

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Lesions With a Change in Radiologist's Evaluation	Lesions will be assessed for change in size, calcification, and septation based on Bosniak criteria (I, II, IIF, III, IV) to determine whether a lesion has progressed, regressed, or is stable.	Baseline, 1 year
Sensitivity of Qualitative Interpretations of CEUS in Diagnosing Kidney Malignancy	PRELIMINARY RESULTS of sensitivity of qualitative interpretations of CEUS in diagnosing kidney malignancy in patients with CKD and a suspicious or indeterminate lesion on non-contrasted imaging compared to the truth standard	Baseline, 1 year
Specificity of Qualitative Interpretations of CEUS	PRELIMINARY RESULTS of specificity of qualitative interpretations of CEUS in diagnosing kidney malignancy in patients with CKD and a suspicious or indeterminate lesion on non-contrasted imaging compared to the truth standard	Baseline, 1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Specificity of Quantitative Metrics Generated From CEUS in Diagnosing Kidney Malignancy in Patients With CKD and a Suspicious or Indeterminate Lesion on Non-contrasted Imaging Compared to the Truth Standard	Specificity of Quantitative Metrics Generated From CEUS in Diagnosing Kidney Malignancy in Patients With CKD and a Suspicious or Indeterminate Lesion on Non-contrasted Imaging Compared to the Truth Standard	Baseline, 1 Year
Sensitivity of Quantitative Metrics Generated From CEUS in Diagnosing Kidney Malignancy in Patients With CKD and a Suspicious or Indeterminate Lesion on Non-contrasted Imaging Compared to the Truth Standard	Sensitivity of Quantitative Metrics Generated From CEUS in Diagnosing Kidney Malignancy in Patients With CKD and a Suspicious or Indeterminate Lesion on Non-contrasted Imaging Compared to the Truth Standard	Baseline, 1 Year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Collaborators: Vanderbilt University; North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Emily Chang, M.D., University of North Carolina Kidney Center 7024 Burnett Womack CB #7155 Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7155

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Maisonneuve P, Agodoa L, Gellert R, Stewart JH, Buccianti G, Lowenfels AB, Wolfe RA, Jones E, Disney AP, Briggs D, McCredie M, Boyle P. Cancer in patients on dialysis for end-stage renal disease: an international collaborative study. Lancet. 1999 Jul 10;354(9173):93-9. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(99)06154-1.
• Lindner JR. Microbubbles in medical imaging: current applications and future directions. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2004 Jun;3(6):527-32. doi: 10.1038/nrd1417. No abstract available.
• Lind Ramskov K, Thomsen HS. Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and contrast medium-induced nephropathy: a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea for patients with reduced renal function? Acta Radiol. 2009 Nov;50(9):965-7. doi: 10.3109/02841850903209218. No abstract available.
• Nicolau C, Bunesch L, Pano B, Salvador R, Ribal MJ, Mallofre C, Sebastia C. Prospective evaluation of CT indeterminate renal masses using US and contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Abdom Imaging. 2015 Mar;40(3):542-51. doi: 10.1007/s00261-014-0237-3.
• Ascenti G, Mazziotti S, Zimbaro G, Settineri N, Magno C, Melloni D, Caruso R, Scribano E. Complex cystic renal masses: characterization with contrast-enhanced US. Radiology. 2007 Apr;243(1):158-65. doi: 10.1148/radiol.2431051924.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: February 1, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 9, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): July 9, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 3, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 12, 2016
• First Posted (Estimate): February 18, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 26, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 3, 2019
• Last Verified: April 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Urologic Diseases; Renal Insufficiency; Kidney Diseases; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic; Kidney Diseases, Cystic
• Other Study ID Numbers: 15-1866

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO