Graded TTCE for Post-Embolization PAVM Monitoring

November 7, 2019 updated by: University of Pennsylvania

Correlation of Graded Transthoracic Contrast Echocardiography With Chest CT Findings After Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformation Embolization in Patients With Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia, 2016

Current HHT guidelines recommend CT scan to detect new or recurrent PAVMs after embolotherapy. Recent studies using transthoracic contrast echocardiography (TTCE) shunt grade for PAVM screening suggest that graded TTCE can accurately predict the size of PAVMs on chest CT and their amenability to embolization. This study's purpose is to evaluate whether TTCE shunt grade can also accurately predict PAVM size and amenability to treatment in patients who are post-embolization.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Embolization is the standard of care for pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) in the Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT) population. PAVMs are abnormal connections between the veins and arteries and result in right-to-left shunting of blood within the lungs. Successful embolization results in PAVM resolution and decreases the complications associated with right-to-left shunting. Current guidelines recommend follow-up with interval chest CT scan to determine treatment success and detect new or recurrent PAVMs after embolization. This results in significant radiation exposure to the relatively young HHT population. An alternative to chest CT is graded transthoracic contrast echocardiography (TTCE), which measures the amount of right-to-left shunting within the lung and assigns a grade based on this amount. TTCE has the advantage of being radiation free compared to chest CT. To date, graded TTCE has only been studied as a screening tool for PAVMs. These studies have shown that graded TTCE is highly sensitive in detecting PAVMs and is comparable to chest CT when screening for PAVMs. Results indicate that TTCE grade can accurately predict PAVM size on chest CT and predict whether PAVMs are amenable to embolization. However, no studies have compared graded TTCE and chest CT in patients who are post-embolization and it is therefore unknown whether graded TTCE can be used in patients who have undergone PAVM embolization. The current study seeks to correlate post-embolization TTCE grade with chest CT findings to determine whether TTCE can accurately predict PAVM size and amenability to treatment in the post-embolization population.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

32

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

    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
        • Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

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 to 89 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Individuals with a diagnosis of Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia and a follow-up chest CT scan for PAVM surveillance after embolotherapy.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age range 18-89 years old
  • Diagnosis of Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia by the Curacao criteria
  • Prior diagnosis of one or more PAVMs treated by embolotherapy
  • Chest CT performed within the Penn system for surveillance of PAVMs after \ embolotherapy

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Known PAVM recurrence on most recent chest CT with feeding artery size amenable to repeat embolotherapy
  • Known history of intracardiac shunt
  • Discovery of intracardiac shunt during transthoracic contrast echocardiography

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: Other
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Differences between TTCE shunt grade and the number of PAVMs present on most recent chest CT scan.
Time Frame: At the time of the echocardiogram (TTCE)
At the time of the echocardiogram (TTCE)
Differences between TTCE shunt grade and the size of PAVMs present on most recent
Time Frame: At the time of the echocardiogram (TTCE)
At the time of the echocardiogram (TTCE)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Correlation between TTCE shunt grade to presence of PAVMs amenable to embolotherapy (feeding artery >2 mm) on most recent chest CT
Time Frame: 48 hours after echocardiogram (TTCE)
48 hours after echocardiogram (TTCE)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Scott O Trerotola, MD, University of Pennsylvania

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 (Actual)

October 1, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2019

Study Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 10, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 17, 2016

First Posted (Estimate)

October 18, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 8, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 7, 2019

Last Verified

November 1, 2019

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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