DECONGEST-AHF: Vasodilatation or Loop Diuretics in Acute Heart Failure (DECONGEST-AHF)

Vasodilation or Loop-diuretics for Initial Treatment of Pulmonary Edema or Congestion Due to Acute Heart Failure - a Randomized Placebo-controlled Trial

Background:

Intravenous (IV) loop-diuretics have been a key component in treating pulmonary edema since the nineteen sixties and has a Class 1 recommendation in the 2021 European Society of Cardiology guidelines for heart failure. Conversely, vasodilation was downgraded in the treatment of acute heart failure due to a lack of trials that compare vasodilation with loop-diuretics in a hyperacute clinical setting. This clinical equipoise will be tested in a trial including patients with pulmonary congestion immediately at hospital admission.

Primary objective:

To determine the superior strategy of loop-diuretics (furosemide), vasodilation (nitrates) or the combination during emergency treatment.

Design: Investigator-initiated, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial with 1:1:1 allocation.

Intervention:

Intervention-phase will last 6 hours from study-inclusion, and patients will be allocated to one of three groups:

• Boluses of 40 mg IV furosemide + nitrate-placebo as soon as possible and repeated up to 10 times.
• Boluses of 3 mg IV isosorbide dinitrate + furosemide-placebo as soon as possible.
• Boluses of both 3 mg IV isosorbide dinitrate + of 40 mg as soon as possible.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Congestive Heart Failure; Pulmonary Edema; Acute Heart Failure
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Furosemide Injection; Drug: Isosorbide Dinitrate; Drug: Furosemide and isosorbide dinitrate

Detailed Description

IV-loop diuretics are a central part of acute treatment of pulmonary edema and is recommended in guidelines (Class 1 recommendation) with a higher recommendation as compared to vasodilation, which was downgraded from Ia to IIb in the 2021 guidelines for heart failure. However, the effects of loop-diuretics alone or in combination with nitrates compared to nitrates alone is unknown and should be investigated in adequately powered prospective trials to optimize acute treatment of these patients.

Trial objective The primary objective is to determine the superior strategy of urgent treatment (starting within 3 hours after hospital-admission) of pulmonary edema. Strategies are: 1. Diuretics (Furosemide), 2. Vasodilation (nitrates), 3. A combination of both furosemide and nitrates. Patient-outcome will be evaluated through the primary endpoint as described elsewhere.

Hypothesis:

Iv nitrates in combination with iv furosemide are superior compared to iv furosemide alone or iv nitrates alone during initial (first 6 hours) in-hospital treatment of pulmonary edema. "Superior" is defined as a significant benefit on the primary outcome.

Study design The study is an investigator-initiated, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, multicenter, interventional, clinical trial. Following successful completion of screening procedures, patients will be randomized in a 1:1:1 fashion to receive either of the 3 treatments-strategies.

Since patients are in cardio-respiratory and mental stress, informed consent prior to the intervention will be impossible. Instead, a legal guardian will be contacted and asked for consent in addition to next of kind and patients regaining mental ability.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 1041
• Phase: Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Johannes Grand, MD, Phd, MPH; Phone Number: +4535452121; Email: johannes.grand@regionh.dk
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Jens Jakob Thune, MD, PhD; Email: jens.jakob.thune@regionh.dk

Study Locations

• Denmark
  • Herlev, Denmark, 2650
    • Recruiting
    • Herlev University Hospital
    • Contact: Fredrik Folke; Phone Number: 35454360; Email: fredrik.folke@regionh.dk
    • Principal Investigator: Frederik Folke
  • Hillerød, Denmark
    • Active, not recruiting
    • Nordsjællands Hospital
  • Roskilde, Denmark
    • Not yet recruiting
    • Roskilde Hospital
    • Contact: Matias Lindholm; Email: matiasgl@dadlnet.dk
    • Principal Investigator: Matias Lindholm, MD, PhD
  • Copenhagen
    • Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2000
      • Recruiting
      • Bispebjerg hospital
      • Sub-Investigator: Jens Jakob Thune
      • Contact: Jens Jakob Thune, MD, PhD; Email: jens.jakob.thune@regionh.dk
    • Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2650
      • Recruiting
      • Hvidovre Hospital
      • Contact: Johannes Grand, MD, PhD; Phone Number: +45 35452121; Email: johannes.grand@regionh.dk
      • Principal Investigator: Johannes Grand, MD, PhD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion criteria

1. Age ≥ 18 years
2. Acute (within minutes to days) onset or worsening of subjective dyspnea*
3. Systolic blood pressure ≥100 mmHg
4. Oxygen saturation <94% or need of oxygen

5. Signs or suspicion of congestion (peripheral edema, rales, and/or clinical suspicion of congestion) *

   • by the best assessment from a medical doctor. Inclusion must not wait on x-ray or other measures: patients suspected of pulmonary congestion should be included immediately.

Exclusion criteria

1. More than 50 mg IV furosemide within the last three hours before randomization including prehospital treatment.
2. More than 3 hours from hospital-admission to randomization
3. Ongoing ventricular taky- or brady-arrythmias or supraventricular arrhythmias with HR > 180 or < 40 bpm.
4. Suspected severe infection or sepsis.

Exclusion criteria are purposely liberal, so patients can be included in accordance with everyday clinical practice. However, a safety criterion will be implemented:

If blood pressure drops below 90 mmHg in 2 measurements with 5 minutes apart and/or if urine production is below 50 ml after 1 hour, the intervention will be stopped, and patients can receive furosemide and nitrates freely.

We purposely chose not to exclude patients with aortic stenosis, since observational studies did not find excess risk of given nitrates to patients with pulmonary edema and aortic stenosis

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Quadruple

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Furosemide only; • Boluses of 40 mg furosemide given as soon as possible and repeated up to 10 times by the discretion of the treating physician.	Drug: Furosemide Injection; A diuretic (iv furosemide) strategy for decongestion in acute heart failure
Active Comparator: isosorbide dinitrate; • Boluses of 3 mg IV isosorbide dinitrate given as soon as possible and repeated up to 10 times by the discretion of the treating physician.	Drug: Isosorbide Dinitrate; Vasodilation (iv isosorbide dinitrate) strategy for decongestion in acute heart failure
Active Comparator: isosorbide dinitrate + furosemide; • Boluses of both 3 mg IV isosorbide dinitrate + of 40 mg furosemide given as soon as possible and repeated up to 10 times by the discretion of the treating physician.	Drug: Furosemide and isosorbide dinitrate; Vasodilation (iv isosorbide dinitrate) strategy for decongestion in acute heart failure AND A diuretic (iv furosemide) strategy for decongestion in acute heart failure

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Days alive and outside hospital	The number of days during the 30-day period after the index emergency-department visit that the participant is alive and outside hospital. The outcome captures mortality, duration of the index admission and subsequent hospital readmissions. A return visit to an emergency department is counted as one hospital day.	30 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Intensification of therapy defined as at least one of: mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy, vasopressors, inotropes, or mechanical heart failure treatment.		30 days
Clinical benefit at 30 days, consisting of a composite of 1. All-cause death, 2. Intubation with mechanical ventilation, and 3. rehospitalization, assessed using a 'win-ratio' approach.		30 days
Early Warning Score measured 6-24 hours after start of intervention.		24 hours
Patient-reported dyspnea assessment after 12-24 hours (7-point Likert scales in a standardized position: marked improvement from admission = 3, moderate improvement = 2, slight improvement = 1, no change = 0, slight worsening = -1, moderate worsening = -		24 hours
NT-proBNP at day 3		3 days
Adverse events	An adverse event means any untoward medical occurrence in a subject to whom a medicinal product is administered, and which does not necessarily have a causal relationship with this treatment. Adverse events (AE) will be categorized according to the definitions below. To assess specific adverse events possibly related to the trial intervention, we will collect data on the following during the first 24 hours after inclusion in the trial: Symptomatic hypotension requiring medical treatment Dialysis or renal replacement therapy Potassium below 2.5 mmol/L or above 6.0 mmol/L VF, VT or AF requiring DC conversion New need for pacing Intubation and mechanical ventilation Headache requiring treatment Hearing loss Anaphylaxis	First 24 hours after inclusion

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
FiO2, Blood pressure, respiratory rate, heart rate after 1 hour		1 hours
Myocardial infarction within 48 hours	Assessed by the treating clinician	2 days
Echocardiographic substudy	parameters at day 0-3: LVEF, TAPSE, TR-gradient, VCI-size and compressibility, e/é. At Hvidovre and Bispebjerg sites, a transthoracic echocardiography will be performed at 12-72 hours after randomization. o Multiple B-lines in at least two areas on lung ultrasound identifying interstitial syndrome (yes/no) after 12-72 hours.	72 hours
Research biobank-parameters	IL-6, IL-10, copeptin, Soluble CD146 [43], carbohydrate antigen-125 [44], adrenomedullin [45], NT-proBNP [46], Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) [47]. Several biomarkers will be analyzed from the research biobank. Blood will be collected at admission day 1 (T24). The research biobank will be analyzed for biomarkers of inflammation, organ injury and other organ specific markers. The research biobank will only be collected at Bispebjerg and Hvidovre sites.	24 hours
FiO2, Blood pressure, respiratory rate, heart rate after 6 hours		6 hours
Number of patients where intervention is terminated (opt out) before 6 hours		1 day
All-cause mortality,		30 days
Days alive out-of-ICU		Day 30
Change from inclusion to t24 in creatinine and CRP at the next day after inclusion.		24 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Rigshospitalet, Denmark
• Collaborators: Zealand University Hospital; Bispebjerg Hospital; Herlev Hospital; Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Johannes Grand, PhD, Hvidovre University Hospital

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Olesen ASO, Lukoschewitz JD, Taraldsen IA, Najim A, El Caidi NO, Haastrup SB, Tonning S, Mottlau RG, Nygaard H, Doleman B, Nielsen SJ, Thomsen JH, Hove JD, Seven E, Folke F, Lindholm MG, Jakobsen JC, Thune JJ, Grand J. Vasodilation, loop diuretics, or their combination in acute heart failure: Rationale and design of the randomized placebo-controlled DECONGEST-AHF trial. Am Heart J. 2026 Sep;299:107461. doi: 10.1016/j.ahj.2026.107461. Epub 2026 Apr 25.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 14, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 31, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 2, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): March 11, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 17, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 13, 2026
• Last Verified: August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: acute heart failure; Pulmonary edema
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Cardiovascular Diseases; Heart Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Lung Diseases; Heart Failure; Pulmonary Edema; Sulfur Compounds; Organic Chemicals; Carbohydrates; Amides; Aniline Compounds; Amines; Alcohols; Sulfonamides; Sulfanilamides; Sulfones; Sugar Alcohols; Isosorbide; Sorbitol; Furosemide; Isosorbide Dinitrate
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2022-500035-36-0; 2022-500035-36-01 (Other Identifier: euclinicaltrials.eu)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

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

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No