H. Pylori Eradication With Argon Plasma During Endoscopy (HEAPE)

February 26, 2026 updated by: Christopher C. Thompson, MD, MSc

H. Pylori Eradication With Argon Plasma During Endoscopy (HEAPE)

The objective of the study is to investigate the efficacy and safety of an argon plasma-based therapy - HEAPE - in treating H. pylori infections during endoscopic procedures. By filling the stomach with sodium chloride solution that is treated with APC (PAL), the Investigators hypothesize a significant reduction in H. pylori. The use of PAL instead of direct application of APC allows for a broader and more homogeneous application throughout the stomach and a faster procedure time, as the fluid bypasses the thermal effects typically associated with higher electrical power settings and focuses on the bactericidal action of PAL. It is a procedure that does not involve thermal ablation of the stomach lining. Thus, side effects should be expected to be as low as possible.

Two different PAL generation modalities will be compared in this study:

  1. HEAPE direct: This modality is the direct generation of PAL in the stomach. The stomach is filled with sodium chloride solution which is then treated with APC. With HEAPE direct a potential decrease of reactive species is avoided, as the treatment happens directly at the intended location in the H. pylori infected stomach.
  2. Pre-HEAPE: This modality features the treatment of sodium chloride with APC outside of the patient in a sterile container. After the APC treatment, the generated PAL is administered into the stomach with a syringe through the working channel of the endoscope. Pre-HEAPE allows an easier handling of the APC probe as the treatment of the sodium chloride solution can be done without an endoscope.

To evaluate the immediate effect of this novel treatment approach the metabolic activity of H. pylori will be assessed using a urea breath test (UBT) before and after treatment. A reduction in H. pylori levels can be detected by a reduction in urease activity in the breath test.

After the HEAPE procedure, patients are treated with antibiotics (best practice) as they would be under normal circumstances. Four weeks after treatment, another UBT is performed to determine if H. pylori has been eradicated or if additional antibiotic treatment is indicated.

This two-arm, randomized, pilot, single-center, prospective clinical study is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability and proof of concept that PAL has the ability to eradicate or reduce the bacterial load of H. pylori in humans.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a prevalent bacterial infection that colonizes the gastric mucosa, affecting approximately 50% of the global population. Classified by the WHO as a class 1 carcinogen in 1994 and further supported by extensive evidence, H. pylori is recognized as a leading cause of ulcers and a significant risk factor for the development of gastric cancer. Despite a slight decline in the prevalence of H. pylori infection in developed countries, the absolute number of infected individuals in the U.S. remains alarmingly high at approximately 36% of the U.S. population. Gastric cancer, associated with H. pylori infection, continues to be a major health concern worldwide, accounting for over 1.1 million new cases and approximately 770,000 deaths each year. The causal link between H. pylori infection and nearly 90% of gastric cancer cases underscores the critical importance of effective eradication strategies.

Current treatments for H. pylori infection, which typically consist of triple or quadruple therapy combining two or three antibiotics with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), are successful in approximately 80% of cases. This leaves a significant proportion of cases unresolved. In addition, the emergence of multidrug-resistant H. pylori strains, particularly those resistant to clarithromycin and quinolones, challenges these conventional approaches. The broader issue of increasing antibiotic resistance, leads to a reliance on back-up antibiotics for cases where standard treatments fail. A sharp decline of eradication rates during the last decade, underscores the need for alternative therapeutic strategies. A recent study estimated the total cost of H. pylori treatment failure to be over $5.3 billion in the U.S., primarily due to hospitalizations, medications, and outpatient visits for complications such as peptic ulcer disease and non-cardia gastric cancer. Research into treatments beyond antibiotics is needed to address the growing risk of resistance and to ensure sustainable, effective solutions for H. pylori infection.

The field of plasma medicine, particularly through the use of Argon Plasma Coagulation (APC), offers promising new avenues for addressing this challenge. APC, a technology with over 30 years of clinical safety and efficacy, has been utilized for bleeding management, ablation of cancerous tissues, and precise treatments in sensitive areas. More recently, it has shown good efficacy in the treatment of cervical intraepithelial lesions (CIN) at lower power levels with no visible macroscopic thermal effect. Recent advancements in plasma medicine have highlighted the antibacterial properties of physical plasma. It has demonstrated remarkable efficacy in wound healing by effectively eradicating bacterial infections, including those resistant to antibiotics. The effect of non-thermal plasma treatment is based on the high energy and voltage of the plasma, which generates reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), an electric field that can cause electroporative effects, and UV light emitted in the plasma.

These effects are present when plasma is applied directly to the site of action, but also when a liquid medium such as sodium chloride solution is used as a buffer substance. This concept of indirect plasma treatment is often referred to as Plasma Activated Liquid (PAL). In proprietary preclinical studies, PAL generated with APC probes using forced APC Effect 8 has been shown to achieve a 5-log reduction in H. pylori (SK225) after 15 minutes incubation. In a multidrug resistant E. coli 4MRGN stain (VC8874), a 6-log reduction was achieved after 15 minutes incubation.

This demonstrates that PAL harnesses the antimicrobial properties of plasma in a non-thermal, liquid-based approach. This innovative approach allows the effects of plasma to be applied to large surface areas, such as the gastric mucosa, offering a potentially effective treatment for H. pylori infection without the drawbacks associated with antibiotic resistance. The established safety record of APC and the common use of liquids as irrigation or injection solutions in endoscopy provide a solid foundation for its potential applications in the treatment of H. pylori infection.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

20

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 Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
        • Recruiting
        • Brigham and Women's Hospital
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Christopher C. Thompson, MD, MSc
        • Contact:

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Subjects must be 18 years or older
  2. Confirmed untreated H. pylori infection
  3. Able to understand and sign informed consent
  4. Available to return for all routine follow-up study visits
  5. Patients should have upper endoscopy scheduled according to latest guidelines, e.g., as a part of their diagnostic work-up of HP positive test, regardless of their decision to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients actively undergoing H.pylori eradication therapy treatment with antibiotics or proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) two weeks prior to the HEAPE procedure.
  2. Pregnancy or puerperium
  3. Severe cardiopulmonary disease or a history of coronary artery disease (including myocardial infarction within the past 6 months, poorly controlled hypertension, required use of NSAIDs)
  4. Lactation
  5. An inability to provide informed consent
  6. Any other condition which the investigator may deem as an impediment to compliance or hinder completion of the proposed study.
  7. Hernias / aspiration risk

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: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: HEAPE direct
This modality is the direct generation of PAL in the stomach. The stomach is filled with sodium chloride solution which is then treated with APC. With HEAPE direct a potential decrease of reactive species is avoided, as the treatment happens directly at the intended location in the H. pylori infected stomach.
Procedure: HEAPE
The stomach is filled with sodium chloride solution which is then treated with APC to activate it into an antibacterial solution.
Other Names:
  • Endoscopic APC Treatment in vivo
Active Comparator: Pre-HEAPE
This modality features the treatment of sodium chloride with APC outside of the patient in a sterile container. After the APC treatment, the generated PAL is administered into the stomach with a syringe through the working channel of the endoscope. Pre-HEAPE allows an easier handling of the APC probe as the treatment of the sodium chloride solution can be done without an endoscope.
Procedure: Pre-HEAPE
Plasma activated sodium chloride solution (prepared outside of the body) is administered into the patients stomach through an endoscope channel using a syringe.
Other Names:
  • Plasma Activated Liquid (PAL) Administration

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Reduction in H. pylori load from baseline to 2 hours after treatment using Urea Breath Test
Time Frame: Baseline, 2 hours post-treatment
Change in measurement H. pylori metabolic activity using the Urea Breath Test (UBT) 1 (+2/-0) day before and 2 (+18/-0) hours after treatment
Baseline, 2 hours post-treatment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Eradication of H. pylori load from 2 hours after treatment to 4 weeks after treatment using Urea Breath Test
Time Frame: 2 hours post-treatment, 4 weeks post-treatment
H. pylori eradication (negative UBT) directly after the HEAPE treatment (timepoint 1) and 4 (+2/-0) weeks after HEAPE treatment (timepoint 2)
2 hours post-treatment, 4 weeks post-treatment
Comparison of H. pylori eradication rate between HEAPE + standard of care antibiotic treatment vs standard of care treatment (antibiotics) alone (historical data)
Time Frame: 4 weeks
Comparison of eradication rates at 4 weeks between patients treated with HEAPE + antibiotics vs. published literature using UBT values
4 weeks
Comparison of reduction in H. pylori load measured by UBT HEAPE vs. Pre-HEAPE treatment arms from baseline to 2 hours post-treatment
Time Frame: Baseline, 2 hours post-treatment
Comparison of the reduction in H. pylori load, as measured by Urea Breath Test (UBT), 2 (+18/-0) hours after treatment between the HEAPE direct modality and the Pre-HEAPE modality
Baseline, 2 hours post-treatment
Comparison of H. pylori load measured by UBT HEAPE vs. Pre-HEAPE treatment arms from baseline to 4 weeks post-treatment
Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks post-treatment
Comparison of the reduction in H. pylori load, as measured by Urea Breath Test (UBT), 4 weeks after treatment between the HEAPE direct modality and the Pre-HEAPE modality
Baseline, 4 weeks post-treatment
Change in dyspepsia symptoms from baseline via patient self-report of symptoms
Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks
Change in patient self-report of dyspepsia symptoms from baseline up to 4 weeks post-treatment
Baseline, 4 weeks
Adverse Events intra-procedural and post-treatment
Time Frame: Intra-procedure, 2 hours post-treatment, 4 weeks post-treatment
Presence of adverse events that develop post-procedure
Intra-procedure, 2 hours post-treatment, 4 weeks post-treatment
Change in epigastric pain level from baseline via patient self-report of symptoms using the Abdominal Pain Index
Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks
Change in patient self-report of epigastric pain level from baseline up to 4 weeks post-treatment using Abdominal Pain Index (from no pain (0) to the most pain possible (10)).
Baseline, 4 weeks
Change in quality of life score from baseline using the 12 item Short Form Survey (SF-12)
Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks
Comparison of quality of life scores from baseline to 4 weeks post-treatment using the SF-12 scoring system. Scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better physical and mental health functioning. A score of 50 or less has been recommended as a cut-off to determine a physical condition in the Physical Health Composite Score (PCS) section; while a score of 42 or less may be indicative of 'clinical depression' Mental Health Composite Score (MCS) section.
Baseline, 4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Christopher C. Thompson, MD, MSc

Collaborators

Erbe Elektromedizin GmbH

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Christopher C Thompson, MD, Brigham and Women's Hospital

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.

General Publications

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)

July 8, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 26, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 26, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

July 31, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 2, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 26, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2024P002031

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

IPD will be shared on a case by case basis with an Institutional data transfer agreement in place.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

12 months after publication

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

IPD requests should be made directly to the PI who will determine feasibility of the request. Institutional data transfer agreement will need to be executed to share data.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • ICF
  • CSR

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

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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