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Ketosis, Immune Function and Metabolic Adaptation in Response to Short-term Fasting in Critical Illness (KETO-FAST)

28 augustus 2026 bijgewerkt door: Martin Sundstrom Rehal, Karolinska University Hospital

KETOsis, Immune Function and Metabolic Adaptation in Response to Short-Term Fasting in Critical Illness (KETO-FAST): A Translational Substudy of the FAST-ICU Cluster-randomized Cross-over Trial.

KETO-FAST is a pre-planned translational substudy of the FAST-ICU cluster-randomized cross-over trial. The substudy will characterize ketone body production and associated metabolic, autophagy-related, and immune cellular responses during the first 72 hours after intensive care unit admission in critically ill patients exposed to delayed nutrition compared with patients receiving standard care.

Patients enrolled in FAST-ICU at designated participating centers will undergo serial blood sampling during the first 72 hours after ICU admission. Plasma ketone body concentrations, targeted metabolomics, serum-induced cellular responses in vitro, leukocyte autophagy markers, and immune cell phenotypes and functional markers will be assessed. In addition, 10 healthy volunteers will perform a 72-hour fast with blood sampling to provide reference values from non-critically ill subjects.

Studie Overzicht

Toestand

Nog niet aan het werven

Conditie

Interventie / Behandeling

Gedetailleerde beschrijving

Early nutrition during critical illness remains controversial. Large randomized trials in intensive care unit patients have found no clear benefit and possible harm from full early feeding, while current guidelines recommend early hypocaloric nutrition. However, high-quality evidence comparing early hypocaloric nutrition with complete withholding of nutrition during the first days of critical illness is limited.

In healthy humans, short-term starvation induces ketone body production through fatty acid oxidation. Ketone bodies such as β-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate are energy substrates for organs including the heart and brain and may also act as signaling molecules involved in autophagy, mitochondrial metabolism, and immune function. In critical illness, however, the normal fasting response may be altered by stress metabolism, inflammation, insulin administration, corticosteroids, and organ dysfunction. The extent to which critically ill patients develop clinically relevant ketosis during short-term fasting remains uncertain.

The parent FAST-ICU trial is a cluster-randomized cross-over trial comparing two ICU nutrition strategies during the first 72 hours after ICU admission: delayed nutrition with no enteral or parenteral nutrition and no glucose-containing maintenance fluids, versus standard care including early enteral nutrition and maintenance glucose according to local practice. KETO-FAST uses this randomized exposure to study the biological response to short-term fasting in critically ill patients.

The primary objective of KETO-FAST is to compare plasma ketone body concentrations during the first 72 hours after ICU admission between patients exposed to delayed nutrition and patients receiving standard care. Secondary and exploratory objectives are to characterize associated changes in targeted metabolic pathways, serum-mediated cellular responses, leukocyte autophagy markers, and immune cell phenotypes and functional markers.

Studietype

Ingrijpend

Inschrijving (Geschat)

200

Fase

  • Niet toepasbaar

Contacten en locaties

In dit gedeelte vindt u de contactgegevens van degenen die het onderzoek uitvoeren en informatie over waar dit onderzoek wordt uitgevoerd.

Studiecontact

Studie Locaties

Deelname Criteria

Onderzoekers zoeken naar mensen die aan een bepaalde beschrijving voldoen, de zogenaamde geschiktheidscriteria. Enkele voorbeelden van deze criteria zijn iemands algemene gezondheidstoestand of eerdere behandelingen.

Geschiktheidscriteria

Leeftijden die in aanmerking komen voor studie

  • Volwassen
  • Oudere volwassene

Accepteert gezonde vrijwilligers

Ja

Beschrijving

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Adult (≥18 years).
  2. ICU admission (index admission to the participating ICU).

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. The patient requires intravenous glucose infusion, enteral nutrition or parenteral nutrition according to the attending clinician's assessment,
  2. Acute or acute-on-chronic liver failure
  3. Moderate hypernatremia ( >150 mmol/L)
  4. Diabetic ketoacidosis or hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state at admission,
  5. Pregnancy,
  6. Exclusive end-of-life care (no other treatment goal than comfort care for end of life),
  7. Organ donor,
  8. Prior enrolment in this trial during the same hospitalisation,
  9. Patients with a metabolic disease requiring specific diet and patients with clinical need for a ketogenic diet.
  10. Patients already enrolled in other interventional studies on nutrition, intravenous fluids, phosphate supplementation or hormonal therapies that influence glucose homeostasis.
  11. Inclusion not possible due to site-specific regulatory issues regarding the ethical approval or informed consent procedure.

Studie plan

Dit gedeelte bevat details van het studieplan, inclusief hoe de studie is opgezet en wat de studie meet.

Hoe is de studie opgezet?

Ontwerpdetails

  • Primair doel: Behandeling
  • Toewijzing: Gerandomiseerd
  • Interventioneel model: Crossover-opdracht
  • Masker: Geen (open label)

Wapens en interventies

Deelnemersgroep / Arm
Interventie / Behandeling
Experimenteel: Intervention
Intensive care unit patients with policy allocation to delayed medical nutrition therapy in main study: no enteral nutrition, parenteral nutrition or maintenance glucose solutions for first 72 hours.
Ander: Delayed nutrition

Intervention Policy (A): Withhold nutrition and glucose solutions (First 72 h)

  • No enteral nutrition (EN) and no parenteral nutrition (PN) for the first 72 hours from ICU admission time (t=0).
  • No glucose-containing maintenance IV solutions during the first 72 hours. Balanced crystalloids or normal saline permitted per clinical need.
  • 5% glucose solution permitted as vehicle for IV medications as necessary (according to local standard), or as treatment for hypernatremia
  • Oral intake permitted ad lib if the patient is awake, willing and able to eat safely.
  • Micronutrients: daily vitamins and trace elements are allowed per local practice.
  • Protein supplements are not allowed unless part of the standard oral diet.
  • Arterial or venous blood glucose measurement every 4h.
  • Rescue glucose will be administered according to local protocol.
  • After 72 hours, feeding transitions to usual care at clinician discretion (including EN/PN initiation and caloric/protein targets).
Actieve vergelijker: Control
Intensive care unit patients with policy allocation to standard care in main study: nutritional management according to regular unit protocols.
Ander: Standard nutrition

Control Policy (B): Standard of Care

  • Initiation and advancement of EN/PN and use of glucose-containing maintenance fluids per local practice from admission.
  • Arterial or venous blood glucose measurement every 4h.
  • Insulin and glycaemic control per local protocols.
Actieve vergelijker: Healthy reference controls
Healthy subjects undergoing 72 hour fast with same blood sampling procedure as in ICU.
Ander: Fasting
72-hour fasting period with water and non-caloric beverages.

Wat meet het onderzoek?

Primaire uitkomstmaten

Uitkomstmaat
Maatregel Beschrijving
Tijdsspanne
Between-group differences over time in plasma β-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate concentrations during the first 72 hours after ICU admission
Tijdsspanne: From ICU admission and up to 72 hours after ICU admission, using serial daily blood samples
Plasma β-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate concentrations will be measured in mmol/L in serial blood samples collected from ICU admission through 72 hours after admission. Cumulative concentrations of ketone bodies will be compared between the delayed-nutrition and standard-care groups over the measurement period. Results will be reported as between-group effect estimates over time, with 95% confidence intervals.
From ICU admission and up to 72 hours after ICU admission, using serial daily blood samples

Secundaire uitkomstmaten

Uitkomstmaat
Maatregel Beschrijving
Tijdsspanne
Between-group difference in serum-induced autophagy flux in cultured cells
Tijdsspanne: Single serum sample collected on ICU day 3 or 4, depending on the time of ICU admission
Cultured cells will be incubated with serum collected from substudy participants. Autophagy flux will be quantified using prespecified cellular autophagy markers under paired conditions with and without pharmacological inhibition of lysosomal degradation. The resulting normalized autophagy-flux measure will be compared between the delayed-nutrition and standard-care groups and reported as a between-group effect estimate with a 95% confidence interval.
Single serum sample collected on ICU day 3 or 4, depending on the time of ICU admission
Between-group difference in normalized relative abundance of autophagy-related proteins in peripheral blood leukocytes assessed by Western blotting
Tijdsspanne: Single final substudy sample collected on ICU day 3 or 4, depending on the time of ICU admission
The relative abundance of prespecified autophagy-related proteins will be quantified in isolated peripheral blood leukocytes by Western blot densitometry and normalized to an appropriate loading control. For each protein marker, and for derived protein ratios where applicable, normalized values will be compared between the randomized groups and reported as a between-group effect estimate with a 95% confidence interval.
Single final substudy sample collected on ICU day 3 or 4, depending on the time of ICU admission
Between-group differences in frequencies of major peripheral blood immune-cell subsets assessed by multiparameter flow cytometry
Tijdsspanne: Single final substudy sample collected on ICU day 3 or 4, depending on the time of ICU admission
Multiparameter flow cytometry will be used to identify and quantify prespecified major immune-cell populations and phenotypic subsets relevant to critical illness and nutrient deprivation. Each subset will primarily be expressed as a percentage of its relevant parent cell population. Subset frequencies will be compared between the delayed-nutrition and standard-care groups and reported as between-group effect estimates with 95% confidence intervals.
Single final substudy sample collected on ICU day 3 or 4, depending on the time of ICU admission
Between-group differences in immune-cell phenotypes and marker expression assessed by multiparameter flow cytometry
Tijdsspanne: Single final substudy sample collected on ICU day 3 or 4, depending on the time of ICU admission
Prespecified peripheral blood immune-cell populations will be characterized by multiparameter flow cytometry. Outcomes will include the frequency of cell populations expressing markers related to immune activation, exhaustion or immune-checkpoint signalling, cellular metabolic state, and functional capacity, together with marker-expression intensity where applicable. Results for each prespecified cell population and marker will be compared between the delayed-nutrition and standard-care groups and reported as between-group effect estimates with 95% confidence intervals.
Single final substudy sample collected on ICU day 3 or 4, depending on the time of ICU admission
Between-group difference in normalized expression of prespecified autophagy-related genes in peripheral whole blood on ICU day 3 or 4, assessed by RNA sequencing
Tijdsspanne: Single blood sample collected on ICU day 3 or 4, depending on the time of ICU admission
RNA will be extracted from peripheral whole blood collected in EDTA tubes on ICU day 3 or 4. Expression of prespecified autophagy-related genes will be quantified using RNA sequencing and compared between the randomized groups. For each gene, the treatment effect will be reported as the between-group log2 fold change with a 95% confidence interval and a false-discovery-rate-adjusted P value.
Single blood sample collected on ICU day 3 or 4, depending on the time of ICU admission
Between-group differences in plasma concentrations of prespecified metabolites and pathway-level metabolomic measures during the first 72 hours after ICU admission
Tijdsspanne: From ICU admission and up to 72 hours after ICU admission, using serial daily blood samples
Targeted metabolomic analysis will quantify prespecified plasma metabolites related to metabolic pathways relevant to fasting and critical illness, including ketogenesis, fatty acid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, glycolysis, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Individual metabolite concentrations and predefined pathway-level summary measures, where applicable, will be compared between the delayed-nutrition and standard-care groups across the first 72 hours after ICU admission. Results will be reported as between-group effect estimates with 95% confidence intervals.
From ICU admission and up to 72 hours after ICU admission, using serial daily blood samples

Andere uitkomstmaten

Uitkomstmaat
Maatregel Beschrijving
Tijdsspanne
Between-group differences in point-of-care whole-blood β-hydroxybutyrate concentration during the first 72 hours after ICU admission
Tijdsspanne: From ICU admission and up to 72 hours after ICU admission, using serial daily blood samples
Whole-blood β-hydroxybutyrate concentration will be measured in mmol/L using a point-of-care ketone analyzer at participating sites where this measurement is available. Measurements obtained from ICU admission through 72 hours will be compared between the delayed-nutrition and standard-care groups. Results will be reported for individual sampling time points and as an overall between-group effect across the measurement period, with 95% confidence intervals.
From ICU admission and up to 72 hours after ICU admission, using serial daily blood samples

Medewerkers en onderzoekers

Hier vindt u mensen en organisaties die betrokken zijn bij dit onderzoek.

Sponsor

Karolinska University Hospital

Medewerkers

Tartu University Hospital

Onderzoekers

  • Studie stoel: Olav Rooyackers, PhD, Karolinska University Hospital/Karolinska Institute
  • Hoofdonderzoeker: Martin Sundström Rehal, MD PhD, Karolinska University Hospital/Karolinska Institutet

Studie record data

Deze datums volgen de voortgang van het onderzoeksdossier en de samenvatting van de ingediende resultaten bij ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieverslagen en gerapporteerde resultaten worden beoordeeld door de National Library of Medicine (NLM) om er zeker van te zijn dat ze voldoen aan specifieke kwaliteitscontrolenormen voordat ze op de openbare website worden geplaatst.

Bestudeer belangrijke data

Studie start (Geschat)

31 augustus 2026

Primaire voltooiing (Geschat)

31 juli 2027

Studie voltooiing (Geschat)

31 juli 2027

Studieregistratiedata

Eerst ingediend

13 juli 2026

Eerst ingediend dat voldeed aan de QC-criteria

29 juli 2026

Eerst geplaatst (Werkelijk)

31 juli 2026

Updates van studierecords

Laatste update geplaatst (Werkelijk)

1 september 2026

Laatste update ingediend die voldeed aan QC-criteria

28 augustus 2026

Laatst geverifieerd

1 augustus 2026

Meer informatie

Termen gerelateerd aan deze studie

Trefwoorden

Aanvullende relevante MeSH-voorwaarden

Andere studie-ID-nummers

  • K 2026-5194
  • ISRCTN16339579 (Register-ID: ISRCTN)

Plan Individuele Deelnemersgegevens (IPD)

Bent u van plan om gegevens van individuele deelnemers (IPD) te delen?

JA

Beschrijving IPD-plan

De-identified individual participant data may be made available after publication of the main substudy results upon reasonable request and according to applicable ethical approvals, data protection regulations, biobanking regulations, and material transfer agreements. Omics data sharing will be governed by participant consent, ethical approval, and applicable data protection requirements.

Informatie over medicijnen en apparaten, studiedocumenten

Bestudeert een door de Amerikaanse FDA gereguleerd geneesmiddel

Nee

Bestudeert een door de Amerikaanse FDA gereguleerd apparaatproduct

Nee

Deze informatie is zonder wijzigingen rechtstreeks van de website clinicaltrials.gov gehaald. Als u verzoeken heeft om uw onderzoeksgegevens te wijzigen, te verwijderen of bij te werken, neem dan contact op met register@clinicaltrials.gov. Zodra er een wijziging wordt doorgevoerd op clinicaltrials.gov, wordt deze ook automatisch bijgewerkt op onze website .

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