NCT01842581

Brief Summary

The purpose of the study is to evaluate if rifaximin alone or rifaximin plus lactulose delays the onset of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in participants with cirrhosis who have had a previous episode of HE.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
222

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for phase_4

Timeline
Completed

Started Jan 2013

Geographic Reach
1 country

43 active sites

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

January 8, 2013

Completed
3 months until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

April 16, 2013

Completed
13 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

April 29, 2013

Completed
1.6 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

December 17, 2014

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

December 17, 2014

Completed
4.7 years until next milestone

Results Posted

Study results publicly available

September 9, 2019

Completed
Last Updated

September 9, 2019

Status Verified

September 1, 2019

Enrollment Period

1.9 years

First QC Date

April 16, 2013

Results QC Date

August 15, 2019

Last Update Submit

September 6, 2019

Conditions

Keywords

Liver FailureHepatic InsufficiencyLiver DiseasesBrain DiseasesRifaximinCirrhosis

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Number of Participants Reporting a First Breakthrough HE Episode

    A breakthrough HE episode was defined as an increase of the Conn score to Grade greater than or equal to (≥) 2 (ie, 0 or 1 to ≥ 2). Conn score is widely used as a measure of mental state in HE. The scale used in Conn scoring system include: Grade 0=No personality or behavioral abnormality; Grade 1=Trivial lack of awareness, euphoria, or anxiety; shortened attention span, impairment of addition or subtraction; Grade 2=Lethargy, disorientation for time, obvious personality change, inappropriate behaviour; Grade 3=Somnolence to semi-stupor, responsive to stimuli, confused, gross disorientation, bizarre behaviour; Grade 4=Coma, unable to test mental state. The time to the first breakthrough HE episode was defined as the duration between the date of first dose of study drug and the date of first breakthrough HE episode. Number of participants reporting a first breakthrough HE episode during randomization to Month 6 is presented.

    From randomization (Day 1) up to Day 170

Secondary Outcomes (2)

  • Number of Participants Who Were Hospitalized Due to HE Episode

    From randomization (Day 1) up to Day 170

  • Number of Participants Who Died Due to Any Reason

    From randomization (Day 1) up to end of study (Day 186)

Other Outcomes (3)

  • Number of Participants With Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events (TEAEs)

    From randomization (Day 1) up to end of study (Day 186)

  • Change From Baseline in Total Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ) Score at Day 170

    Baseline, Day 170

  • Change From Baseline in Critical Flicker Frequency (CFF) at Day 170

    Baseline, Day 170

Study Arms (2)

Rifaximin 550 mg BID

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will receive rifaximin 550 milligrams (mg) tablet orally twice daily (BID) for 24 weeks.

Drug: Rifaximin

Rifaximin 550 mg BID + Lactulose

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will receive rifaximin 550 mg tablet orally BID with lactulose solution for 24 weeks. Lactulose dose will be self-titrated by the participant to produce 2 to 3 soft stools per day.

Drug: RifaximinDrug: Lactulose

Interventions

Rifaximin will be administered per the dose and schedule specified in the arms.

Also known as: Xifaxan®
Rifaximin 550 mg BIDRifaximin 550 mg BID + Lactulose

Laculose will be administered per the schedule specified in the respective arm.

Rifaximin 550 mg BID + Lactulose

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Male or non-pregnant, non-lactating females greater than or equal to (≥) 18 years old.
  • In remission from demonstrated overt HE (Conn score 0 or 1).
  • Have had one or more episodes of overt HE associated with cirrhosis within 6 months prior to screening visit (Day -7 to -1).
  • Participant has a close family member or other personal contact who is familiar with the participant's HE and can provide continuing oversight to the participant and is willing to perform as caregiver for the participant during the conduct of the trial.

You may not qualify if:

  • Participant has been diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as determined by medical history.
  • History of tuberculosis infection.
  • Participant has been diagnosed with chronic respiratory insufficiency.
  • Participant has been diagnosed with a current infection for which they are currently taking oral or parenteral antibiotics.
  • Renal insufficiency requiring routine dialysis.
  • Participant has an active spontaneous bacterial peritonitis(SBP) infection.
  • Intestinal obstruction or inflammatory bowel disease.
  • Participant has active malignancy within the last 5 years prior to screening visit, except basal cell carcinoma of the skin, or if female, in situ cervical carcinoma that has been surgically excised.
  • Current gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding or has a history of a GI hemorrhage of sufficient severity to require hospitalization and a transfusion of ≥2 units of blood within 3 months prior to screening visit.
  • Participant is anemic, as defined by a hemoglobin of less than (\<) 8 grams/deciliter (g/dL).
  • Scheduled to receive a liver transplant within 1 month of screening.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (43)

Banner Research

Phoenix, Arizona, 85016, United States

Location

Southern California Liver Centers

Coronado, California, 92118, United States

Location

UCSF/Fresno - CRMC

Fresno, California, 93721, United States

Location

UCSD Clinical & Translational Research Institute

La Jolla, California, 92037, United States

Location

Salix Site

Long Beach, California, 90822, United States

Location

Inland Empire Liver Foundation

Rialto, California, 92377, United States

Location

Salix Site

Riverside, California, 92501, United States

Location

Salix Site

San Diego, California, 92103, United States

Location

Salix Site

San Francisco, California, 94115, United States

Location

University of Colorado Denver

Aurora, Colorado, 80045, United States

Location

South Denver GI

Englewood, Colorado, 80113, United States

Location

University of Florida Hepatology

Gainesville, Florida, 32610-0277, United States

Location

Tampa General Medical Group

Tampa, Florida, 33605, United States

Location

Gastroenterology Associates

Macon, Georgia, 31201, United States

Location

Salix Site

Chicago, Illinois, 60611, United States

Location

Indiana University

Indianapolis, Indiana, 46202, United States

Location

Central Iowa Hospital Corp

Des Moines, Iowa, 50309-1453, United States

Location

Salix Site

Jefferson, Louisiana, 70124, United States

Location

Delta Research Partners, LLC

Monroe, Louisiana, 71201, United States

Location

The Center for Liver and Biliary Disease

Baltimore, Maryland, 21202-2165, United States

Location

Brigham and Women's Hospital Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States

Location

Mayo Clinic

Rochester, Minnesota, 55905, United States

Location

Kansas City Research Institute

Kansas City, Missouri, 64131, United States

Location

St. Louis University

St Louis, Missouri, 63104, United States

Location

Univ. of Nebraska Medical Center

Omaha, Nebraska, 68198-3285, United States

Location

Concorde Medical Group PLLC

New York, New York, 10016, United States

Location

New York University Medical Center

New York, New York, 10016, United States

Location

Salix Site

New York, New York, 10016, United States

Location

Columbia University Medical Ctr. Center for Liver Disease & Transplantation

New York, New York, 10032, United States

Location

University of Rochester Strong Memorial Hospital

Rochester, New York, 14642, United States

Location

Asheville Gastroenterology Associates, PA

Asheville, North Carolina, 28801, United States

Location

UNC School of Medicine/Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7584, United States

Location

Carolina Medical Center

Charlotte, North Carolina, 28204, United States

Location

Integris Nazh Zuhdi Transplant Institute

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 73112, United States

Location

Albert Einstien Medical Center

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19141, United States

Location

Research Specialists of Texas

Houston, Texas, 77030, United States

Location

Amcare Research Inc

Houston, Texas, 77090, United States

Location

Salix Site

Odessa, Texas, 79761, United States

Location

Alamo Medical Research

San Antonio, Texas, 78215, United States

Location

Methodist Hospital

San Antonio, Texas, 78229, United States

Location

University of Utah Hospital

Salt Lake City, Utah, 84132, United States

Location

VCU/MCV Health Systems

Richmond, Virginia, 23298, United States

Location

University of Wisconsin Hospital & Clinics

Madison, Wisconsin, 53792, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

  • Zacharias HD, Kamel F, Tan J, Kimer N, Gluud LL, Morgan MY. Rifaximin for prevention and treatment of hepatic encephalopathy in people with cirrhosis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023 Jul 19;7(7):CD011585. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011585.pub2.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Hepatic EncephalopathyFibrosisLiver FailureHepatic InsufficiencyLiver DiseasesBrain Diseases

Interventions

RifaximinLactulose

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Digestive System DiseasesBrain Diseases, MetabolicCentral Nervous System DiseasesNervous System DiseasesMetabolic DiseasesNutritional and Metabolic DiseasesPathologic ProcessesPathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

RifamycinsHeterocyclic Compounds, 4 or More RingsHeterocyclic Compounds, Fused-RingHeterocyclic CompoundsLactams, MacrocyclicMacrocyclic CompoundsPolycyclic CompoundsDisaccharidesOligosaccharidesPolysaccharidesCarbohydratesSugars

Limitations and Caveats

The rifaximin monotherapy arm included a subset of rifaximin/lactulose dependent participants for whom lactulose was withdrawn upon randomization (88.5% of participants in that group), which led to earlier HE breakthrough in this subset.

Results Point of Contact

Title
Director of Clinical Operations
Organization
Bausch Health Americas, Inc.

Study Officials

  • Lindsey Mathew

    Bausch Health Americas, Inc.

    STUDY DIRECTOR

Publication Agreements

PI is Sponsor Employee
No
Restriction Type
OTHER
Restrictive Agreement
Yes

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
phase 4
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
INDUSTRY
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

April 16, 2013

First Posted

April 29, 2013

Study Start

January 8, 2013

Primary Completion

December 17, 2014

Study Completion

December 17, 2014

Last Updated

September 9, 2019

Results First Posted

September 9, 2019

Record last verified: 2019-09

Locations