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Study Using Citrate to Replace Heparin in Babies Requiring Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)

Regional Citrate Anticoagulation in ECMO

Status
Completed
Phases
Early Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT00968565
Enrollment
2
Registered
2009-08-31
Start date
2010-01-31
Completion date
2015-06-30
Last updated
2015-06-03

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Heart Defects, Congenital, Respiratory Insufficiency

Keywords

Heart Defects, Congenital, Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, Citric Acid, Heparin, Respiratory Insufficiency

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and efficacy of citrate to provide anticoagulation of an ECMO circuit without patient anticoagulation. The standard method of providing ECMO circuit anticoagulation is the use of heparin which also anticoagulates the patient and increases the risk of patient bleeding.

Detailed description

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a form of extended heart/lung bypass support that has been used to treat more than 650 patients over 20 years at Vanderbilt. Over 29,000 patients have been treated worldwide. Bleeding is the most common complication during ECMO because of systemic anticoagulation with heparin. It is most commonly seen in patients following surgery either preceding or while on ECMO support. Regional citrate anticoagulation for hemodialysis was first introduced in 1961. It is the ideal alternative to heparin in patients who are at increased risk for bleeding. It permits effective anticoagulation across the extracorporeal circuit without impacting the patient's systemic coagulation. Citrate functions by binding free calcium, thereby inhibiting coagulation in both the intrinsic and extrinsic coagulation pathways. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of citrate as a regional anticoagulant in the ECMO circuit in high risk infants less than one year of age.

Interventions

Continuous infusion of 4% sodium citrate at 300 ml/hour into ECMO circuit

Sponsors

Vanderbilt University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
1 Days to 1 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Infant less than one year of age and less than 6 kg * Informed consent obtained from parent * One or more of the following diagnoses: * Post-op congenital heart surgery * Congenital diaphragmatic hernia * Sepsis with coagulopathy not corrected prior to ECMO * Other newborn diagnosis with Grade I or II IVH * Infant requires/is on ECMO

Exclusion criteria

* Consent denied or unobtainable * Age greater than one year * Weight greater than 6 kg * Gestational age less than 34 weeks

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
anticoagulation of ECMO circuit while maintaining normal coagulation and calcium levels in patienthourly

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
Maintain normal serum calcium levels in patientshourly

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026