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Long-term Prednisone Use for End-stage Heart Failure

Long-term Prednisone Use in Patients With Advanced Heart Failure (ACCF/AHA Stage D) and Hyperuricemia

Status
UNKNOWN
Phases
Phase 2Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02282683
Enrollment
90
Registered
2014-11-04
Start date
2013-12-31
Completion date
2017-12-31
Last updated
2017-01-12

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

Conditions

Heart Failure, Hyperuricemia

Brief summary

Patients with advanced (ACCF/AHA stage D) heart failure and hyperuricemia have high one-year mortality. Currently, there was no evidence-based therapy such as mechanically assisted circulatory support available in China. The investigators found glucocorticoid treatment such as prednisone could improve cardiac performance, potentiate renal responsiveness to diuretics in such patients. Therefore, it could be used as bridge therapy to help ACE inhibitors or beta blocker titration. With its help, most of the patients with stage D heart failure could be titrated to higher dose of ACE inhibitors and beta blockers during hospitalization. However, the efficacy of long-term, low-dose of prednisone use in such patients with limited life expectancy remain unclear. Therefore, the investigators designed this study to observe whether putting low-dose of prednisone on the patients with stage D heart failure for long term could further improve their survival. All patients will receive prednisone treatment during hospitalization and receive maximum tolerated guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT). After discharge from hospital, the patients will be randomized to receive long-term, low-dose prednisone treatment or standard GDMT.

Interventions

DRUGprednisone

Prednisone (10 to 20 mg/day, orally) combined with maximum tolerated guideline-directed medical therapy for at least 12 months

Sponsors

Hebei Medical University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Repeated (\>2) hospitalizations or ED visits for HF in the past year * Inability to exercise including exertion limited, exertion intolerance, resting symptoms or inotrope dependent * Left ventricular ejection fraction ≤35% * Serum uric acid level ≥500μmol/L * Received prednisone treatment during hospitalization period and And more 5 of the followings 1. Progressive deterioration in renal function (e.g., rise in BUN and creatinine) 2. Weight loss without other cause (e.g., cardiac cachexia) 3. Intolerance to ACE inhibitors due to hypotension and/or worsening renal function 4. Intolerance to beta blockers due to worsening HF or hypotension 5. Frequent systolic blood pressure \<90 mm Hg 6. Recent need to escalate diuretics to maintain volume status, often reaching daily furosemide equivalent dose \>160 mg/d and/or use of supplemental thizide therapy 7. Progressive decline in serum sodium, usually to \<133 mEq/L 8. Gastrointestinal symptoms (abdominal discomfort, nausea, poor appetite), disabling ascites, or severe lower-extremity edema

Exclusion criteria

* Any condition (other than heart failure) that could limit the use of prednisone * Any concurrent disease that likely limits life expectancy; * Active myocarditis, or an hypertrophic obstructive or restrictive cardiomyopathy; * Myocardial infarction, stroke, unstable angina, or cardiac surgery within the previous 3 months; * Indication for hemodialysis * Uncontrolled systolic blood pressure \> 160 mmHg * Complex congenital heart disease * Poorly controlled diabetes

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Mortality within 12 months12 months

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
Event-free survival time (defined as time to first hospitalization due to heart failure deterioration or death) within 12 months12
Survival time (defined as time to death) within 12 months12 months
Change from baseline in serum uric acidmonth 6 and month 12
Change from baseline in serum creatininemonth 6 and month 12

Countries

China

Outcome results

None listed

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