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Gastric Electrical Stimulation (GES) and Pyloroplasty for the Treatment of Gastroparesis

Combined Gastric Electrical Stimulation (GES) and Pyloroplasty for the Treatment of Gastroparesis: Can Pyloroplasty be Effective Without GES?

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03123809
Acronym
GES+PP
Enrollment
44
Registered
2017-04-21
Start date
2017-01-10
Completion date
2024-10-30
Last updated
2025-05-15

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

Conditions

Gastroparesis

Keywords

Diabetes Mellitus, gastroparesis, gastric electrical stimulation, pyloroplasty, Idiopathic -unknown etiology

Brief summary

Gastroparesis (GP) is describing a condition when stomach does not empty as fast as it should. This fact creates the situation, when food stays in the stomach for a long time and it causes symptoms of nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, bloating, inability to finish normal size meal and abdominal pain. There are not many drugs available to treat this condition and majority of gastroparetic patients are not responding well to them after they are on it for some time. Many investigators are able to implant Gastric Stimulator System (GES) under FDA approved status of Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) definition. In the last few years it became possible to add another surgical procedure, which is called pyloroplasty (making bigger opening on the end of stomach), may help even more as it is also increasing the rate of the emptying of the stomach. Therefore this study is proposing to evaluate if GES in combination with pyloroplasty is much better than pyloroplasty alone. For this reason, two of these procedures will be introduced surgically at the same time, but GES devices will not be turn ON in half of these participants for 3 months. After that time all subjects will have their devices turned ON. All subjects will be asked to evaluate their symptoms of gastroparesis and their quality of life during clinical visits, and investigators will conduct pathological analyses of tissue obtained during surgery.

Detailed description

GES system (Enterra Therapy) involves surgical implantation of a pulse generator in the abdominal wall and 2 electrodes into the muscularis propria of the stomach. Well established procedure, called pyloroplasty, will be performed during the implantation of GES system, therefore all participants will have both surgeries done at the same time. Half of them will be randomized to keep GES ON after surgery, and other half will have GES turned OFF for 3 months. Both groups will be followed for additional 3 more months. Study related questionnaires and diagnostic/ clinical tests will be obtained at all points of interest of this study.

Interventions

DEVICEGastric Electrical Stimulation (GES) System

Implantable GES System will be turned ON as an active intervention providing electrical stimulation to the muscle of stomach for 6 months in patients from the first arm, versus 3 months only of active stimulation in patients who are randomized to be in the second arm of the study. GES works by utilizing following parameters: Current 5 mA; Pulse Width 330µsec; Rate 14 Hz; Time ON 0.1 sec; Time OFF 5.0 sec.

Sponsors

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)

Masking description

Patient and clinical investigators are going to be blinded in regards to the status of GES (if it is ON or OFF) for 3 months after surgery. One non-clinical investigator is assigned to serve as un-blind person , who is going to generate a master list of participants by dividing them into two groups based on their etiologies (diabetic or idiopathic). All effort would be to include similar numbers of idiopathic and diabetic patients in each intervention group based on a block randomization method, allowing for GES to be turned ON at the surgery, or it will stay OFF for the 3 month during the blind portion of the study.

Intervention model description

Based on confidential code set up for this study, there will be a randomized assigment for patients to have their GES devices turn ON or OFF. Half of these patients will be in each arm.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Documented diagnosis of GP for \> 1 year and refractoriness to anti-emetics and prokinetics; more than 7 emetic episodes per week; * Delayed GE (gastric retention greater than 60% at 2 h and/or greater than 10% at 4 h) based on a 4-h standardized radionuclide solid meal test

Exclusion criteria

* Organic or pseudo-obstruction, primary eating or swallowing disorders, positive pregnancy test result, psychogenic vomiting, peritoneal dialysis, drug dependent, morbid obesity, active malignancy

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Changes of total gastroparesis symptom scores (TSS)up to 7 monthsSeverity and frequency of gastroparesis symptoms will be assess at baseline /surgery, after 3 months of randomized phase (GES ON or OFF), and at the end of 3 months of clinical follow up visit.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Total Symptom Score (TSS) with severity and frequency of gastroparesis symptoms in each etiological subgroup of patientsUp to 7 monthsTSS in diabetic and idiopathic sub-group of gastroparetic patients will be compared and analyzed (if adequate number of patients will be in each subgroup)
Associations between changes in gastric emptying and TSSUp to 7 monthsStatistical analyses of any possible correlation between retention of GET study meal and gastroparesis symptoms will be asses at the end of randomized phase of the study.
Percentage of changes of gastric emptying retention of the radiolabeled meal (%) at 2-4 hrsup to 7 monthsScintigraphy Gastric Emptying Test (GET) will be recorded at baseline and after 3 months of randomized phase (GES ON or OFF)

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

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