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Clinical Trials/NCT00477724
NCT00477724UnknownNot Applicable

Incidence of Latent Pulmonary Hypertension in Patients With Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension After Endarterectomy and Influence of Exercise and Respiratory Therapy

Heidelberg University1 site in 1 country35 target enrollmentStarted: June 1, 2007Last updated:
Conditions
Interventions

Trial Snapshot

Phase
Not Applicable
Enrollment
35
Locations
1
Primary Endpoint
Change in 6-Minute walking test

Study Overview

Brief Summary

Severe CTEPH leads to an impaired physical capacity and a restricted quality of life and poor prognosis.

Pulmonary endarterectomy represents the best choice as therapy, when the thrombi are located in the central pulmonary vessels and therefore can be operated. By this operation the pulmonary artery pressure can be normalised and the patients' survival improved. Up to now, after successful endarterectomy patients only receive anticoagulation.

Despite operation many patients remain symptomatic and are restricted in their physical capacity. Therefore a hypothesis of this project is that most of the patients, even after successful operation, show peripheral vascular remodelling with a ventilation-perfusion mismatch and elevated pulmonary pressure during exercise.

In this study we aim to analyse how many patients with CTEPH after endarterectomy show elevated pulmonary artery pressures at rest or during exercise and are limited in their physical capacity, hemodynamics, oxygen uptake and quality of life and need further therapy.

Another aim is to examine whether exercise and respiratory therapy may improve the patients postoperatively.

Therefore 30 patients with CTEPH > six months after endarterectomy, with ongoing restricted exercise capacity shall be included. After baseline examination in the University hospital Heidelberg the patients receive exercise and respiratory therapy for three weeks. The patients will receive further examinations at the end of rehabilitation after 3 weeks and after 15 weeks. All examinations include medical history, family history, physical examination, ECG and echocardiography at rest and during exercise, cardiopulmonary exercise testing, assessment of the respiratory muscle strength, the SF-36 questionnaire for quality of life, laboratory testing and MRI.

Rehabilitation will be conducted in the clinic for rehabilitation Koenigstuhl, Heidelberg. Participants will be randomised into two groups, a control group receiving a conventional therapy for three weeks, in which physical exertion is to be avoided and a training group with additional exercise and respiratory therapy.

Study Design

Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel
Primary Purpose
Treatment
Masking
Single (Investigator)

Eligibility Criteria

Ages
18 Years to 75 Years (Adult, Older Adult)
Sex
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  • •A Screening
  • •Informed consent
  • •Men and women 18 - 75 years
  • •Patients ≥ 6 months after endarterectomy because of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH)
  • •B Training
  • •See A + all patients who showed a restricted physical capacity in the screening:
  • •Latent pulmonary hypertension
  • •Restricted physical capacity

Exclusion Criteria

  • •Pregnancy or lactation
  • •Change in medication during the last 2 months
  • •Patients with signs of right heart decompensation
  • •Disease which affects the gait
  • •Unclear diagnosis
  • •Acute illness, infection, fever
  • •Severe lung diseases with FEV1 <50% and TLC< 70% of reference

Arms & Interventions

sedentary control group

Placebo Comparator

patients are treated by conventional rehabilitation

Intervention: sedentary control group (Other)

exercise and respiratory therapy

Active Comparator

rehabilitation with exercise and respiratory therapy

Intervention: exercise and respiratory therapy (Behavioral)

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change in 6-Minute walking test

Time Frame: after 3 and 15 weeks compared to baseline

Change in quality of life

Time Frame: baseline and 15 weeks

Secondary Outcomes

  • change of NTproBNP(baseline, 3 and 15 weeks)
  • noninvasive hemodynamic parameters(baseline, 3 and 15 weeks)
  • physical capacity in the ergometer test(baseline, 3 and 15 weeks)
  • change of lung function during 6-minute walking test(baseline, 3 and 15 weeks)
  • change of systolic pulmonary arterial pressure at rest and during exercise(baseline, 3 and 15 weeks)
  • change of WHO functional class(baseline, 3 and 15 weeks)
  • change of perfusion parameters (MRI)(baseline, 3 and 15 weeks)
  • change of respiratory muscle function(baseline and 15 weeks)

Investigators

Sponsor Class
Other
Responsible Party
Principal Investigator
Principal Investigator

Prof. Dr. med. Ekkehard Gruenig

Prof. Dr. med. Ekkehard Grünig

Heidelberg University

Study Sites (1)

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