Measures liver blood pressure using endoscopic ultrasound in people with cirrhosis
Tests an ultrasound-guided pressure measurement in adults with cirrhosis and high liver pressure.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: EUS Guided Portal-systemic Pressure Gradient Measurement
Key facts
- Where
- Hong Kong, ChinaSee the site
- Phase
- Phase 1/2
AI summary: who the study is looking for
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for adults aged 18 to 75 with cirrhosis caused by chronic hepatitis. It tests a way to measure pressure in the liver's portal vein during an endoscopy.
- Age
- 18 to 75 years
- Sex
- All sexes can join.
- Disease stage
- Cirrhosis caused by chronic hepatitis. Child-Pugh Class C cannot join.
- Earlier treatment
- No earlier transjugular intrahepatic or surgical portosystemic shunt.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Child-Pugh Class C
- Uncorrected platelet count <50,000, or INR > 1.5 (natural)
- Portal vein thrombosis, or a shunt placed earlier
- Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in the previous three months
- Active bleeding in the digestive tract, or gastric or duodenal ulcers
Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
Could this be for you?
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 75 years old?
Source: NCT04633356, who can take part
Where in China
- Chinese University of Hong KongHong Kong, ChinaContact: Anthony Y Teoh, FRCSEd(Gen)Taking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorTrial details
- Who runs it
- Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Trial code
- NCT04633356
- Record updated
- 20 March 2026
- Original description
Portal hypertension is characterised by an increased portal pressure gradient (PPG), that is the difference in pressure between the portal vein and the inferior vena cava (IVC). Portal hypertension is a consequence of cirrhosis resulting from chronic hepatitis. Patients with portal hypertension are at risk of developing complications including oesophageal or gastric varices, variceal bleeding, ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, hepatic encephalopathy and mortality.Read full original descriptionShow less
EUS Guided Portal-systemic Pressure Gradient Measurement in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis.
Portal hypertension is characterised by an increased portal pressure gradient (PPG), that is the difference in pressure between the portal vein and the inferior vena cava (IVC). Portal hypertension is a consequence of cirrhosis resulting from chronic hepatitis. Patients with portal hypertension are at risk of developing complications including oesophageal or gastric varices, variceal bleeding, ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, hepatic encephalopathy and mortality.
Albeit its clinical significance, direct measurement of portal venous pressure to document portal hypertension has traditionally been difficult. The portal vein pressure can be measured by transhepatic or transvenous methods but the procedure carries a risk of intra-peritoneal bleeding. Furthermore, the IVC pressure measurement requires further transjugular catheterisation. Hence, the technique is rarely used. Currently, the gold standard in measurement of portal hypertension is via measurement hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG). The HVPG has been shown to correlate with risk of clinical decompensation, development of varices, hepatocellular carcinoma, variceal bleeding, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and mortality. Nevertheless, the technique has a low acceptance rate amongst patients and it may not be available even in tertiary medical centres.
Recently, the use of EUS-guided approach for measurement of portal pressure gradient (PPGM) has been shown to be feasible. The technical success rate was 100% and no adverse events were reported. Measurements obtained with the EUS approach was shown to correlate excellently with clinical parameters of portal hypertension including presence of varices, portal hypertensive gastropathy and thrombocytopenia. Furthermore, the procedure could be performed at the same time of screening oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD), that is frequently required for variceal screening in this group of patients. Hence, the aim of the current study is to investigate the feasibility of EUS-PPGM and correlate the risk of developing complications with the PPGM in patients that are suffering from chronic hepatitis.
Inclusion: Suffering from chronic hepatitis induced cirrhosis; Informed consent available.
Exclusion: Previous transjugular intrahepatic or surgical portosystemic shunt; Previous history of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis within the previous three months; Portal vein thrombosis; Portopulmonary hypertension; Cardiac decompensation; Evidence of active GI bleeding (identified at screening and/or during the endoscopic procedure); Presence of gastric or duodenal ulcers, dieulafoy's lesion or cancers; Uncorrected platelet count <50,000; INR > 1.5 (natural); Medical; Child-Pugh Class C; Anatomical; Anatomic alterations of the hepatic vasculature that prevent access to the portal vein or intrahepatic portion of the hepatic veins (identified at screening and/or during the endoscopic procedure); Endoscopically Confirmed Exclusion Criteria; If the volume of ascites in the path of the needle prevents apposition of the gastrointestinal tract and liver.