Could skipping full blood thinners during ECMO save lives?
NCT ID NCT04273607
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether using only low-dose blood thinners (instead of the standard full-dose) is safe for patients on a life-support machine called ECMO for severe lung failure. The goal is to see if this approach reduces dangerous bleeding while still preventing clots. Forty adults on ECMO will be randomly assigned to either the low-dose or standard blood thinner group.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- prophylactic heparin (low-dose blood thinner)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could show that using less blood thinner during ECMO is safe, potentially reducing bleeding complications in critically ill patients.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small pilot study with only 40 participants, so results may not apply broadly. There is a risk of blood clots forming in the ECMO circuit or in the patient.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2/3
Runs two stages together: whether the treatment works, then large-scale confirmation.
- Participants
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About 40 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2022
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Adult patient with ARDS on VV-ECMO Exclusion Criteria: * Contraindication to anticoagulation with UFH (known heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, active hemorrhage, any surgery precluding the use of anticoagulation), * Indication for therapeutic anticoagulation (pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis, chronic anticoagulation therapy before ECMO insertion) * Low-flow (\<2 liters/min) VV-ECMO (ECCO2R)
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Toronto General Hospital
RECRUITINGToronto, Ontario, M5G 2N2, Canada
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