Can a simple phone call keep cirrhosis patients out of the hospital?
NCT ID NCT06174272
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This pilot study tests an intensive monitoring program for people with cirrhosis and severe swelling (fluid overload) after they leave the hospital. Participants receive a digital scale, educational materials, weekly phone calls, and a follow-up appointment with a liver specialist. Researchers want to see if this program is feasible and if it reduces hospital readmissions, kidney injury, and fluid buildup compared to standard care.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- transitional care program (intensive monitoring with digital scale, educational binder, phone calls, and follow-up appointments)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this program could reduce hospital readmissions and complications for cirrhosis patients with fluid overload.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small pilot study (20 participants) focused on feasibility, not effectiveness. The program may not show clear benefits or may be too resource-intensive to scale.
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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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 20 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Feb 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jun 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: * Patients \> 18 years of age. * Inpatient at Penn State Health, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. * Diagnosis of cirrhosis. * Hospitalized with fluid overload (ascites and/or significant anasarca/edema) requiring diuretic therapy. * English speaking Exclusion Criteria: * Placement of a TIPS. * Ascites from an etiology other than cirrhosis, such as malignancy, heart failure, pancreatitis, nephrotic syndrome. * Non-English speaking
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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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Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
RECRUITINGHershey, Pennsylvania, 17033, United States
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