Shocking clots away: muscle zaps may prevent dangerous blood clots in hospital patients
NCT ID NCT06135857
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested whether using a device that electrically stimulates arm muscles can prevent blood clots caused by PICC catheters in critically ill patients. 120 adults in intensive care units were randomly assigned to receive either standard care or standard care plus two daily 20-minute sessions of muscle stimulation. Researchers used ultrasound to check for clots over the first few weeks after catheter placement.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- electromuscular stimulation device
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, non-drug way to prevent dangerous blood clots in hospitalized patients with PICC lines.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial (120 patients) testing a device, so results may not apply broadly. The therapy requires daily sessions and may not be practical for all patients.
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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120 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Dec 2023
- Finished
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Jun 2026
- 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 to 80 years
- 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.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients admitted to the critical unit with a PICC whose insertion is done by the EIAV of the same hospital. * Patients between 18 and 80 years of age. * Treatments related to the device protocolized by the same hospital as the EIAV implanter. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients who do not sign informed consent. * Patients with pacemakers and/or implantable automatic defibrillators. * Patients with epilepsy. * Removal of the device within the first 15 days after insertion. * Hospital discharge, transfer to another hospital or death lethalis during the duration of the study. * Displacement of the tip of the catheter outside the lower ⅓ of the superior vein cava during the study period. * Presence of lesions in the place where the electrodes must be placed to perform the electrostimulation therapy. * Non-compliance with catheter monitoring: Of the five ultrasound controls protocolized in the study, 80% were not complied with.
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Hospital Dr. Josep Trueta de Girona
Girona, Espanya, 17007, Spain