New test could spot liver trouble early in fontan patients
NCT ID NCT07009132
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Sep 18, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study is testing a new way to measure liver function in adults who have had the Fontan procedure, a surgery for certain heart defects. Researchers will use a dual cholate clearance test (a special blood test) and a heart MRI to see how well the liver is working. They will compare results from Fontan patients, people with right heart failure, and healthy volunteers, then follow everyone for 5 years to see if the test can predict future health problems.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide a new, non-invasive way to monitor liver health in Fontan patients and predict future heart or liver problems.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early observational study, not a treatment trial. The test may not prove accurate or useful for predicting outcomes in this specific population.
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.
- Participants
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About 75 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2025
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2031
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
Eligible Fontan participants will be identified by screening the Fontan database for patients who have undergone cardiac catheterization in the past year and by searching the outpatient clinic schedule. Eligible RHF and normal control participants will be screened through the outpatient echo lab schedule at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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: * Fontan: Adult Fontan patients ≥ 18 years of age who have undergone right heart catheterization within the past 1 year. * RHF Controls: non-Fontan adults with two ventricle anatomy with systemic left ventricle, CVP estimate ≥ 8 mmHg and left ventricle (LV) function ≥ 50% by echocardiogram performed within the past 1 year. Can include those with congenital heart disease- repaired or unrepaired. * Normal Controls: non-Fontan adults with normal cardiac anatomy, normal biventricular function, \< moderate tricuspid regurgitation and CVP estimate \< 5 mmHg by echocardiogram performed within the past 1 year. Exclusion Criteria: * Pregnant or breastfeeding * Unable to comprehend and/or give informed consent * Sensitivity to human serum albumin, or its preparations * Participants with extensive resection of large segments of the small intestine (short gut) or severe gastroparesis * Participants on non-selective beta blockers, angiotensin converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), ursodeoxycholic acid, cholic acid, or other bile acids who are unwilling or unable to delay taking their normal dose the morning of their dual cholate clearance testing. * Participants on dietary supplements, bile acid sequestrants, GLP-1 agonists, narcotics, and other medications affecting gastric emptying or intestinal absorption who are unwilling or unable to delay taking or withhold as outlined in the instructions on deviating from the SHUNT test. * Contraindication to cardiac MRI * For RHF and normal controls: diabetes, chronic liver disease, \>moderate alcohol use, BMI \>30, oxygen-dependent, pulmonary hypertension22 on therapy, known porto-pulmonary hypertension
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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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Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
RECRUITINGPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States
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- Could a diabetes pill boost heart health in fontan patients?