Can a protein shake keep liver patients out of the hospital?
NCT ID NCT04096014
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether taking a protein supplement (Ensure Enlive) in the late evening and early morning can reduce hospital readmissions for people with hepatic encephalopathy, a brain condition caused by liver disease. The trial enrolls 40 adults with cirrhosis who have been hospitalized for this condition in the past year. Participants either receive the supplement for 180 days or continue standard care, and researchers track how many are readmitted.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Ensure Enlive (protein supplement)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple dietary way to reduce hospital readmissions for people with liver-related brain fog.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial with only 40 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The supplement may not lower readmission rates as hoped.
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 40 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2019
- Expected to finish
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Oct 2026
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 to 75 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.
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: * \> 18 years of age * cirrhosis diagnosed by clinical history and liver biopsy and/or clinical, biochemical and imaging evidence of cirrhosis * at least 1 hospitalization for documented HE within the last 12 months. * abdominal CT scan anytime in the past Exclusion Criteria: * Patients with MELD score \> 35 * end stage organ failure (major dysfunction requiring organ support) * kidney injury defined by a creatinine \> 2 mg/dl or rise in creatinine by 0.5 gm/dl from baseline that is unresponsive to withholding diuretics and intravenous albumin administration (1 gm/kg up to 100 gm/day) * active malignancy * uncontrolled diabetes mellitus with A1c\>9.5 (to avoid altered muscle protein metabolism * medications (anabolic steroids, corticosteroids) that affect skeletal muscle mass * recent gastrointestinal surgery within past 12 months * ongoing infection (positive blood or other body fluid cultures) * active gastrointestinal bleeding.
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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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Cleveland Clinic Foundation
RECRUITINGCleveland, Ohio, 44195, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Sound waves may replace the needle in liver scarring tests
- Ultrasound may replace invasive test for dangerous liver complication
- Could a wearable zapper quiet cirrhosis pain without drugs?
- A needle through the gut could replace the standard liver pressure test
- Could common heartburn drugs raise brain risk after liver shunt?