Portal Vein Thrombosis in Cirrhosis: Incidence, Outcomes and Anticoagulation

Starting soon

Conditions studied: Portal Vein Thrombosis, Liver Cirrhosis

In brief

Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is a blood-clot complication that occurs in some people with liver cirrhosis and can worsen bleeding, ascites, encephalopathy and survival. However, doctors still lack reliable tools to predict who will develop PVT, how much it really shortens life, and whether anticoagulation (blood-thinner) treatment clearly improves outcomes and is safe.This multicentre, bidirectional cohort study will follow about 2,500 adults with cirrhosis cared for at seven major hospitals in China. The team will first review 1,682 historical cases recorded since 2010 and then prospectively enrol another 840 patients from June 2025 onward. Participants may or may not already have PVT when they enter the study. All will undergo routine blood tests and abdominal imaging, and will be followed at roughly 6 months, 1 year and 2 years after discharge, through clinic visits, hospital records or telephone calls. The study has three goals : 1. Identify risk factors for new PVT and build an easy-to-use prediction model. 2. Clarify the impact of PVT on prognosis, especially all-cause death and decompensation of cirrhosis. 3. Evaluate real-world anticoagulation: patients who receive blood-thinners will be compared with those who do not, looking at survival, clot progression or resolution, and major bleeding events. Because no experimental drug or random assignment is involved, participation does not change a patient's routine care. All personal information will be de-identified and protected according to Chinese data-security laws. Results from this study are expected to help doctors recognise high-risk patients earlier and choose safer, more effective anticoagulation strategies to improve quality of life and survival in cirrhosis.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT07422701
Run by: Peking University First Hospital
People needed: 2522
Starts: 2026-02-01
Expected to finish: 2028-12-01
Last updated by the study team: 2026-02-20

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

Age ≥ 18 years
Clinically or histologically confirmed liver cirrhosis (any etiology)
Contrast-enhanced abdominal ultrasound, CT, or MRI performed within 3 months before enrollment to document presence or absence of portal vein thrombosis (PVT)
Complete baseline clinical, laboratory, and imaging data available
Complete baseline clinical, laboratory, and imaging data available
Able and willing to provide written informed consent and comply with 24-month follow-up

You may not qualify if…

Concomitant malignant tumor, including hepatocellular carcinoma
Previous transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS), splenectomy, or liver transplantation
Major surgery or severe trauma within 6 months prior to enrollment
Pregnancy or breastfeeding
Known hereditary thrombophilia or active systemic inflammatory disease
Inability or unwillingness to participate in scheduled follow-up (e.g., cognitive impairment, residence far from study sites)

Where it is running

Peking University First Hospital — Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
Beijing YouAn Hospital, Capital Medical University — Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
Shenzhen Third People's Hospital — Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Hengshui No. 3 People's Hospital — Hengshui, Hebei, China
Qinhuangdao No. 3 People's Hospital — Qinhuangdao, Hebei, China
Wuxi No.5 People's Hospital — Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
Qingdao No.6 People's Hospital — Qingdao, Shandong, China

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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