Heparin to Prevent Organ Failure in Acute Pancreatitis

Starting soon · Phase 4

Conditions studied: Acute Pancreatitis (AP)

In brief

This clinical trial is designed to evaluate whether adding a standard blood-thinning medication, Unfractionated Heparin, to standard hospital care can help prevent severe organ failure in patients admitted with acute pancreatitis. Acute pancreatitis is a sudden and severe inflammation of the pancreas. During this condition, intense inflammation can trigger a hypercoagulable state (excessive blood clotting) in the small blood vessels supplying vital organs. This microvascular clotting can block normal blood flow, starving tissues of oxygen and potentially leading to dangerous, life-threatening multi-organ failure involving the lungs, kidneys, or heart. Currently, standard medical care for acute pancreatitis is purely supportive-consisting of intensive intravenous fluid hydration, pain management, and nutritional support-without any specific targeted drug therapy to halt the disease's progression. In this study, participating patients are randomly assigned into one of two balanced groups using a randomized lottery method upon their admission to the surgical unit: 1. The Control Group: Receives standard supportive hospital medical care only. 2. The Intervention Group: Receives the same standard supportive medical care plus a continuous, carefully monitored intravenous infusion of Unfractionated Heparin. The primary objective of the study is to determine if early initiation of this standard anticoagulant therapy preserves blood flow, dampens the severe inflammatory cascade, and successfully prevents the development of new or worsening organ failure. The study will also evaluate secondary clinical endpoints, including the total duration of the patient's hospital stay and the general safety profile of the intervention by monitoring for any adverse bleeding complications.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07609771

Run by

Allied Hospital Faisalabad

People needed

100

Starts

2026-06-01

Expected to finish

2026-11-01

Last updated by the study team

2026-08-03

Who can join

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

You may qualify if…

• Patients aged 18 years or older.
• Confirmed clinical diagnosis of acute pancreatitis based on meeting at least two of the following three revised Atlanta criteria: (1) acute onset of severe, persistent upper abdominal pain; (2) serum amylase or lipase levels elevated to at least three times the upper limit of normal; (3) characteristic findings of acute pancreatitis on cross-sectional abdominal imaging.
• Presentation to the hospital and initiation of the trial protocol within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms.
• Absence of systemic organ failure at the baseline assessment during initial hospital admission.

You may not qualify if…

• Baseline organ failure already present at the time of initial hospital admission (defined as a Modified Marshall Score of 2 or more in any organ system).
• Patients with a known history of chronic pancreatitis or recurrent episodes of pancreatitis.
• History of hypersensitivity, allergy, or known adverse reactions to heparin, low molecular weight heparins, or related anticoagulants.
• Active clinically significant bleeding, recent major hemorrhage, known bleeding diathesis, or severe thrombocytopenia (platelet count less than 100,000/mcL).
• Existing indication for therapeutic systemic anticoagulation (such as active deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, mechanical heart valves, or atrial fibrillation).
• Pregnant or lactating females.
• Refusal to provide informed consent to participate in the study.

Where it is running

• Allied Hospital, Faisalabad — Faisalābad, Punjab Province, Pakistan

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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