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NCT Number: NCT05733832

A Trial of Post-Discharge Transitional Care for Patients With Chronic Liver Disease

Patients with complications of advanced liver disease often have difficulties after hospital discharge that result in early hospital readmission. Poor outcomes for these patients during this transitional time could be improved through the use of innovative transitional care models. This proposal aims to examine the effect of a transitional care model, The Transitional Liver Clinic (TLC), in reducing hospital re-admissions, improving quality of life, and improving patient experience.

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Key information

Conditions

Liver Diseases Digestive System Diseases

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States

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About this study

This study is a stepped-wedge randomized trial of 1,000 patients with advanced liver disease at four high-volume centers over 45 months (250 participants/site; <6 participants/site/month) to evaluate the efficacy of the Transitional Liver Clinic (TLC) compared to control.

In the stepped-wedge design, all sites provide usual care (control) during the initial 9-month enrollment interval. At each subsequent 9-month interval, one site is randomized via a computer-generated randomization scheme to crossover to implement the TLC, which will continue through the final interval where all sites will have implemented the TLC.

All sites enroll for the entire 45 months and thus contribute patients to both the control and TLC groups. There are an equal number of TLC and control intervals; thus approximately 500 patients will be in each group. Participant follow-up will occur by telephone at 30 and 90 days after discharge.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Male or female age ≥18
  • Diagnosis of advanced liver disease, defined as either (must meet either a or b)
  • cirrhosis based on (either i or ii):
  • biopsy
  • characteristic clinical, laboratory, and imaging findings
  • acute alcoholic hepatitis, defined by NIAAA Alcoholic Hepatitis Consortia, as
  • onset of jaundice (serum bilirubin >3.0 mg/dL) in prior 8 weeks
  • consumption of >40 (female) or 60 (male) g alcohol/day for ≥6 months, with <60 days abstinence before jaundice onset,
  • AST>50 IU/L, AST/ALT>1.5, and both values <400 IU/L
  • liver biopsy confirmation in patients with confounding factors
  • Has at least one of the following complications due to advanced liver disease occurring during hospitalization:
  • ascites requiring diuretics or paracentesis
  • hepatic encephalopathy requiring lactulose or rifaximin
  • gastrointestinal bleeding due to portal hypertension
  • jaundice
  • Has planned discharge alive to home or a facility within 72 hours of informed consent
  • Able and willing to provide informed consent

Exclusion criteria

  • discharge under hospice
  • listed for liver transplant with MELD-Na ≥ 35
  • unable or unwilling to participate in post-discharge follow-up either in-person or virtually
  • unable to speak or understand English and/or Spanish
  • low hearing or communicative ability (examiner rated) that would interfere with interventions and outcome assessments
  • lack of access to a telephone
  • incarcerated
  • concurrent enrollment in an interventional research study

Treatment and study plan

Transitional Liver Clinic (TLC)

Other

Participants in this intervention receive additional attention from their Hepatology providers in terms of an additional call/telemedicine visit and more specific/additional attention from their Hepatology APP (advanced practice provider) based on individual patient needs

Primary outcomes

  1. 30-day hospital readmissions for patients hospitalized with complications of advanced liver disease

    Time frame: 30 days after discharge of initial hospitalization at which the participant was enrolled in the study.

    The primary outcome, 30-day hospital readmission, is publicly reported by CMS, and is the benchmark measure in the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program. It is therefore the most appropriate primary outcome.

  2. Quality of life for patients hospitalized with complications of advanced liver disease via Promis 29+2 survey

    Time frame: 30 days after discharge of initial hospitalization at which the participant was enrolled in the study.

    This measure includes 4 items in each of 7 health domains (physical function, anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbance, ability to participate in social roles and activities, and pain interference) as well as a single item assessing pain intensity. Each domain is scored using a T-score metric in which 50 corresponds to the average for the US population with a standard deviation of 10, and a higher T-score represents more of the concept being measured. For example, higher fatigue scores indicate more fatigue (worse quality of life), while higher physical function scores represent better physical function (better quality of life).

  3. Quality of life for patients hospitalized with complications of advanced liver disease via Promis 29+2 survey

    Time frame: 90 days after discharge of initial hospitalization at which the participant was enrolled in the study

    This measure includes 4 items in each of 7 health domains (physical function, anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbance, ability to participate in social roles and activities, and pain interference) as well as a single item assessing pain intensity. Each domain is scored using a T-score metric in which 50 corresponds to the average for the US population with a standard deviation of 10, and a higher T-score represents more of the concept being measured. For example, higher fatigue scores indicate more fatigue (worse quality of life), while higher physical function scores represent better physical function (better quality of life).

  4. Patient satisfaction for patients hospitalized with complications of advanced liver disease via the PSQ 18 questionnaire

    Time frame: 30 days after discharge of initial hospitalization at which the participant was enrolled in the study

    The PSQ-18 consists of 18 items examining 7 dimensions of satisfaction with medical care: general satisfaction, technical quality, interpersonal manner, communication, financial aspects, time spent with doctor, and accessibility and convenience. Each item is scored with a 1 to 5 Likert scale and the individual item scores are averaged, with higher scores reflecting higher satisfaction.

  5. Patient satisfaction for patients hospitalized with complications of advanced liver disease via the PSQ 18 questionnaire

    Time frame: 90 days after discharge of initial hospitalization at which the participant was enrolled in the study

    The PSQ-18 consists of 18 items examining 7 dimensions of satisfaction with medical care: general satisfaction, technical quality, interpersonal manner, communication, financial aspects, time spent with doctor, and accessibility and convenience. Each item is scored with a 1 to 5 Likert scale and the individual item scores are averaged, with higher scores reflecting higher satisfaction.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Number of ER visits

    Time frame: 30 days after discharge of initial hospitalization at which the participant was enrolled in the study and 90 days after discharge of initial hospitalization at which the participant was enrolled in the study

    Recognizing the limitations on CMS data, the number of ER visits for each participant will be taken from the medical record and will be measured as a secondary outcome to provide a fuller picture of acute care utilization.

  2. 90 day mortality

    Time frame: 90 days after discharge of initial hospitalization at which the participant was enrolled in the study.

    Recognizing the limitations on CMS data, 90 day mortality will be measured as a secondary outcome to provide a fuller picture of acute care utilization.

  3. Days alive out of the hospital

    Time frame: 90 days after discharge of initial hospitalization at which the participant was enrolled in the study.

    Recognizing the limitations on CMS data, number of days alive out of the hospital will be measured as a secondary outcome to provide a fuller picture of acute care utilization.

  4. Hospital readmissions

    Time frame: 30 days after discharge of initial hospitalization at which the participant was enrolled in the study and 90 days after discharge of initial hospitalization at which the participant was enrolled in the study

    Participants will self report or data will be obtained from local institutional medical records the number of times, if any, they were admitted to the hospital during their time of participation in this study

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Jake McCarty, BS

CONTACT

[email protected]

317-278-6305

Regina Weber, BS

CONTACT

[email protected]

317-278-3584

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Indiana University

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

Registry information

Official study title

A Randomized Trial of Post-Discharge Transitional Care for Patients With Chronic Liver Disease

Acronym: TLC

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2028
Study completion
2028
First posted
Feb 17, 2023
Registry last updated
Oct 24, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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