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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05750966

Short-course Antibiotics vs Standard Course Antibiotics in Patients With Cholangitis

The goal of this multicentre randomized controlled trial is to investigate if a very short-course of antibiotics (1 day) for cholangitis after adequate drainage is non-inferior with respect to clinical cure in comparison with a standard course of antibiotics (4 to 7 days). Secondary objectives include:

* Will a one-day course of antibiotics for cholangitis after adequate drainage be non-inferior with respect to relapse of cholangitis and mortality in comparison with a standard course of antibiotics? * Will a one-day course of antibiotics for cholangitis after adequate drainage result in less adverse drug events in comparison with a standard course of antibiotics? * Will a one-day course of antibiotics for cholangitis after adequate drainage reduce length of hospital stay? * Will a one-day course of antibiotics for cholangitis after adequate drainage improve quality of life? * Will a one-day course of antibiotics for cholangitis after adequate drainage be cost-effective?

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Key information

Conditions

Cholangitis Bile Duct Diseases Biliary Tract Diseases Digestive System Diseases

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Flevoziekenhuis, Almere Stad, Flevoland, Netherlands

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About this study

Acute cholangitis is an infection of the biliary tract which is managed with biliary drainage and antibiotic therapy (ABT). Currently the international Tokyo Guidelines 2018 (TG18) recommend 4 to 7 days of ABT after source control. The national SWAB guideline of 2020 suggests a course of one to 3 days after biliary drainage. There are no randomized studies to guide the duration of ABT for acute cholangitis. Our recent retrospective study in the Netherlands showed that a short course of ABT seems safe and more evidence is available showing that other bacterial infections, including abdominal and bloodstream infections, can be treated with a short antibiotic course than previously assumed. Hence, the hypothesis is that a very short-course of ABT for acute cholangitis is non-inferior to a course of 4 to 7 days after adequate biliary drainage.

This study is designed as a multicenter non-inferiority randomized controlled trial. Patients will be randomly assigned to the intervention group (one day of antibiotic therapy after ERCP) or the comparator group (4 to 7 days of antibiotic therapy after ERCP).

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients with acute cholangitis due to common bile duct stones, benign or malignant distal biliary obstruction or distal biliary stent dysfunction (only stents in situ for a minimum of 30 days)
  • ERCP with adequate biliary drainage (all common bile duct stones are removed and/or there is adequate flow of clear bile with or without a biliary stent(s))
  • Absence of fever (temperature <38.5°C) or a decrease of body temperature of at least 1°C has occurred within 24 hours after ERCP
  • Age ≥ 18 years
  • Written informed consent (IC)

Exclusion criteria

  • Other aetiologies of acute cholangitis (e.g. primary sclerosing cholangitis, (sub)hilar and/or intrahepatic strictures or hilar stents)
  • A recurrent cholangitis (within 3 months)
  • Patients with surgically altered anatomy (leading to biliary-enteric anastomosis)
  • Concomitant pancreatitis, according to International Association of Pancreatology/American Pancreatic Association guidelines.[18] Acute pancreatitis is diagnosed in case of fulfilment of 2 out of 3 of the following criteria:
  • Upper abdominal pain
  • Serum amylase or lipase >3x ULN
  • Signs of acute pancreatitis on imaging
  • Concomitant cholecystitis, according to TG18 criteria.[19] Acute cholecystitis is suspected in case one item in A is met and one item in B and C.

A. Local signs of inflammation

  • A1: Murphy's sign
  • A2: Right upper quadrant mass/pain/tenderness B. Systemic signs of inflammation
  • B1: Fever
  • B2: Elevated C-reactive protein
  • B3: Elevated WBC count C. Imaging findings characteristic of acute cholecystitis
  • Concomitant liver abscess
  • Another additional infectious diagnosis
  • Admission on an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at time of randomisation
  • Use of maintenance antimicrobial therapy
  • Use of immunosuppressants
  • Neutropenia

Treatment and study plan

cefrtriaxone, gentamicin, cefuroxim, ciprofloxin or other antibiotics according to local guideline (24 hours)

Drug

The duration of antibiotics is 24 hours after adequate biliary drainage. The choice of antibiotics will be according to local protocol and/or national Dutch SWAB guidelines. The most common antibiotics are described above, but this can differ based on allergies, local protocol or previous cultures. Drug classes may include: aminoglycosides, carbapenems, cefalosporins, fluorquinolones, sulfonamides, penicillines.

Other names: ceftriaxone, gentamicin, cefuroxim, ciprofloxacin

cefrtriaxone, gentamicin, cefuroxim, ciprofloxin or other antibiotics according to local guideline (4 to 7 days)

Drug

The duration of antibiotics is 4 to 7 days after adequate biliary drainage. The choice of antibiotics will be according to local protocol and/or national Dutch SWAB guidelines. The most common antibiotics are described above, but this can differ based on allergies, local protocol or previous cultures. Drug classes may include: aminoglycosides, carbapenems, cefalosporins, fluorquinolones, sulfonamides, penicillines.

Other names: ceftriaxone, gentamicin, cefuroxim, ciprofloxacin

Primary outcomes

  1. clinical cure rate by day 14 after ERCP without relapse by day 30

    Time frame: 30 days

    Clinical cure is defined as the absence of both fever (>38°C) and/or shaking chills, and initial presenting symptoms. Relapse is defined as the initiation of new antibiotic therapy for recurrent cholangitis, subsequent infection in the hepatic-pancreatic-biliary region, or any other subsequent infection possibly related to the initial episode of cholangitis.

Secondary outcomes

  1. All-cause 90-day mortality.

    Time frame: 90 days

    Mortality, which includes all causes.

  2. Relapse of cholangitis within 90 days

    Time frame: 90 days

    Relapse is defined as the initiation of new antibiotic therapy for recurrent cholangitis, subsequent infection in the hepatic-pancreatic-biliary region, or any other subsequent infection possibly related to the initial episode of cholangitis.

  3. Rate of any other subsequent infection requiring antibiotic therapy within 90 days.

    Time frame: 90 days

    Subsequent infections excluding recurrent cholangitis.

  4. Rate of subsequent infections with MDR bacteria or Clostridioides difficile within 90 days.

    Time frame: 90 days

    Subsequent infections, in particular due to resistant bacteria.

  5. Rate of other adverse drug events within 14 days

    Time frame: 14 days

    Includes: rash, diarrhoea (defined as ≥3 x loose stools per day), liver function abnormalities (defined as ≥5 x upper limit of normal (ULN) elevation in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or ≥2 x ULN elevation in alkaline phosphatase (ALP) or ≥3 x ULN elevation in ALT and simultaneous elevation of total bilirubin concentration exceeding 2 x ULN (according to European association for the Study of the Liver Clinical Practice Guidelines: Drug-induced liver injury) AND without evidence of persistent obstruction on imaging OR elevation of liver enzymes after initial decrease. Lastly, other adverse drug events includes acute kidney injury, defined as increase in serum creatinine by ≥26.5 micromol/L within 48 hours or increase in serum creatinine to ≥1.5 times baseline (according to Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes guidelines).

  6. Length of intensive care and hospital stay for the initial episode of cholangitis.

    Time frame: 30 days

    Length of IC and hospital stay defined in days.

  7. Quality of life and health utility.

    Time frame: 90 days

    This will be evaluated using the RAND-36 and EQ-5D-5L at day 7, day 30 and day 90.

    Scale title (RAND-36): Research and Devevelopment-36 Minimum raw score: 45 Maximum raw score : 198 Higher scores mean a better outcome.

    Scale title (EQ-5D-5L): European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions-5 Levels score Minimum score: 11111 Maximum score: 55555 Higher scores mean a worse outcome.

  8. Societal costs and cost-effectiveness/-utility

    Time frame: 90 days

    The costs per cured patient without relapse and the costs per quality adjusted life year (QALY) Scale Title: Quality Adjusted Life Year. One quality-adjusted life year (QALY) is equal to 1 year of life in perfect health.QALYs are calculated by estimating the years of life remaining for a patient following a particular treatment or intervention and weighting each year with a quality-of-life score (on a 0 to 1 scale).

    Minimum score: 0 Maximum score: 1 Higher scores mean a better outcome.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Academisch Medisch Centrum - Universiteit van Amsterdam (AMC-UvA)

Other

Collaborators

  • ZonMw: The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development

Registry information

Official study title

Very Short-course Versus Standard Course Antibiotic Therapy in Patients With Acute ChOlangitis After Adequate Endoscopic BiliaRy drAinage

Acronym: COBRA

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Mar 2, 2023
Registry last updated
Jun 11, 2026

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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