A secondary analysis of data from the STOPAH trial
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A secondary analysis of the data from the STOPAH trial to investigate hospital usage by STOPAH trial participants, before and after their participation in the trial; to investigate the relationship between abstention from alcohol and mortality; to investigate the factors that predict abstention.
IRAS ID
222073
Contact name
Paul Roderick
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 30 days
Research summary
The original ‘STOPAH’ Trial (STeroids Or Pentoxyifylline for Alcoholic Hepatitis) was a large clinical trial researching the best treatment option for patients with acute alcoholic hepatitis – liver disease caused by excessive alcohol consumption. The trial finished and the results were published in an academic journal in 2015.
We propose using some of the information collected during the ‘STOPAH’ trial, for further research. Patients with liver disease due to alcohol are known to die early. If patients are able to stop drinking alcohol, their chance of survival improves. If they cannot stop drinking alcohol, they are more likely to be re-admitted to hospital in the future. Outcomes for the patient are poor and NHS resource use is high. There are still many unanswered questions. We would like to find out more about which patients are able or unable to stop drinking alcohol. We would like to better understand the relationship between abstinence from alcohol and future survival, in patients with alcoholic hepatitis. Further analysis of the data from the ‘STOPAH’ trial could help to answer these questions.
We will also combine information collected during the ‘STOPAH’ trial, with data on hospital usage. We will investigate how these patients use hospital services both before and after their admission with alcoholic hepatitis. This will help us understand how we can identify patients with alcoholic liver disease earlier, how we can maximise efficiency of use of health services and how we can help improve the health outcomes of patients with alcoholic hepatitis most effectively.REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/SC/0324
Date of REC Opinion
26 Jun 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion