Home CHF
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Impact of at-home subcutaneous furosemide in heart failure patients with chronic kidney disease on prevention of hospital admission; a randomised controlled, feasibility trial
IRAS ID
1010376
Contact name
Debasish Banerjee
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
City St George’s University of London
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN17152353
Research summary
Background:
Patients with heart failure and kidney disease are at risk of fluid quickly accumulating in their lungs and limbs causing breathlessness and swelling, and often required hospital admission to receive a medication called furosemide through their veins to remove the excess fluid.
This study will see whether a different way of delivering furosemide, with the patient staying at home and being given furosemide through a pump and needle attached to the skin of the stomach, is effective at removing excess fluid and preventing them from having to come into hospital. This research is important because hospital admissions are often unpleasant experiences for patients and are associated with risks including the development of infections and injury to the kidneys.
Design:
The study will have who stages that will run at the same time as each other. In the first stage we will recruit 200 participants with heart failure and kidney disease. We will teach them to recognise when they become fluid overloaded which will include monitoring for increases in weight and for the worsening of symptoms including breathlessness and swelling. We will ask participants to contact our team when they become fluid overloaded, and we will also check in on them with a phone call every 2 months.
The second stage of the trial will run at the same time as the first stage, where we will randomly be allocating the first 80 participants who have developed excess fluid into one of two different groups: one group will receive the at home furosemide and one group will receive usual care by attending hospital via the emergency department.
The at home furosemide group will be trained on how to use the furosemide pump. The pump has a small needle going into the skin of the stomach and is worn for 5 hrs/day for 5 days. We hope that this at-home furosemide will be effective at treating excess fluid and prevent people with heart failure and kidney disease from being admitted to hospital.REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 1
REC reference
25/NS/0121
Date of REC Opinion
21 Nov 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion