Recruiting

RELiZORB

Sponsor:

Boston Children's Hospital

Code:

NCT03530852

Conditions

Short Bowel Syndrome

Malabsorption

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 2 - 18

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Relizorb

Study Details

Brief summary:

Children with inadequate intestinal absorption due to loss of large amounts of small bowel require intravenous nutrition (feeding through the vein) to sustain hydration and nutrition to avoid starvation and dehydration; however, intravenous (IV) nutrition can lead to complications including liver failure. Tube feeding directly to the small intestine avoids the complications of IV nutrition, but fats are not fully digestible due to inadequate bowel function. We propose to predigest the fat using a small cartridge attached to the feeding tube to allow for rapid absorption with the possibility of reducing or eliminating the need for intravenous nutrition

Conditions

Short Bowel Syndrome

Malabsorption

Study ID

NCT03530852

Start date

Nov 21, 2018

Status verified date

Jul, 2026

Completion date

Sep 30, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jun 30, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 2 - 18

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Male or female patients, ages 2 years to 18 years, inclusive.
2. Diagnosed with SBS, as determined by medical history and PN dependence (i.e. need for PN for >60 days after intestinal resection or a bowel length <25% of expected).
3. Congenital or acquired gastrointestinal disease requiring surgical intervention that has occurred at least 3 months prior to screening.
4. Patient is on parenteral lipid and at least 30% of daily caloric and fluid intake has been provided by PN for a least 6 months prior to screening
5. Stable PN nutrition requirement, determined by less than 5% reduction in PN nutrition calories for at least 1 month prior to screening, or at the discretion of the investigator.
6. The patient has a Central Venous Catheter (CVC) at the time of study inclusion.
7. Screening direct bilirubin that is in the normal range for age and is not determined to be clinically significant by the investigator.
8. The patient has an existing feeding tube, receiving enteral nutrition via an enteral feeding pump at a rate>10ml/hr but <400 ml/hr, and is able to tolerate at least 10 ml/kg/day enteral nutrition with which the RELiZORB cartridge can be used. The patient can be on bolus or continuous feeds and can use up to 6 cartridges per day for feeding.
9. Stable enteral nutrition requirement with no change in formula composition or rate for at least 1 month prior to screening.
10. The parent or legal guardian of the patient is able to read, understand, and is willing to provide informed consent (and assent, if applicable).
11. The patient (if assent is applicable) or parent or legal guardian of the patient is able to understand the requirements of the study and is willing to bring the patient to all clinic visits and complete all study related procedures (as determined by the investigator).
12. A parent or legal guardian is willing to provide written authorization for the use and disclosure of protected health information.

Exclusion criteria:

1. Other causes of chronic liver disease other than SBS (i.e., hepatitis C, cystic fibrosis, biliary atresia, alpha 1 anti-trypsin deficiency, and Alagille syndrome).
2. The patient has had a bowel lengthening procedure, including but not limited to, a STEP procedure.
3. Any serum triglyceride concentration >400 mg/dL at screening.
4. Pancreatic insufficiency as defined as the use of pancreatic enzymes within 30 days prior to screening.
5. Evidence of untreated intestinal obstruction or active stenosis, as determined by the investigator.
6. Unstable absorption due to cystic fibrosis or known DNA abnormalities (i.e., familial adenomatous polyposis, Fanconi syndrome) as determined by the investigator.
7. History of microvillus inclusion disease, as determined by medical history.
8. Severe known dysmotility syndrome (i.e., pseudo-obstruction, gastroschisis-related motility disorders), as determined by the investigator.
9. Initiation of teduglutide or other GLP-2 analogues within 6 months of screening
10. Use of growth hormone, or supplemental glutamine within 3 months prior to screening.
11. Use of cisapride within 30 days prior to screening.
12. Active clinically significant pancreatic or biliary disease, as determined by the investigator.
13. Patients are receiving formulas that are not compatible with the RELiZORB cartridge (example, insoluble fiber-containing formulas)
14. Determined by the investigator to be unsuitable for participation for any reason.

Study Design

Enrollment

32 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Relizorb treatment

Patients will have tube feeds placed through chamber and evaluate wean from parenteral nutrition

Interventions

Relizorb

Tube feeds run across device to digest fats.

Primary outcome measure

  • Effectiveness of the RELiZORB enzyme cartridge on the absorption of enteral nutrition based on PN calories [ Time Frame: 90 days ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Locations

Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Recruiting

Los Angeles, California, United States, 90027

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Atu Agawu, MD MPH MSCE

Boston Children's Hospital

Recruiting

Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115

Contacts

More Information

Sponsor

Boston Children's Hospital

Last update posted

Aug 3, 2026

Last verified

Jul, 2026

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Boston Children's Hospital on 2026-08-03.