Stepwise water‑pill (diuretic) plan versus usual care for people with acute heart failure in the emergency room
A Randomized Trial of Protocolized Diuretic Therapy Compared to Standard Care in Emergency Department Patients with Acute Heart Failure
This project compares a step-by-step plan for giving water pills to usual care to help people with sudden worsening heart failure in the emergency room remove extra fluid and feel better sooner.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Vanderbilt University Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nashville, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11171538 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you come to the emergency room with sudden worsening heart failure and need IV diuretics, you could be randomly assigned to follow a standardized diuretic dosing plan or to receive the usual care your doctors would pick. Doctors will closely track your urine output, weight, symptoms like breathlessness, and routine blood tests while in the hospital. The team will use those measures to guide diuretic dosing in the protocol arm and compare how well patients are decongested, how long they stay in the hospital, and whether they return to the hospital after discharge. The goal is to find whether a clear, stepped approach leads to less leftover fluid and fewer complications than current varied practices.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults who present to the emergency department with acute worsening heart failure and who require intravenous loop diuretics would be the main candidates for this protocol.
Not a fit: People without heart failure, those who do not need IV diuretics, patients on chronic dialysis or with contraindications to diuretics, or those who are hemodynamically unstable may not be eligible or likely to benefit.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the approach could reduce leftover fluid in the body, shorten hospital stays, and lower readmissions for people hospitalized with acute heart failure.
How similar studies have performed: Previous trials focused on initial IV diuretic doses and did not identify a single best approach, so a protocolized, response‑guided strategy remains relatively new and unproven.
Where this research is happening
Nashville, United States
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center — Nashville, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Collins, Sean Patrick — Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Collins, Sean Patrick
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.