What the trial was testing
The ADVOR enrolled 519 patients with heart failure. The study was sponsored by Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg and tracked outcomes across the full group of patients who matched the trial's eligibility profile.
It was long-term safety (phase 4). Trials at this stage are designed to produce evidence regulators and physicians can act on — not just observations to follow up later.
What the results showed
42% of patients on acetazolamide successfully removed excess fluid within three days, compared to 31% on standard treatment.
The New England journal of medicine · 2022 · NCT03505788
These findings — that nearly half of patients on acetazolamide cleared excess fluid within three days versus about one-third on standard treatment — were published in the The New England journal of medicine and represent the headline result of the study.
Researchers tracked outcomes across 519 patients enrolled in the trial. The result was consistent enough across the group that the team felt confident reporting it.
What this means for patients
For patients with heart failure, this result changes the calculus on what to ask their care team about. Whether it changes day-to-day care depends on factors like disease subtype, prior treatments, and where the patient is in their care journey.
What you can do now
Acetazolamide is FDA-approved but not yet standard practice for heart failure fluid overload. This large Phase 4 trial showed it helps remove fluid faster when added to standard diuretics during hospitalization. If you're hospitalized for heart failure with fluid buildup, ask your doctor if adding acetazolamide might help.
Eligibility for the treatments mentioned above depends on specific test results and clinical history. Bring this summary, the trial name, and your most recent labs or pathology report to your next visit.
Open heart failure trials
Validating Novel, Non-contrast Cardiac MRI Imaging in Haemodialysis Patients
There are currently no good ways of measuring levels of scarring in the hearts of patients with advanced kidney disease and patients on dialysis, although recent research has shown a new cardiac MRI technique, called native T1 mapping, may provide a solution to this. To assess the accuracy of this novel technique in dialysis patients, it is essential to undertake a study which compares native T1 mapping to actual levels of scarring in the hearts of patients on dialysis.
BAROSTIM THERAPY™ in Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction
The purpose of this registry (NCT02880618) is to evaluate the effect of BAROSTIM THERAPY with the BAROSTIM NEO System in the commercial setting in subjects recently implanted under the CE-Marked indication for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).