Clinical Research Directory

Minimally Invasive Surgery for Spontaneous Deep Intracerebral Hemorrhage

This observational cohort study evaluates the real-world effectiveness and safety of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) versus standard medical management in adults with spontaneous deep intracerebral hemorrhage. Patients presenting to Tam Anh General Hospital and People's Hospital 115 within 72 hours of hemorrhage onset will be enrolled and followed for 180 days. Clinical, radiological, and treatment-related variables will be collected, with primary outcome measures including survival and functional outcomes during follow-up period.

Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Recovery of Consciousness After Surgery for Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Disorders of consciousness are common after surgery for severe spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage and are associated with high mortality, disability, and long-term dependence. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a noninvasive neuromodulation technique that may enhance arousal-network activity, modulate secondary brain injury, and promote recovery of consciousness. This multicenter, prospective, double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trial will enroll 160 adults aged 18 to 75 years who underwent hematoma evacuation within 48 hours after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage and have a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 5 to 9 on postoperative day 5 while not sedated. Participants will be assigned 1:1 to active taVNS or sham stimulation for 8 hours once daily for 6 weeks. The primary outcome is the proportion of participants who remain in a disorder of consciousness (unresponsive wakefulness syndrome/vegetative state or minimally conscious state) at postoperative day 90, determined using the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised by blinded assessors. Nested mechanistic substudies will investigate how taVNS may affect recovery through multimodal assessment of structural and functional brain networks, cerebral perfusion, electrophysiology, autonomic function, and circulating or cerebrospinal-fluid biomarkers. Depending on clinical stability, site capability, sample availability, and additional consent, assessments may include computed tomography, computed tomography angiography and perfusion, structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging, diffusion imaging, arterial spin labeling, electroencephalography, blood samples, and cerebrospinal fluid obtained during clinically indicated procedures.

Efficacy of Prophylactic Levetiracetam for Improving Functional Outcome in the Acute Phase of Intracerebral Haemorrhage: a Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Phase 3 Trial

Epileptic seizures are a common complication at the acute phase of intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH). The incidence of seizures occurring within 7 days reaches 40% when subclinical seizures are diagnosed by continuous electroencephalogram (EEG). Some studies have suggested that early seizures are associated with haematoma expansion (Vespa., Neurology 2003), worse neurological outcomes (Gilmore., Stroke 2016) or increased mortality. By contrast, other studies have shown no association of acute seizures with long-term mortality and outcome. However, the interpretation of these works is subject to bias because almost all studies were based on clinical detection of seizures only, while it has been shown that most early seizures after ICH are clinically unrecognised and can only be diagnosed with EEG monitoring. The PEACH trial, a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, showed that clinical and/or electrographic seizures occur in more than 40% of patients with ICH and that Levetiracetam (LVT) is safe and effective in preventing these seizures. However, it remains unclear whether preventing acute seizures might lead to improved functional outcomes after ICH. An adequately powered randomised controlled trial is needed to answer whether primary seizure prophylaxis improves functional outcome in this setting. Answering this question would result in an important change in ICH acute care guidelines, which currently do not recommend primary prophylactic antiseizure treatment. As compared to research in acute ischemic stroke management, fewer clinical trials have been conducted in acute ICH and no effective medical treatments are available in this subset of patients. The main objective of PEACH 2 is to establish if prophylactic antiseizure therapy with LVT improves functional outcome in adults with acute spontaneous ICH. Functional outcome assessed by the modified Rankin score (mRS score) six months after acute ICH will be compared between patients receiving prophylactic antiseizure therapy with levetiracetam and patients receiving placebo. The secondary objectives are to examine the effect of prophylactic antiseizure therapy with levetiracetam versus placebo on: * the number of early and late clinical seizures, on the short term and long term evolution of the neurologic deficit as assessed by the NIHSS, on long term functional outcome (12 months) as assessed by the mRS, on quality of life and cognitive impairment, and on haematoma expansion and mass effect on control brain imaging * the frequency of side effects at 1 and 6 months, pneumonia at 1 month, delirium at 1 month, irritability/aggressivity, anxiety and depression at 1 and 6 months, and all-cause mortality at 1, 6 and 12 months. 580 patients will be recruited over 3 years.

Prehospital and Acute Phase Characteristics of Severe Spontaneous ICH

Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) represents 10-15% of all strokes and is associated with high mortality and morbidity. Rapid identification and interventions, e.g. early implementation of care bundles, seem to be critical for improving outcome. Nonetheless, relatively little is known about the influence of acute physiological risk factors in the prehospital phase, although high prehospital blood pressure has been associated with worse outcome in mild to moderate ICH. Whether the same applies to severe ICH requiring neurointensive care is unclear and furthermore the prognostic impact of other physiological variables has received little attention. The aim of this study is to retrospectively investigate prehospital characteristics of severe ICH and whether physiological abnormalities are associated with functional outcome, mortality after six months, and early withdrawal of life sustaining treatment.

The Fifth INTEnsive pReventing Secondary Injury in Acute Cerebral Haemorrhage Trial Within ACT-GLOBAL

This is a domain within the ACT-GLOBAL platform trial to compare the effectiveness of early and appropriate pharmacological interventions in acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) to control secondary brain injury. Up to 2000 patients with presumed spontaneous supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) will be followed for 6 months (or death, if prior to 6 months). Adaptive interim analyses will be used, with statistical triggers to determine if any of the interventions are superior to control. The end of the trial is defined as the date that all participants have completed their 6-month assessment. A large amount of preclinical data indicates that the outcome from ICH is linked to the detrimental effects of breakdown substances from brain bleeds. However, there remains a lack of compelling evidence supporting the effectiveness of any pharmacological intervention that can mitigate the secondary cerebral injury. The INTERACT domain aims to assess the effectiveness of intravenous deferoxamine and low-dose oral colchicine, both individually and in combination, to standard of care alone, on improving functional outcome in patients with spontaneous supratentorial ICH. Those patients who meet eligibility criteria will be randomized to receive one of four interventions: 1. No deferoxamine mesylate and no colchicine (labeled as control) 2. Deferoxamine mesylate only: deferoxamine mesylate at a dose of 32mg/kg/day via intravenous infusion immediately (within 1 hour) post-randomization and continue for the following 2 consecutive days. 3. Colchicine only: 0.5mg of oral colchicine daily for 30 consecutive days. 4. Both deferoxamine mesylate and colchicine: deferoxamine mesylate at a dose of 32mg/kg/day via intravenous infusion immediately (within 1 hour) post-randomization and continue for the following 2 consecutive days; plus 0.5mg of oral colchicine daily for 30 consecutive days.

Rehabilitation Paired with VNS for Motor Function Recovery

The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate the efficacy and safety of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) combined with rehabilitation in improving upper extremity motor function after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Researchers will evaluate the efficacy and safety of VNS by comparing the improvements of arm motor function post-ICH in the active VNS combined rehabilitation group with that in the sham VNS combined rehabilitation group (actual intensity 0 mA). Participants in this study will undergo a surgical procedure to implant the VNS system and will subsequently recieve a 6 weeks in-clinic therapy, followed by an additional 6 weeks home exercise. During the final 6 weeks, participants will either recieve in-clinic therapy or maintain their home exercise, depending on their assigned group.

Noncontrast CT-Based Deep Learning for Predicting Hematoma Expansion Risk in Patients with Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Hematoma expansion is an independent predictor of poor prognosis and early neurological deterioration in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. Early identification of high-risk patients and timely targeted medical interventions may provide a crucial opportunity to limit hematoma growth and improve neurological outcomes. This study aims to develop an end-to-end deep learning model based on noncontrast computed tomography images to predict the risk of hematoma expansion in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. This model could serve as a valuable risk stratification tool for patients with hematoma expansion, facilitating targeted treatment and providing clinicians with streamlined decision-making support in emergency situations.