Short-term Oral Prednisone for Acute Subjective Tinnitus (STOP-FAST)

February 26, 2025 updated by: Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University

Investigating the Efficacy of Short-term Oral Prednisone Therapy on Acute Subjective Tinnitus

The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate the efficacy of oral steroids in the acute tinnitus population. Participants will receive appropriate dosages of short-term prednisone and/or oral Ginkgo Biloba tablets.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Researchers will compare the intervention group and placebo-control group to see whether short-term systemic steroid therapy is effective for acute tinnitus.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
146

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • China
      • Shanghai, China
        • Eye and ENT Hospital of Fudan University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years to 61 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. 18-65 years old;
  2. a primary complaint of frequent occurrences of subjective tinnitus lasting at least 5 minutes within the past 3 months ;
  3. a definition of normal hearing in line with the World Report on Hearing (2021), of which the average value of hearing threshold at 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 Hz in better ear was less than 20 decibels;
  4. a score of more than 16 points on the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), which indicates that the level of tinnitus exceeds mild severity;
  5. a state of good general condition.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. had previous history of middle ear pathology, apparent history of noise exposure, noise trauma or head injury;
  2. had received treatment for their current condition before the study;
  3. taken oral steroids within 3 months before randomization;
  4. had hearing implants;
  5. had participated in other clinical trials and have not terminated the trials;
  6. had a history of known corticosteroid contraindications (including osteoporosis, peptic ulcers, poorly controlled hypertension, diabetes, chronic liver or renal insufficiency, tumorous condition, alcohol abuse, pregnancy, or taking estrogen-containing oral contraceptive steroids);
  7. auditory hallucinations or other conditions deemed inappropriate for inclusion by the investigator.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: STOP group
a 10mg/d tapering 14-day course of oral prednisone intervention (the initial dose: 1mg/kg/day, max 60mg/day) in combination with ginkgo biloba agent (120mg, three times/day)
Drug: Ginkgo Biloba Extract
Ginkgo biloba extracts are traditional Chinese medicine, which can improve microcirculation and provide good ameliorating effects for the treatment of tinnitus
Other Names:
  • ginkgo biloba
Drug: Prednisone tablet
The dose selection of oral prednisone is the maximum daily dose based on weight for 4 days, followed by a taper every 2 days, with the maximum duration to 14 days.
Other Names:
  • prednisone
Placebo Comparator: placebol group
Patients took oral standardized Ginkgo biloba extracts (120 mg daily) three times a day.
Drug: Ginkgo Biloba Extract
Ginkgo biloba extracts are traditional Chinese medicine, which can improve microcirculation and provide good ameliorating effects for the treatment of tinnitus
Other Names:
  • ginkgo biloba

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
tinnitus handicap inventory (THI)
Time Frame: two weeks from baseline
The THI is a self-administered test, including 25 questions with grades four categories of tinnitus severity: slight corresponding to a score of 0-16, mild (18-36), moderate (38-56), severe (58-100). The higher the score the more severe the tinnitus.
two weeks from baseline
tinnitus handicap inventory (THI)
Time Frame: four weeks from baseline
The THI is a self-administered test, including 25 questions with grades four categories of tinnitus severity: slight corresponding to a score of 0-16, mild (18-36), moderate (38-56), severe (58-100). The higher the score the more severe the tinnitus.
four weeks from baseline
tinnitus handicap inventory (THI)
Time Frame: twelve weeks from baseline
The THI is a self-administered test, including 25 questions with grades four categories of tinnitus severity: slight corresponding to a score of 0-16, mild (18-36), moderate (38-56), severe (58-100). The higher the score the more severe the tinnitus.
twelve weeks from baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
the Athens Insomnia Scale-8 (AIS-8)
Time Frame: two weeks from baseline
The AIS comprises eight items that commonly measure difficulties in falling asleep or maintaining sleep to quantify the presence of insomnia. The higher the AIS score, the lower the sleep quality and mental status. The AIS identifies three types of sleep disorders: no insomnia (score below 4), suspicious (4-6), and insomnia (score between 7-24).
two weeks from baseline
the Athens Insomnia Scale-8 (AIS-8)
Time Frame: four weeks from baseline
The AIS comprises eight items that commonly measure difficulties in falling asleep or maintaining sleep to quantify the presence of insomnia. The higher the AIS score, the lower the sleep quality and mental status. The AIS identifies three types of sleep disorders: no insomnia (score below 4), suspicious (4-6), and insomnia (score between 7-24).
four weeks from baseline
the Athens Insomnia Scale-8 (AIS-8)
Time Frame: twelve weeks from baseline
The AIS comprises eight items that commonly measure difficulties in falling asleep or maintaining sleep to quantify the presence of insomnia. The higher the AIS score, the lower the sleep quality and mental status. The AIS identifies three types of sleep disorders: no insomnia (score below 4), suspicious (4-6), and insomnia (score between 7-24).
twelve weeks from baseline
visual analog scale (VAS)
Time Frame: two weeks from baseline
The subjective perception of tinnitus loudness will be evaluated using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Participants will be instructed to rate the perceived loudness of their tinnitus on a scale ranging from 0, indicating "no loudness," to 10, representing "maximum imaginable loudness." Higher scores on this scale will correspond to greater perceived loudness of tinnitus symptoms.
two weeks from baseline
visual analog scale (VAS)
Time Frame: four weeks from baseline
The subjective perception of tinnitus loudness will be evaluated using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Participants will be instructed to rate the perceived loudness of their tinnitus on a scale ranging from 0, indicating "no loudness," to 10, representing "maximum imaginable loudness." Higher scores on this scale will correspond to greater perceived loudness of tinnitus symptoms.
four weeks from baseline
visual analog scale (VAS)
Time Frame: twelve weeks from baseline
The subjective perception of tinnitus loudness will be evaluated using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Participants will be instructed to rate the perceived loudness of their tinnitus on a scale ranging from 0, indicating "no loudness," to 10, representing "maximum imaginable loudness." Higher scores on this scale will correspond to greater perceived loudness of tinnitus symptoms.
twelve weeks from baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Shan Sun, Eye and ENT Hospital of Fudan University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 30, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
January 22, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 3, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 16, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 19, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 24, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 25, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 26, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • STOP for AST

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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