Pain Protocol: Nociception Coma Scale-Revised With Personalized Stimulus

August 24, 2023 updated by: Rita Formisano, I.R.C.C.S. Fondazione Santa Lucia

Nociception Coma Scale-Revised Recorded After Personalized Stimulus May Improve Assessment of Pain Responses in Non-communicative Patients With Disorders of Consciousness. An International Multicentric Study

The goal of this observational study is to compare Nociception Coma Scale-Revised Recorded (NCS-R) scores obtained with the standard pressure on fingernail bed (standard stimulus, SS) versus other personalized painful stimuli (PS), in non-communicative patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC), as indicated by professionals and caregivers involved in their care and rehabilitation. The study aims also to establish possible correlations between NCS-R and Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R.) The main question : an integrated patient-centered approach for assessment of the physical pain, in which clinical measures and behavioral observations will be integrated, to understand and manage the pain intensity, may improve treatment and rehabilitation outcome. Specifically, a new version of NCS-R, adapted with PS, may produce more intentional and specific responses to pain-inducing maneuvers. Investigating pain perception in non-communicative patients, through recognition of a personalized source of nociception and pain, may avoid non specific, useless and harmful noxious tests (as with standard pain scales) and may provide tools for revealing nociception even in the lack of any response to standard clinical evaluation.

Question 1: the superiority of personalized painful stimulus a standard painful stimulation in nin communicative patients.

Question 2: the parallel recovery of painful stimuli responsiveness and consciousness Participants will Responsiveness and pain perception will be assessed respectively with the CRS-R and the NCS-R. Pain responses will be assessed by means of standard stimulus (NCS-R-SS, as used in the CRS-R) and personalized stimulation (NCS-R-PS), at admission and discharge.

CRS-R will be administered within the first month after admission, at least 5 times in different days, choosing the highest score as reference and repeated during recovery of consciousness or discharge.

After informed consent by patient's legal representative or the primary caregiver, for the purpose of the study, caregivers (including relatives, nurses, therapists, physicians) will be asked to record all manoeuvres they feel are associated with potential pain, with a window of observation of the rehabilitation and nursing staff of around one week to identify the personalized painful stimulus (about the second week after admission at the rehabilitation ward). Amongst them, the manoeuvres that consistently over time induced the most motor/behaviour responses suggestive of pain perception, reported at least by 2 members of the rehabilitation staff or by one of them and one caregiver, will be chosen as the personalized stimulus (PS). NCS-R with standard stimulus (NCS-R-SS) and with personalized stimulus (NCS-R-PS), will be recorded within 30 days after admission, alternating the order of the 2 painful stimulations; CRS-R will be recorded accordingly, in parallel to NCS-R-SS and NCS-R-PS and will be blindly recorded, at the same time, by two different rehabilitation staff members, to assess inter-rater reliability, whereas two of them will repeat both NCS-R_SS and NCS-R-PS during the same week to assess intra-rater reliability of both NCS-R-SS and NCS-R-PS, with an interval of at least 6 hours from the last pain killer or anti-spastic drugs administration, including GABAergic, anti-inflammatory drugs or opiates.

Both CRS-R and NCS-R (SS and PS) will be repeated 1 month and 3 months after the first assessment with the same procedures of the first time.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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.

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.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

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.
33

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Locations

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients (age ≥ 18 years) diagnosed with Vegetative State (VS)/Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome (UWS) or Minimally Conscious State (MCS) after severe acquired brain injury (ABI) admitted to neurorehabilitation ceters.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • severe acquired brain injury (sABI),
  • clinical history and neuroimaging (brain CT and/or MRI) and fulfilling the criteria proposed for the sABI diagnosis:
  • Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score ≤ 8 within 24 hours after injury,
  • diagnosis of disorders of consciousness (DoC), (VS/UWS or MCS), according to the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R),
  • interval from the acute event of at least 3 months.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • history of previous brain injury,
  • neurological or psychiatric disorders,
  • alcohol or illicit drug abuse and concomitant spinal cord injury

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

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
Evaluation of pain perception in non communicative patients
Time Frame: Within 30 days after admission
Time 0
Within 30 days after admission

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
Superiority of personalized painful stimulus versus standard stimulation
Time Frame: 30 days from T0
Time 1
30 days from T0

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Possible parallel recovery of painful stimulus responsiveness and consciousness
Time Frame: 3 months from T0
Time 2
3 months from T0

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.
I.R.C.C.S. Fondazione Santa Lucia

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.
July 9, 2019

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
December 31, 2023

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
December 31, 2023

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).
April 7, 2023

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.
August 24, 2023

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.
August 25, 2023

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.
August 25, 2023

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.
August 24, 2023

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.
August 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • CE/PROG.603

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Enrollment of at least 50 patients with DoC in the participating centers

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • CSR

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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