A Randomized Controlled Trial for Surgical Treatment of Recurrent Adult Tethered Cord Syndrome

January 8, 2024 updated by: Xuanwu Hospital, Beijing

A Multicenter, Prospective, Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing the Efficacy of Detethering Surgery and Spinal Column Shortening Surgery in Adult Patients With Recurrent Tethered Cord Syndrome

This trial compares detethering surgery and spinal column shortening surgery, two treatments for adults with recurrent tethered cord syndrome (TCS), a neurological disorder where the spinal cord becomes abnormally attached to tissue. Detethering surgery carries a higher risk of postoperative complications such as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage, while spinal column shortening surgery's comparative efficacy is unclear. This study aims to clarify the optimal surgical management for recurrent TCS in adults, assessing postoperative complication rate and improvement of symptoms.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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.

Detailed Description

This study is a multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled trial designed to compare the effectiveness and safety of detethering surgery and spinal column shortening surgery in adults diagnosed with recurrent tethered cord syndrome. TCS is a condition that causes neurological symptoms due to an abnormal attachment of the spinal cord to the surrounding tissue. The recurrent form in adults presents unique clinical challenges and limited treatment options.

Detethering surgery, a conventional treatment method, involves releasing the spinal cord from its abnormal attachment. While this technique directly addresses the cause of the condition, it also carries a high risk of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage, a severe postoperative complication.

Spinal column shortening surgery is a relatively new technique that aims to reduce tension on the spinal cord by shortening the vertebral column. It has been reported to offer a lower risk of CSF leakage, but its comparative efficacy to detethering surgery remains unclear due to limited evidence.

The proposed multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled trial aims to fill this knowledge gap by comparing the efficacy and safety of detethering surgery versus spinal column shortening surgery in adults with recurrent TCS. The results of this study will provide valuable insights into the optimal surgical management of adult patients with recurrent TCS, potentially improving patient outcomes, enhancing clinical practice, and guiding future research in this field.

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 (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.
222

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 Locations

  • China
      • Beijing, China, 100000
        • Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical 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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who have previously detethering surgery for primary tethered cord syndrome, including filum terminale untethering, dermoid or lipoma resection, with a recurrence of spinal cord tethering postoperatively.
  • The presence of related clinical symptoms, including bowel and bladder dysfunction, sensory impairment, numbness, pain in the lower limbs, perineal or buttock area, motor dysfunction of the lower limbs, muscle weakness, and sexual dysfunction.
  • Primary diagnosis of a thickened filum terminale, low-lying conus medullaris, meningocele, lipoma, dermoid, or spina bifida.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with severe scoliosis at the thoracolumbar junction.
  • Patients with severe osteoporosis or other conditions that contraindicate internal fixation.
  • Patients with severe pressure ulcers or skin breakdown in the lumbar or thoracic region.
  • Patients with severe systemic diseases that cannot tolerate surgery.
  • Other cases deemed unsuitable for inclusion following evaluation by professional neurosurgeons.

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: None (Open Label)

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: Detethering Surgery
Participants in this arm will undergo detethering surgery, a traditional surgical intervention that involves releasing the spinal cord from its abnormal attachment. All surgeries will be performed by trained and experienced neurosurgeons following standardized protocols.
Procedure: Detethering Surgery
Detethering surgery, or cord untethering, is a conventional surgical approach for treating tethered cord syndrome (TCS). It involves releasing the spinal cord from its abnormal attachment. During the surgical procedure, once the tethered area is identified, careful microsurgical techniques are used to separate the spinal cord from the surrounding abnormal tissue. This operation aims to alleviate the symptoms of TCS by removing the cause of tension on the spinal cord.
Experimental: Spinal Column Shortening Surgery
Participants in this arm will undergo spinal column shortening surgery, a surgical technique aimed at reducing tension on the spinal cord by shortening the vertebral column. All surgeries will be conducted by trained and experienced neurosurgeons following standardized protocols. Postoperative care will be similar in both arms to minimize confounding variables.
Procedure: Spinal Column Shortening Surgery
Spinal column shortening surgery is an innovative surgical approach that involves reducing the tension on the spinal cord by shortening the spinal column, effectively "untethering" the spinal cord indirectly. The procedure primarily involves the thoracolumbar region.The choice of this region for intervention offers several advantages: it is a safe distance from the previous detethering surgery area; it is closer to the conus medullaris of the spinal cord, ensuring better treatment effectiveness; and the impact on spinal mobility is minimal after internal fixation at this region. This technique is designed to alleviate TCS symptoms while minimizing the risk of postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage, which is a common complication in direct untethering procedures for recurrent cases. All procedures will be conducted by trained and experienced neurosurgeons following standardized protocols.

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
Incidence of cerebrospinal fluid leakage
Time Frame: 7 days
Postoperative Incidence of cerebrospinal fluid leakage
7 days

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
Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)
Time Frame: 3 months, 6 months
Postoperative lumbar and lower extremities VAS
3 months, 6 months
12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12)
Time Frame: 3 months, 6 months
Postoperative SF-12 evaluation
3 months, 6 months
Muscle strength
Time Frame: 3 months, 6 months
muscle strength of the lower extremities
3 months, 6 months
Uroflow rate
Time Frame: 6 months
Urodynamic test
6 months
Urodynamic test
Time Frame: 6 months
Cystometry
6 months
Residual urine
Time Frame: 6 months
Urodynamic test
6 months

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.
Xuanwu Hospital, Beijing

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Chinese PLA General Hospital
The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University
Chifeng Municipal Hospital
Seventh Medical Center of PLA Army General Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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 (Estimated)

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.
February 1, 2024

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, 2026

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.
May 31, 2027

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).
July 30, 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.
January 8, 2024

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.
January 9, 2024

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.
January 9, 2024

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.
January 8, 2024

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.
December 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.
  • XW-NS-RCT-RTCS

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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