Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) - Behavioral Intervention

February 25, 2026 updated by: NYU Langone Health

Pilot Proof of Concept, Prospective Cohort, Single-Center Study on the Effects of Behavioral Intervention on Swallowing and Voice Outcomes After Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) Surgery

This study will prospectively recruit and enroll patients undergoing primary Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) surgeries at NYU Langone. Participants will undergo pre-operative and six-week post-operative swallowing assessment using videofluoroscopy (VFSS). Acoustic voice samples and Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) for swallowing and voice will also be collected. Beginning one-week before surgery participants will begin a behavioral health program that will be continued for six-weeks after surgery. The primary goal of this study will be to determine whether a preventative behavioral health program improves instrumental measures of swallowing and voice six-weeks after ACDF surgery. .

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.
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.
50

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.
  • Name: Sonja Molfenter, PhD
  • Phone Number: 212-992-7694
  • Email: Smm16@nyu.edu

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10016
        • Recruiting
        • NYU Langone Health

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:

  1. Able and willing to sign consent form to participate in the study.
  2. Age between 21- 99 years.
  3. Scheduled to undergo ACDF surgery with surgeons in the departments of Neurosurgery or Orthopedic Surgery at NYU Langone.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients with non-degenerative spine conditions, such as trauma, tumors, infection, radiation, and diabetes.
  2. Patients with prior posterior-approach cervical spine procedures.
  3. Patients undergoing ACDF revision procedures.
  4. Patients who report a pre-existing dysphagia as the result of a neurological deficit or disorder, head and neck cancer treatment, and/or muscular condition.
  5. Pregnancy. Female subjects must confirm they are not pregnant before enrolling in the study.
  6. Patients with chronic kidney disease, limiting their ability to consume high levels of protein.
  7. Patients with known allergies to ingredients listed in Premier Protein Clear drinks.

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: Prevention
  • Allocation: Non-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: Proactive Behavioral Intervention coupled with protein supplementation
Patients will receive the behavioral intervention program comprised of hydration counseling, protein supplementation, and daily pharyngeal/laryngeal exercise for a total of 7 weeks.
Behavioral: Proactive pharyngeal-laryngeal Exercise Program
This program consists of daily proactive pharyngeal-laryngeal exercises and weekly sessions with a speech-language pathologist post surgery. One week prior to surgery participants will begin daily proactive pharyngeal-laryngeal exercises and continue these daily exercises for 6 weeks post surgery. Beginning approximately one week after surgery, participants will meet with the speech-language pathologist. Sessions will occur weekly, for approximately 6 weeks, and will last approximately 45 minutes.
Dietary supplement: Premier Protein Clear ® High Protein
Premier Protein Clear ® High Protein (20 grams of protein and 90 calories per 16.9 oz. drink) 1 drink daily for 7 weeks.
Behavioral: Hydration Counseling
Daily hydration goals are based on recommended guidelines for adults, by gender, from The United States National Academy of Medicine (US NAM) and the European Food Safety Authority (ESFA) (~2.0 L/day for women; ~2.5 L/day for men of fluid intake, accounting for 20% daily fluid intake from food sources). Patients will be required to track via paper log whether they met their hydration goals daily.
No Intervention: Historical Control Group
Historical control data from subjects who underwent Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) surgery but did not receive any behavioral intervention.

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
Change in pharyngeal constriction
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks post-op
Outcome measure will be assessed using 2D lateral videofluoroscopic images will be used to measure pharyngeal constriction pre and post intervention
Baseline, 6 weeks post-op
Change in pharyngeal shortening
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks post-op
Outcome measure will be assessed using 2D lateral videofluoroscopic images will be used to measure pharyngeal shortening pre and post intervention
Baseline, 6 weeks post-op
Change in Dysphagia Score measured by The Hospital for Special Surgery Dysphagia and Dysphonia Inventory (HSS-DDI)
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks post-op
The HSS-DDI consists of 31 patient-reported questions to assess Dysphagia and Dysphonia. Of the 31 questions, 20 ask about swallowing using a 5-point scoring method (1-5). Scores range from 20-100, where lower scores indicate dysphagia.
Baseline, 6 weeks post-op

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
Change in Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice (CAPE-V) Ratings
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks post-op
Complete acoustic sound files will be blindly rated using the Consensus for Auditory Perceptual Evaluation of Voice (CAPE-V), a validated quantitative rating tool used for perceptual analysis of voice. It is intended to describe the severity of various auditory attributes of a voice problem. The CAPE-V is a visual analog scale that numerically rates various vocal qualities along a continuum from 0-100 based on what the experienced listener hears, with higher values indicating worse severity.
Baseline, 6 weeks post-op
Change in Dysphonia Score measured by The Hospital for Special Surgery Dysphagia and Dysphonia Inventory (HSS-DDI)
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks post-op
The HSS-DDI consists of 31 patient-reported questions to assess Dysphagia and Dysphonia. Of the 31 questions, 11 ask about speaking functions using a 5-point scoring method (1-5). Scores range from 11-55, where lower scores indicate dysphonia.
Baseline, 6 weeks post-op

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.
NYU Langone Health

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: Sonja Molfenter, PhD, NYU Langone Health

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 15, 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.
September 1, 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.
September 1, 2026

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 22, 2024

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.
July 22, 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.
July 25, 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.
February 27, 2026

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 25, 2026

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.
February 1, 2026

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.
  • 24-00667

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

The de-identified participant data from the final research dataset used in the published manuscript will be shared upon reasonable request beginning 9 months and ending 36 months following article publication or as required by a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research provided the investigator who proposes to use the data executes a data use agreement with NYU Langone Health. Requests may be directed to: smm16@nyu.edu. The protocol and statistical analysis plan will be made available on Clinicaltrials.gov only as required by federal regulation or as a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Beginning 9 months and ending 36 months following article publication or as required by a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

The investigator who proposed to use the data will be provided access upon reasonable request. Requests should be directed to smm16@nyu.edu. To gain access, data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP

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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