Safety of Dexmedetomidine in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

September 11, 2023 updated by: Deborah Stein, University of Maryland, Baltimore
The aim of this study is to assess the safety and feasibility of dexmedetomidine as an adjunct to conventional sedative therapy compared to conventional sedative therapy alone in patients with severe traumatic brain injury.

Study Overview

Status

Withdrawn

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Approximately 52,000 deaths occur from traumatic brain injury (TBI) every year. TBI is a major cause of disability, death, and economic cost to our society. When the brain experiences injury, there is direct damage to the brain tissue causing local bleeding and bruising. This is called the primary injury. Additional damage, called secondary brain injury, can occur as a result of swelling of the brain, lack of oxygen to the brain, lowered blood pressure, and the release of inflammatory mediators. The type and degree of insults are major determinants in the final neurologic outcome of the patient who has sustained a TBI. Management of TBI is aimed at the prevention and treatment of these secondary insults.

The swelling of the brain following injury causes an increase in the pressure within the cranium. Increased pressure can reduce blood flow to parts of the brain, leading to further brain damage. An intracranial pressure (ICP) monitor measures the pressure surrounding the brain, and may be placed following traumatic brain injury to help evaluate swelling.

Agitation of the patient or exposure to painful stimuli may significantly increase ICP, and therefore, the use of sedative agents is important in ICP management. A variety of pharmacological agents have been suggested to treat agitation in the TBI patient. Unfortunately, no optimal sedative regimen has been identified for use in this patient population. One prospect is dexmedetomidine (Precedex®), which is FDA-approved for short-term (≤24 hours) sedation in the intensive care unit. Currently, to our knowledge, dexmedetomidine has not been studied prospectively in adults with traumatic brain injury. The safety and efficacy of dexmedetomidine are therefore unknown in severe TBI. Propofol is employed as a first-line sedative agent in neurotrauma patients due to its favorable pharmacokinetic profile. However, some patients require prolonged infusions and high rates of propofol. This has been shown increase their risk for development of a severe propofol-related infusion syndrome, which can be fatal.

Dexmedetomidine as an adjunct to existing conventional sedative therapy may help to facilitate decreasing the amount of other agents used, such as propofol. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the safety and feasibility of dexmedetomidine as an adjunct to conventional sedative therapy compared to conventional sedative therapy alone in patients with severe TBI.

Study Type

Interventional

Phase

  • Phase 2

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

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21201
        • University of Maryland Medical Center

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

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years to 76 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of severe traumatic brain injury, as defined by AIS score >2 for the head.
  • Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) <9 on admission, or deterioration of GCS to <9 within 48 hours of admission due to traumatic brain injury.
  • Placement of an intracranial pressure (ICP) monitor or intraventricular catheter (IVC) at the discretion of the Neurosurgical staff as part of standard of care.
  • Patient is between 18 and 80 years of age, inclusive.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • A body region, other than the brain, with an AIS score >2, or multiple system injury at the investigator's discretion.
  • Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) >8 on admission or no decrease of GCS to <9 within 48 hours of admission.
  • Placement of an ICP monitor or IVC not clinically indicated by Neurosurgical staff.
  • Patient is under the age of 18, or over the age of 80.
  • Determination of non-survivability due to the severity of brain injury.
  • Non-English speaking, consentable LAR, or patient is non-English speaking.
  • Patient is pregnant.
  • Unable to obtain consent from a legally authorized representative (LAR).
  • Patient is a prisoner, on parole or probation.

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: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Dexmedetomidine
In conjunction with conventional sedative and analgesic agents.
Drug: Precedex
Once this patient is deemed stable on the propofol infusion, the patient will be started on a dexmedetomidine infusion at 0.4 mcg/kg/hr. The dexmedetomidine infusion will be titrated to a Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale (RASS) of 0 to -1 (maximum rate of 1.5 mcg/kg/hr). In the meantime, once sustained ICP control has been achieved, the initial sedative agent (usually propofol) will be weaned. Dexmedetomidine will be infused for up to 7 days or until removal of the ICP or when mechanical ventilation is discontinued. When the patient is ready to come off sedation, the dexmedetomidine will be weaned by 50% every hour over a 4-hour period to off.
Other Names:
  • Dexmedetomidine
Drug: Propofol
Propofol will be initiated at 25 mcg/kg/min and titrated to achieve an ICP < 20 mm Hg (up to a maximum of 75 mcg/kg/min). Propofol will be continued for up to 7 days or until removal of the ICP or when mechanical ventilation is discontinued.
Other Names:
  • Diprivan
Drug: Propofol
Propofol will be titrated to an ICP < 20 mm Hg until achievement of sustained ICP control.
Other Names:
  • Diprivan
Active Comparator: Standard of Care
Patients randomized to conventional sedation will have as the main pharmacologic agents to achieve sedation and analgesia propofol and fentanyl, respectively.
Drug: Propofol
Propofol will be initiated at 25 mcg/kg/min and titrated to achieve an ICP < 20 mm Hg (up to a maximum of 75 mcg/kg/min). Propofol will be continued for up to 7 days or until removal of the ICP or when mechanical ventilation is discontinued.
Other Names:
  • Diprivan
Drug: Propofol
Propofol will be titrated to an ICP < 20 mm Hg until achievement of sustained ICP control.
Other Names:
  • Diprivan
Drug: Fentanyl
Fentanyl will be initiated and titrated to achieve adequate pain control.
Other Names:
  • Actiq
  • Fentora
  • Instanyl

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Intracranial pressure
Time Frame: one week
one week

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Mortality
Time Frame: 6 months
6 months
Doses of other sedatives
Time Frame: one week
one week
GOS-E
Time Frame: 12 weeks, 6 months
12 weeks, 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Maryland, Baltimore

Collaborators

Hospira, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Deborah Stein, MD, University of Maryland

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

January 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Estimated)

January 1, 2011

Study Completion (Estimated)

January 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 2, 2009

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 2, 2009

First Posted (Estimated)

November 4, 2009

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 13, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 11, 2023

Last Verified

September 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • HP-00042821
  • PRE-08-019

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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