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Intermediate Normal Versus High Normal Oxygen Levels in the Emergency Department for Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Not Applicable
Terminated
Conditions
Acute Brain Injury
Acute Respiratory Failure
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
Traumatic Brain Injury
Interventions
Other: Oxygen
Registration Number
NCT05464277
Lead Sponsor
Evangelismos Hospital
Brief Summary

Despite almost universal usage of supplemental oxygen therapy in patients presenting in the emergency department with traumatic brain injury (TBI), optimal oxygen levels are unclear.

The investigators propose a pilot multi-center randomized controlled trial to test the hypothesis that maintaining intermediate normal as opposed to high normal oxygen levels in patients presenting in the emergency department with TBI is feasible, and to obtain preliminary data on the efficacy of the two approaches to oxygen therapy. The aim is that the investigators produce pilot data, which could inform the design of potential subsequent larger clinical trials.

Detailed Description

Despite the worldwide burden of traumatic brain injury (TBI), medical research on the field as opposed to other health problems is underrepresented. Consequently, there are few data to support commonly used interventions for the management of TBI, especially in the setting of the emergency department. For example, despite almost universal usage of supplemental oxygen therapy, the effects of different oxygenation levels under normobaric conditions on outcomes of patients presenting in the emergency department with TBI are unknown.

On the one hand, liberal oxygenation may provide a margin of safety against hypoxemia and may be needed to meet the high oxygen demands of an acutely altered brain physiology. On the other hand, there are increasing concerns that excessive oxygen supplementation may have harmful effects, such as central nervous system toxicity, cerebral vasoconstriction, impaired immunity leading to predisposition to infections (including pneumonia) and acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome. Such effects could be avoided by intermediate normal oxygen levels.

Taken together, the relative merits and risks of the abovementioned two approaches to oxygen therapy (namely, intermediate normal versus high normal oxygen levels) of patients with TBI in terms of important clinical outcomes (namely, development of nosocomial pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, disability and mortality) remain undefined. This suggests the need for randomized controlled trials. However, randomized controlled trials focusing on patient-centered outcomes should be preceded by pilot randomized controlled trials, which demonstrate a separation in treatment and protocol compliance (feasibility) associated with the studied interventions.

Therefore, the investigators propose a pilot multi-center randomized controlled trial to test the hypothesis that maintaining intermediate normal as opposed to high normal oxygen levels in patients presenting in the emergency department with TBI is feasible, and to obtain preliminary data on the efficacy of the two approaches to oxygen therapy.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
TERMINATED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
1
Inclusion Criteria
  • Adult patient ≥18 years
  • Glasgow Coma Scale ≤ 8
  • Non-penetrating traumatic brain injury
  • Intubated patient
Exclusion Criteria
  • Age <18 years
  • Lack of intention to admit to the intensive care unit
  • Moribund patient expected to die within 24 hours
  • Expected need for mechanical ventilation < 24 hours
  • Time interval from intubation to group allocation more than 60 minutes
  • Penetrating traumatic brain injury
  • Pregnancy
  • Lack of equipoise of the treating clinician
  • Lack of informed consent

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
High normal oxygenOxygenFor the "high normal oxygen" group, an oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry (SpO2) of 99-100% will be recommended. The lower-limit monitor alarm for SpO2 will be set at 98%. No upper alarm limit for SpO2 will be set. In case that the emergency department of a study site uses ventilators, which allow for only two options of FiO2 titration (namely, "air mix" and "FiO2 of 1.0"), then the "high normal oxygen" group should receive "FiO2 of 1.0".
Intermediate normal oxygenOxygenFor the "intermediate normal oxygen" group, an oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry (SpO2) of 95-97% will be recommended in the light of the Improving Oxygen Therapy in Acute-illness (IOTA) meta-analysis. The acceptable lower limit of PaO2 will be set to 80 mmHg according to a recent consensus of experts endorsed by the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine. The lower-limit and higher-limit monitor alarm for SpO2 will be set at 94% and 98%, respectively. In case that the emergency department of a study site uses ventilators, which allow for only two options of FiO2 titration (namely, "air mix" and "FiO2 of 1.0"), then the "intermediate normal oxygen" group should receive "air mix".
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Mean area-under-curve (AUC) for SpO2Measurements will be obtained each hour for a total duration of 6 hours from intubation.

SpO2 will be recorded each hour for a total duration of 6 hours from intubation. Subsequently, mean area-under-curve (AUC) will be calculated for each group. This will demonstrate the feasibility of the study.

Mean area-under-curve (AUC) for FiO2Measurements will be obtained each hour for a total duration of 6 hours from intubation.

FiO2 will be recorded each hour for a total duration of 6 hours from intubation. Subsequently, mean area-under-curve (AUC) will be calculated for each group. This will demonstrate the feasibility of the study.

PaO2Measurements will be obtained at least once during 6 hours from intubation.

PaO2 will be recorded at least once during 6 hours from intubation. Subsequently, PaO2 values (mmHg) will be calculated for each group. This will demonstrate the feasibility of the study.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)Within 7 days of subject enrollment

Incidence of ARDS will be recorded for each arm

All-cause mortalityWithin 28 days of subject enrollment

All-cause mortality will be recorded during ICU stay

Nosocomial pneumoniaWithin 7 days of subject enrollment

Incidence of nosocomial pneumonia will be recorded for each arm

Extended Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS-E)At 6 months following subject enrollment

A combined outcome of disability and mortality at 6 months using the Extended Glasgow Outcome Score will be assessed

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

Evangelismos Hospital

🇬🇷

Athens, Greece

KAT General Hospital

🇬🇷

Athens, Greece

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