Visualization of Cerebral Arteries Using Contrast-Enhanced Transcranial Ultrasound in Stroke Patients

Not Applicable

Terminated

Conditions: Stroke

Interventions: Other: ultrasound

Registration Number: NCT00282841

Lead Sponsor: University of California, San Diego

Brief Summary: The purpose of this study is to find out more about the usefulness of ultrasound in combination with a contrast solution to look for blood vessel blockage or occlusion in the brains of stroke patients.

Detailed Description: Ischemic stroke is a common, devastating and costly disease. A stroke is usually caused by a blockage in one of the arteries that carries blood to the brain.

The purpose of this study is to visualize the blood vessels in the brain and to look for vessel occlusion (i.e., blockage) which may be the cause of stroke. Ultrasound contrast imaging may or may not improve the ability to diagnose vessel occlusion in the brain quickly and precisely, thereby expediting the therapy currently in place for acute stroke.

The contrast solutions used in this study have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration because they improve ultrasound pictures taken in the heart. While the solutions are approved for use with ultrasound in viewing the heart, the usefulness in viewing brain vessels has not been approved and is experimental.

The study will enroll 400 participants with possible diagnosis of acute stroke. Individuals participating in the study will be injected with a contrast solution via an intravenous line. A small probe will be used to obtain images of blood vessels in the head. The study researchers will measure vital signs prior to injection of the contrast solution, 5 minutes after the injection, and at the end of the ultrasound. Each participant will have a 5-minute mental function assessment and a brief neurological exam. Participants will undergo at least 3 ultrasounds. The total time of each ultrasound is less than 30 minutes.

This study is part of the Specialized Program of Translational Research in Acute Stroke to enhance and initiate translational research that ultimately will benefit stroke patients. Results from this study may help investigators learn about the future development of new diagnostic tests for stroke.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: TERMINATED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 61

Inclusion Criteria

patient 18 years of age or older
code stroke patient

Exclusion Criteria

women with positive pregnancy test
women who are breast feeding
severe emphysema
pulmonary vasculitis
history of pulmonary emboli
chronic renal failure

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
All stroke code patients	ultrasound	After written informed consent Code Stroke patients will undergo a contrast-enhanced transcranial ultrasound study to visualize the intracranial arteries. To do so, an ultrasound contrast agent (Definity) will be administered intravenously and transcranial ultrasound will be applied via the temporal bone window on both sides. Goal is to visualize and assess the intracranial arteries bilaterally. This includes the following vessel segments on both sides: middle cerebral artery (M1,M2,M3 segments), anterior cerebral artery (A1,A2 segments), posterior cerebral artery (P1,P2 segments), internal carotid artery (C1/2,C3/4 segments).

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Number of Participants With Successful Visualization of the Intracranial Arteries in Comparison to Reference Method (MRA/CTA)	within 24 hours after reference method	The number of participants with successful visualization (yes/no) of the cerebral artery segments was assessed by an experienced sonographer who was blinded to the cerebral MRA/CTA.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method

Trial Locations

Locations (2): University of California San Diego Hillcrest Medical Center
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San Diego, California, United States
Sharp Memorial Hospital, 7901 Frost Street
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San Diego, California, United States