Inhaled Nitric Oxide Treatment for Aneurysmal SAH Patients With Intractable Cerebral Vasospasm

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: SAH; Vasospasm; Inhaled Nitric Oxide; Cerebral Ischemia
• Interventions: Drug: Inhaled nitric oxide

• Registration Number: NCT04988932
• Lead Sponsor: Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern

Brief Summary

Aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH) is a rare but severe subtype of stroke with high mortality and morbidity. Besides rebleeding, delayed cerebral ischaemia and cerebral vasospasm (CVS) are thought to be major reasons for the poor outcome in survivors of aSAH. Despite advances in the detection and treatment of CVS 20-40% of CVS patients experience cerebral Ischaemia. Experimental animal studies for ischaemic stroke, traumatic brain injury, and SAH showed that inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) selectively dilates cerebral arteries and arterioles in hypoperfused brain tissue. The investigators therefore performed this prospective pilot study to evaluate the effects of iNO on cerebral perfusion in patients with refractory vasospasm after aSAH.

Detailed Description

Aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH) is a rare but severe subtype of stroke with high mortality and morbidity. Besides rebleeding, delayed cerebral ischaemia and cerebral vasospasm (CVS) are thought to be major reasons for the poor outcome in survivors of aSAH. CVS, thought to be caused by blood breakdown products, peak in the second week after hemorrhage and affect up 88% of patients with severe aSAH. Despite advances in the detection and treatment of CVS there is no established therapy and up 40% of patients experience cerebral ischemia. In symptomatic vasospasm and cerebral hypoperfusion various treatments like induced hypertension, angioplasty and intraarterial vasodilators are used as rescue therapies. Yet, their effect is not proven.

In recent experimental studies, inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) has been shown to induce a selective dilation of cerebral arteries and arterioles in hypoperfused brain tissue \[8, 9\]. After experimental SAH in mice, iNO significantly reduced the number and severity of SAH-induced spasms of cerebral microvessels, thereby improving cerebral perfusion. Inhaled NO has regulatory approval in man by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of several pulmonary pathologies. At first the efficacy of iNO was thought to be limited to the lungs but, based on the results of the experimental studies the investigators hypothesised that iNO may relieve CVS and improve cerebral perfusion in patients with aSAH.

The investigators performed this prospective trial to evaluate the effect of iNO on cerebral perfusion in patients with severe refractory CVS. Only patients with refractory CVS after maximum conservative treatment were included. Inhaled NO was administered to a maximum dose of 40ppm. The effect was assessed by digital subtraction angiography (DSA), tissue oxygen partial pressure (PtiO2), transcranial Doppler (TCD), and CT perfusion (CTP) imaging. Patiente outcome is assessed at 12 weeks an 6 months after hemorrhage and included NIHSS, Mini Mental State (MMS) test, and modified Rankin Scale (mRS).

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2012-07-31
• Primary Completion: 2019-07-28
• Study Completion: 2020-03-20
• Status Verified: 2021-07
• Study First Submitted: 2021-07-12
• Study First Submitted QC: 2021-07-23
• Last Update Submitted: 2021-07-23
• Study First Posted: 2021-08-04
• Last Update Posted: 2021-08-04

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 7

Inclusion Criteria

• aSAH of all severities
• Aneurysm treated by either surgical clipping or endovascular coiling
• Age between 18 - 80 years
• Proven CVS
• Cerebral hypoperfusion and neurological deficit despite treatment (oral nimodipine, induced hypertension, hypervolaemia, central venous pressure > 6 mmHg)
• A negative pregnancy test in women
• Signed informed consent from the next of kin and an independent physician

Exclusion Criteria

• Unsecured aneurysm
• Cerebral infarction on imaging in the downstream brain parenchyma of spastic vessel
• Cerebral herniation
• Intracranial pressure > 25 mmHg
• Pregnancy
• Mean arterial pressure ≤ 90 mmHg despite catecholamines

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Administration of iNO in SAH patients with severe vasospasm	Inhaled nitric oxide	iNO is started at a dose of 1 parts per million (ppm) and increased stepwise to 2 ppm, 5 ppm, 12 ppm, 25 ppm, until a maximum dose of 40 ppm is reached.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Improvement of severe vasospasm in transcranial Doppler	Up to 5 days	A decrease of more than 30 cm/s
Improvement of severe vasospasm in tissue oxygen partial pressure (PtiO2)	Up to 5 days	An increase of more than 5 mmHg with constant fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2)
Improvement of severe vasospasm in digital subtraction angiography	Up to 5 days	\> 10% increase in diameter of the vasospastic target vessel compared to baseline
Improvement of severe vasospasm in CT perfusion	Day 2	A reduction in the number of Region of interest with impaired perfusion (MTT \> 6·5 s)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Intracranial pressure	Up to 5 days	Intracranial pressure using an external ventricular drain catheter
Assessment of ischaemic events by CT Scan	12 weeks after SAH

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Bern; 🇨🇭 Bern, Switzerland