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SuspendedNCT03641963aICPStrokeUpdated Feb 27, 2020

aICP Measurement in Patients With Cerebral Artery Infarction / aICP MCA Infarction

An interventional study of Vittamed 205 Non-invasive intracranial pressure (ICP) meter in Stroke, Acute, sponsored by Kantonsspital Aarau. Suspended at 1 site in Switzerland. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2020-02-27.

Sponsored by Kantonsspital Aarau · Not applicable, Interventional, and Diagnostic

Why this study was suspended
Safety questions on patients with glaucoma are in discussion by our IRB
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
48
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
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Study summary

Space-occupying, malignant middle cerebral artery (M-MCA) infarctions are still one of the most devastating forms of ischemic stroke, with a mortality of up to 80% in untreated patients. It is reported that early hemicraniectomy leads to a substantial decrease in mortality at 6 and 12 months and is likely to improve functional outcome. Thus, this study investigates if non-invasive intracranial pressure (ICP) measuring could represent an objective value to determine the time point to indicate decompressive craniectomy surgery.

However, there are still important questions about the individual indication for decompressive surgery. In consideration of a variable clinical course (some patients develop fatal brain edema early, whereas other patients do not show severe brain swelling for several days), achieving a way to measure, control and predict malignant brain edema formation would be of extremely important value.

Read the detailed description

Space-occupying, malignant middle cerebral artery (M-MCA) infarctions are still one of the most devastating forms of ischemic stroke, with a mortality of up to 80% in untreated patients.

Actually, M-MCA infarctions constitute between 1% to 10% of all supratentorial ischemic strokes, with a yearly incidence about 10-20/100.000 people. The etiology of malignant MCA infarctions is mostly due to thrombosis or embolic occlusion of either the internal carotid artery or the proximal MCA. The term M-MCA is referred to a severe MCA syndrome with typical clinical symptoms (hemiparesis to hemiplegia, severe sensory deficits, head and eye deviation, hemi-inattention, and, if the dominant hemisphere is involved, global aphasia), following a uniform clinical course (progressive deterioration of conscious within the first 24-48 h), and ending in herniation. An early diagnosis is essential and depends on CT (Computed Tomography) and MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) to aid the prediction of a malignant course, but, until today there is no clear consensus to define and predict radiologically a malignant evolution in early phases.

Several pharmacological strategies have been proposed but the efficacy of these approaches has not been supported by adequate evidence from clinical trials and, until recently, treatment of malignant MCA infarctions has been a major unmet need.

Over the past 10 years, results from randomised controlled trials (RCT) (HAMLET, DECIMAL and DESTINY) and their pooled analyses have provided evidence that an early hemicraniectomy leads to a substantial decrease in mortality at 6 and 12 months and is likely to improve functional outcome. However, there are still important questions about the individual indication for decompressive surgery. In consideration of a variable clinical course (some patients develop fatal brain edema early, whereas other patients do not show severe brain swelling for several days), achieving a way to measure, control and predict malignant brain edema formation would be of extremely important value.

In this way, the ICP measuring could represent an objective value to determine in every patient the time point to indicate decompressive craniectomy surgery, and also could allow us to find a correlation between the size of the infarction and periinfarction edema. Therefore the optimal timing of surgical intervention can be defined and all the medical treatment adjusted.

Currently, ICP can be measured and registered only using invasive techniques. The two ICP measurement methods available - intraventricular and intraparenchymal - require both a neurosurgical procedure, in order to implant the catheter and probes within the brain. Thus, these measures include themselves a risk for the subject, and both infections and intracranial bleedings are regular albeit not frequent complications. In addition, invasive recording of ICP requires neurosurgical expertise and intensive care unit (ICU) facilities. Therefore ICP measurement so far, is not a standard of care in stroke units.

A reliable, accurate and precise non-invasive method to measure ICP would be of considerable clinical value, enabling ICP measurement without neurosurgical expertise and ICU facilities. Moreover, it would save the patients from the complication risks associated with invasive measures.

02

Conditions studied

  • Stroke, Acute
03

In context

Stroke

7,286 studies on the registry are indexed under Stroke; 2,007 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 48 is close to the median of 50 across 5,369 interventional studies indexed under Stroke.

Browse Stroke studies →

Lead sponsor

Kantonsspital Aarau is the lead sponsor of 27 studies on the registry; 3 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Patient with an ischemic stroke in the internal carotid artery or middle cerebral artery territory at risk of a malignant MCA evolution, defined based on clinical presentation, clinical course (showing a progressive deterioration of conscious within the first 24-48 h), and neuroradiological findings.
  • Age: ≥ 18 years at admission
  • Informed consent of the patient or consent of patient's next of kin (plus consent of an independent physician)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with wounds, scars including the front orbital region.
  • Patients with any known ocular condition that may be worsened by sustained eye pressure.
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Diagnostic
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
48 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Stroke patients with ICP measurement

    All patients with the possibility to evolve a malignant MCA infarct according to the initial assessment, will be included in our study, to measure ICP non-invasive. The ICP will be measured non-invasive with the Vittamed 205 Non-invasive intracranial pressure (ICP) meter.

    Device: Vittamed 205 Non-invasive intracranial pressure (ICP) meter

Interventions

  • DeviceVittamed 205 Non-invasive intracranial pressure (ICP) meter

    Non-Invasive intracranial pressure measurement

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Increased intracranial pressure

    The primary outcome is the non-invasive, absolute intra-cranial pressure (ICP) in M-MCA patients before decompressive surgery, as determined by the "non-invasive ICP absolute value meter" in mmHg

    Time frame: 24 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Correlation of ICP, neuroimaging and transcranial color Doppler

    Correlation between non-invasive measured ICP and clinical and neuroimaging findings and standard transcranial color Doppler

    Time frame: 24 months

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Study locations

1 site
  • Kantonsspital Aarau AG
    Aarau, 5001, Switzerland
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Feb 27, 2020, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03641963
Lead sponsor
Kantonsspital Aarau
Responsible party
Javier Fandino, MD (Prof., Kantonsspital Aarau) — Principal investigator
First posted
Aug 22, 2018
Start date
Dec 1, 2018
Primary completion
Sep 30, 2019
Completion
Dec 31, 2021 (estimated)
Last update
Feb 27, 2020

Study contacts

Javier Fandino
principal investigator · Kantonsspital Aarau

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is suspended, as verified in Feb 2020. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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