A Phase 2 interventional study of Lidocaine hydrochloride and Methylprednisolone sodium succinate in Headaches Associated With Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH), sponsored by Daniel Raper, MBBS. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-08.
Sponsored by Daniel Raper, MBBS · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment
Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a type of bleeding around the brain that can cause sudden and severe headaches. These headaches can be debilitating and persist for weeks, significantly impacting a patient's comfort and recovery. Many patients require opioids for pain control, which can lead to side effects such as drowsiness, constipation, and dependency. There is a need for new treatment strategies to help relieve this pain while minimizing side effects.
This clinical study is designed to evaluate whether an injection of two medications (lidocaine and methylprednisolone) directly into the middle meningeal artery (MMA) can help reduce headache severity in patients who recently experienced a SAH. The medications will be given through a minimally invasive procedure performed during a routine angiogram, a type of imaging test already commonly used in SAH patients. The main goals of the study are to determine whether this treatment approach is safe, helps to reduce the severity of headaches, and decreases the need for opioid pain medications. Eligible patients will be those recently diagnosed with persistent headache symptoms and SAH who are undergoing routine cerebral angiogram, during which the medications are infused into the MMA. Participants will be monitored for pain levels using the Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) and 11-point Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), and for changes in their functional recovery using standard neurologic scales. The results of this study may provide early evidence to support new treatment options for patients suffering from difficult-to-control headaches after a SAH.
This is a single-center, prospective, single-arm, open-label clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of intra-arterial administration of lidocaine and methylprednisolone sodium succinate via the MMA for the treatment of moderate or severe headaches associated with SAH. Eligible participants will include adult patients diagnosed with SAH who are undergoing diagnostic or therapeutic digital subtraction angiography (DSA). During the DSA procedure, following routine angiographic imaging, a microcatheter will be placed in the MMA, and a low dose of lidocaine and methylprednisolone will be slowly infused under fluoroscopic guidance.
The primary outcome will assess the change in headache severity and intensity using the HIT-6 score and 11-point NRS at baseline (pre-intervention), discharge, and at follow-up visits at days 1-10, Weeks 2, 4 and 12. Secondary outcomes will include reduction in opioid use, neurological outcome measured by the modified Rankin Scale at discharge and follow-up, and the incidence of any adverse events related to the procedure.
762 studies on the registry are indexed under Headache; 134 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 25 is below the median of 65 across 560 interventional studies indexed under Headache.
Browse Headache studies →This is the only study on the registry with Daniel Raper, MBBS as lead sponsor.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
5) Willingness to comply with study procedures and follow-ups
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
A recording of the heart’s electrical activity, taken with stickers on the chest, arms and legs. It takes a few minutes and does not hurt.
On an ECG, the QT interval is the time the heart’s lower chambers take to activate electrically and recover in each beat. QTc is that time adjusted for heart rate (QTcF by Fridericia’s formula, QTcB by Bazett’s). Some medicines lengthen it, and a long QTc can raise the risk of a dangerous heart rhythm.
The study may name a correction formula and a limit in milliseconds, often around 450–480.
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
A score of how well the liver works in people with liver disease such as cirrhosis: class A is mild, B moderate and C severe.
The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Hypersensitivity
An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Corticosteroids (steroids)
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ECG (electrocardiogram)
A recording of the heart’s electrical activity, taken with stickers on the chest, arms and legs. It takes a few minutes and does not hurt.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
QT and QTc
On an ECG, the QT interval is the time the heart’s lower chambers take to activate electrically and recover in each beat. QTc is that time adjusted for heart rate (QTcF by Fridericia’s formula, QTcB by Bazett’s). Some medicines lengthen it, and a long QTc can raise the risk of a dangerous heart rhythm.
The study may name a correction formula and a limit in milliseconds, often around 450–480.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraindication
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Child-Pugh class
A score of how well the liver works in people with liver disease such as cirrhosis: class A is mild, B moderate and C severe.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Life expectancy
The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Intra-arterial 80 mg lidocaine and 40 mg methylprednisolone
Drug: Lidocaine hydrochloride · Drug: Methylprednisolone sodium succinate
A total of 20 mg injected in 10 mg doses will be administered over 5 min into the frontal and parietal branches of each MMA, resulting in a cumulative dose of 40 mg per MMA. The injection will be performed bilaterally, yielding a total dose of 80 mg per patient.
Also known as: Xylocaine-MPF
A total of 10 mg were injected over 5 min into the frontal and parietal branches of each MMA, resulting in a cumulative dose of 20 mg per MMA, yielding a total dose of 40 mg per patient.
Also known as: Solu-MEDROL
Headache Severity
Headache Impact Test-6 (HIT-6) score from baseline (pre-intervention) to 12 weeks postoperatively. Scores range from 36 (no impact) to 78 (severe impact), with higher scores indicating a greater negative impact.
Time frame: From baseline to 12-week follow-up
Headache intensity
11-point Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) score from baseline (pre-intervention) to 12 weeks postoperatively. Scores range from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst possible pain), with higher scores indicating a greater negative impact.
Time frame: From baseline to 12-week follow-up
Opioid Use
Total opioid use will be recorded during hospital stay and follow-up.
Time frame: From admission to 12-week follow-up
Functional Outcome
Functional status will be assessed using the modified Rankin Scale at discharge and follow-up. Scores range from 0 (no symptoms) to 6 (death), with lower scores indicating better outcomes.
Time frame: From discharge to 12-week follow-up
Adverse Events Related to Intra-Arterial Injection
All procedural and post-procedural complications will be monitored, including symptoms of lidocaine toxicity, new neurological deficits, worsening headache, hemodynamic instability, or allergic reactions. Events will be categorized by severity and attribution to the intervention.
Time frame: From discharge to 12-week follow-up
Plan to share: No
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Studies of the drugs tested here: Lidocaine · Methylprednisolone Hemisuccinate