ClinicalTrials.gg
Not yet recruitingNCT07601659PIVA-SMSUpdated May 22, 2026

Prospective Italian Validation of SMS in Patients With Suspected Acute Stroke

An observational study in Cerebrovascular Event, Acute Ischemic Stroke and Intracerebral Hemorrhage, sponsored by Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-22.

Sponsored by Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Other
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
1,000
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The overall objective of the study is to prospectively validate the diagnostic accuracy of the Stroke Mimics Score (SMS). This score is calculated using information collected at the time of the patient's arrival in the Emergency Department (triage) and may assist clinicians in distinguishing between:

  1. cerebrovascular events (ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, and transient ischemic attack [TIA]),
  2. stroke mimics (i.e., conditions that present with stroke-like symptoms but without actual infarction of brain tissue).

In addition, the study aims to compare its results with other existing tools and to evaluate its performance across different patient groups.

Specifically, the present research seeks to generate data on the reliability of the SMS tool in providing an accurate diagnosis.

02

Conditions studied

  • Cerebrovascular Event
  • Acute Ischemic Stroke
  • Intracerebral Hemorrhage
  • TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack)
  • Stroke
03

In context

Ischemic Stroke

2,612 studies on the registry are indexed under Ischemic Stroke; 971 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 1,000 is above the median of 300 across 771 observational studies indexed under Ischemic Stroke.

Browse Ischemic Stroke studies →

Lead sponsor

Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS is the lead sponsor of 952 studies on the registry; 541 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Adult patients presenting to the Emergency Department with suspected acute stroke during the enrollment period.

The final discharge diagnosis will serve as the gold standard.

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.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age ≥ 18 years at the time of presentation to the Emergency Department.
  • Presentation to the Emergency Department with a clinical suspicion of acute stroke, identified at nursing triage and/or through activation of the stroke pathway.
  • Presentation to the Emergency Department during the 6-month prospective enrollment period.
  • Feasibility of real-time collection of the data required to calculate the Stroke Mimics Score (SMS), including:

age, systolic blood pressure, presence/absence of seizure at onset, presence/absence of headache at onset, presence/absence of confusion at onset, presence/absence of syncope at onset, presence/absence of isolated sensory deficit, presence/absence of motor deficit, history of coronary artery disease, history of prior stroke or (TIA).

  • Availability of a final hospital discharge diagnosis at the end of hospitalization or Emergency Department observation.
  • Signed from the patient or caregiver. If the patient is unconscious upon arrival at the Emergency Department, deferred consent will be applied.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Age \< 18 years.
  • Inability to fully collect the data required to calculate the Stroke Mimics Score (SMS).
  • Absence of a clearly defined final hospital discharge diagnosis.
  • Voluntary discharge, transfer, or death before completion of the diagnostic workup, in the absence of a reliable diagnosis.
  • Repeated Emergency Department visits for the same clinical event (only the first visit will be considered).
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(2)

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.

TIA (transient ischaemic attack)

A “mini-stroke”: temporary stroke-like symptoms caused by reduced blood flow to part of the brain, spinal cord or eye, without signs of a new stroke on a scan.

Stroke symptoms need emergency care at once, even if they go away.

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.

05

Study design

Observational model
Other
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
1,000 participants (estimated)
Patient registry
No
06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. The rate of accuracy of Stroke Mimics Score (SMS)

    Diagnostic accuracy of the Stroke Mimics Score (SMS) in discriminating between: 1. cerebrovascular events (CVE), 2. stroke mimics (SM), assessed by: Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUROC). The AUROC will be calculated with a 95% confidence interval. An AUROC value significantly higher than 0.70 will be considered indicative of an acceptable discriminative ability of the score.

    Time frame: through study completion, about 1 year

Secondary outcomes

  1. Analyses across clinical subgroups

    To evaluate sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), score calibration, the performance of the grouped version (SMSg), comparison with FABS and TMS, and analyses across clinical subgroups.

    Time frame: through study completion, about 1 year

07

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Start is estimated for Jun 2026; primary completion for Dec 2026, 6 months later.

Of 394 non-industry observational studies under Ischemic Stroke, half reached primary completion within 56 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 25 and three quarters within 140. This study's planned 6 months is below that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 436 studies reached it within 53 months; a quarter within 24 and three quarters within 127.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
May 6, 2026
First posted
May 22, 2026
StartEst.
Jun 1, 2026
Primary completionEst.
Dec 1, 2026
CompletionEst.
Jun 1, 2027
Last update
May 22, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 22, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07601659
Responsible party
Frisullo Giovanni (MD, PhD, Neurologist, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS) — Principal investigator
First posted
May 22, 2026
Start date
Jun 1, 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Dec 1, 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Jun 1, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
May 22, 2026

Study contacts

Giovanni Frisullo
Contact
giovanni.frisullo@policlinicogemelli.it
+393476612284
Giovanni Frisullo
principal investigator · Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in May 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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