ClinicalTrials.gg
Not yet recruitingNCT07634393IMPACTUpdated Oct 1, 2026

Intravenous Metoclopramide Versus Intravenous Acetaminophen for Acute Concussion Treatment

A Phase 4 interventional study of Metoclopramide 10mg and Acetaminophen in Concussion Post Syndrome and Head Trauma Injury, sponsored by Montefiore Medical Center. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-01.

Sponsored by Montefiore Medical Center · Phase 4, Interventional, and Treatment

Updated Oct 1, 2026Start date movedPrimary completion moved+2 moreGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
200
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The IMPACT study is a randomized, double-blind clinical trial evaluating two commonly used intravenous medications - metoclopramide and acetaminophen - for treating acute post-concussion symptoms in emergency department patients after mild head injury. The study aims to determine which treatment more effectively improves symptoms such as headache, dizziness, nausea, concentration difficulties, and emotional changes within the first week after injury.

Participants will be enrolled across two Montefiore emergency departments and followed using a validated post-concussion symptom questionnaire. Findings from this study may help improve evidence-based treatment strategies for patients experiencing concussion-related symptoms after head trauma.

Read the detailed description

Nearly 1.5 million patients present to US emergency departments (ED) annually following head trauma. Many, even with a low velocity mechanism of injury, report a variety of post-concussion symptoms, including headache, dizziness, and nausea. For most patients, post-concussion symptoms will resolve after several days, though up to 1/4 will develop persistent symptomatology that can last months or years.

Very few randomized studies are available to guide treatment of acute post-concussion symptoms. In the absence of evidence, most emergency physicians treat post-concussion symptoms using typical medications for the symptom - thus headache is treated with analgesic medication, nausea with antiemetics, and dizziness with medications such as meclizine. Other symptoms commonly described as part of post-concussion syndrome, such as fatigue, irritability, and poor concentration, are usually left untreated.

Two randomized studies among ED patients who experienced head trauma were recently completed at Montefiore EDs. In the first, one dose of IV metoclopramide, when compared to placebo, improved post-concussion syndrome both in the ED and one week later. In this study, IV metoclopramide was effective against a broad range of symptoms beyond just headache and nausea. Variables related to concentration (including concentration, remembering, and feeling like one is in a fog) were better in the metoclopramide arm at both one hour and at one week. Similarly, variables related to emotion (including feeling more emotional, irritability and sadness) were better in the active group. In the second study, adding IV dexamethasone to metoclopramide did not result in increased or prolonged efficacy.

The pharmacy will use sealedenvelope.com to generate the blinded assignment sequence.

02

Conditions studied

  • Concussion Post Syndrome
  • Head Trauma Injury

Keywords

  • Concussion
  • Head Trauma
  • Acetaminophen
  • Metoclopramide
03

In context

Post-Concussion Syndrome

141 studies on the registry are indexed under Post-Concussion Syndrome; 34 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 200 is above the median of 52 across 114 interventional studies indexed under Post-Concussion Syndrome.

Browse Post-Concussion Syndrome studies →

Lead sponsor

Montefiore Medical Center is the lead sponsor of 416 studies on the registry; 69 are open to participants now.

Of its 87 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 76 (87%) have results posted.

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

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

  • Adults presenting to one of the study emergency departments (EDs)
  • Acute minor traumatic brain injury/concussion as defined by the Zurich Consensus Statement, including symptoms in somatic, cognitive, emotional, behavioral, physical, cognitive impairment, or sleep domains
  • ED visit occurring within 7 days of the head injury
  • Overall pain intensity greater than >=6 on a 0-10 scale
  • Rivermead Post-Concussion Questionnaire (RPQ) score of at least 10
  • Reported post-concussion symptoms were not present prior to the injury
  • Treating attending physician plans to administer a parenteral medication

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Already treated with an anti-dopaminergic medication for post-concussion symptoms
  • to study medications, including:
  • Pheochromocytoma
  • Seizure disorder
  • Parkinson's disease
  • Use of monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors
  • Use of anti-rejection transplant medications
  • Pregnant patients will not be excluded because both acetaminophen and metoclopramide are commonly used during pregnancy.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

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.

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.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
200 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Metoclopramide 10 mg

    Metoclopramide 10 mg IV over 15 minutes

    Drug: Metoclopramide 10mg

  • Active comparator
    Acetaminophen

    1000 Mg IV over 15 minutes

    Drug: Acetaminophen

Interventions

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (RPQ) score

    Change in post-concussion symptoms from baseline to 48 hours after treatment will be measured using the RPQ. The RPQ is a validated instrument designed to quantify the severity of post-concussive symptoms following mild traumatic brain injury. It consists of 16 items encompassing physical (e.g., headache, dizziness), cognitive (e.g., poor concentration, forgetfulness), and emotional (e.g., irritability, depression) domains, each rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 0 ("Not experienced at all") to 4 ("A severe problem"), for an overall possible range of 0-64, such that higher scores reflect worsening concussive symptomatology. Absolute change from baseline scores will be summarized by study arm using descriptive statistics. For patients requiring rescue therapy in the ED, the pre-rescue medication RPQ score will be used in lieu of the 48-hour score to ensure that the 48-hour outcome reflects the individual's poor response to the investigational medication.

    Time frame: From baseline to 48 hours post-treatment

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in RPQ score Improvement in post-concussion symptoms measured using the RPQ between baseline and 1 hour after treatment.

    Change in post-concussion symptoms will also be measured at 1 hour and 7 days post-treatment using the RPQ. The RPQ is a validated instrument designed to quantify the severity of post-concussive symptoms following mild traumatic brain injury. It consists of 16 items encompassing physical (e.g., headache, dizziness), cognitive (e.g., poor concentration, forgetfulness), and emotional (e.g., irritability, depression) domains, each rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 0 ("Not experienced at all") to 4 ("A severe problem"), for an overall possible range of 0-64, such that higher scores reflect worsening concussive symptomatology. For purposes of this study, an absolute change from baseline score will be reported for the 1 hour and 7 days post-treatment timepoints. Values will be summarized by study arm using descriptive statistics.

    Time frame: From baseline to 1 hour and 7 days post-treatment

Other outcomes

  1. Change in Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) pain score

    Change in pain score from baseline to 7 days post-treatment will be assessed using the NRS for pain. The NRS is a commonly used rating scale for pain in ED studies and is comprised of a segmented, 11-point assessment wherein patients verbally identify their pain severity on a scale ranging from 0 ("No pain") to 10 ("Worst pain imaginable"), such that higher scores are indicative of increased pain intensity. For purposes of this outcome, a relative change from baseline score will be reported for the 7-day post-treatment timepoint. Values will be summarized by study arm using descriptive statistics. Changes in pain scores will be analyzed in relation to RPQ symptom improvement as an exploratory outcome.

    Time frame: From baseline to 7 days post-treatment

07

Study locations

1 site
08

References and documents

Publications

  • McCrory P, Meeuwisse WH, Aubry M, Cantu B, Dvorak J, Echemendia RJ, Engebretsen L, Johnston K, Kutcher JS, Raftery M, Sills A, Benson BW, Davis GA, Ellenbogen RG, Guskiewicz K, Herring SA, Iverson GL, Jordan BD, Kissick J, McCrea M, McIntosh AS, Maddocks D, Makdissi M, Purcell L, Putukian M, Schneider K, Tator CH, Turner M. Consensus statement on concussion in sport: the 4th International Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Zurich, November 2012. Br J Sports Med. 2013 Apr;47(5):250-8. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2013-092313. No abstract available. PubMed 23479479 ↗
  • Fanciullacci M, Alessandri M, Del Rosso A. Dopamine involvement in the migraine attack. Funct Neurol. 2000;15 Suppl 3:171-81. PubMed 11200788 ↗
  • Charbit AR, Akerman S, Goadsby PJ. Dopamine: what's new in migraine? Curr Opin Neurol. 2010 Jun;23(3):275-81. doi: 10.1097/WCO.0b013e3283378d5c. PubMed 20164768 ↗
  • Friedman BW, Irizarry E, Cain D, Caradonna A, Minen MT, Solorzano C, Zias E, Zybert D, McGregor M, Bijur PE, Gallagher EJ. Randomized Study of Metoclopramide Plus Diphenhydramine for Acute Posttraumatic Headache. Neurology. 2021 May 4;96(18):e2323-e2331. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000011822. Epub 2021 Mar 24. PubMed 33762421 ↗
  • Larsen EL, Ashina H, Iljazi A, Al-Khazali HM, Seem K, Ashina M, Ashina S, Schytz HW. Acute and preventive pharmacological treatment of post-traumatic headache: a systematic review. J Headache Pain. 2019 Oct 21;20(1):98. doi: 10.1186/s10194-019-1051-7. PubMed 31638888 ↗
  • Barlow KM. Post-traumatic headache: An unmet medical need. Headache. 2021 Nov;61(10):1465-1466. doi: 10.1111/head.14241. No abstract available. PubMed 34928511 ↗
  • Evans RW. The Postconcussion Syndrome and Posttraumatic Headaches in Civilians, Soldiers, and Athletes. Neurol Clin. 2024 May;42(2):341-373. doi: 10.1016/j.ncl.2023.12.001. Epub 2024 Jan 16. PubMed 38575256 ↗
  • Blyth BJ, Bazarian JJ. Traumatic alterations in consciousness: traumatic brain injury. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2010 Aug;28(3):571-94. doi: 10.1016/j.emc.2010.03.003. PubMed 20709244 ↗
  • Varner C, Thompson C, de Wit K, Borgundvaag B, Houston R, McLeod S. Predictors of persistent concussion symptoms in adults with acute mild traumatic brain injury presenting to the emergency department. CJEM. 2021 May;23(3):365-373. doi: 10.1007/s43678-020-00076-6. Epub 2021 Feb 8. PubMed 33555602 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

09

Updates

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
Start date
Aug 1, 2026→Oct 2026
Oct 1, 2026
Primary completion
Jun 30, 2028→Oct 2028
Oct 1, 2026
Study completion
Aug 4, 2028→Oct 2028
Oct 1, 2026
Contact
Study contact changed: b•••@montefiore.org · •••3333→b•••@montefiore.org · •••3333. See the current contact
Oct 1, 2026
Site contacts
Changed at 1 site. See the sites
Show the site
  • Montefiore Medical Center · New York, United StatesContact b•••@montefiore.org · •••3333→b•••@montefiore.org · •••3333
Oct 1, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Oct 1, 2026
    Start date Aug 1, 2026→Oct 2026
    Primary completion Jun 30, 2028→Oct 2028
    Study completion Aug 4, 2028→Oct 2028
    Contact Study contact changed: b•••@montefiore.org · •••3333→b•••@montefiore.org · •••3333. See the current contact
    Site contacts Changed at 1 site. See the sites
    Show the site
    • Montefiore Medical Center · New York, United StatesContact b•••@montefiore.org · •••3333→b•••@montefiore.org · •••3333
    + 3 other changes: identifiers, verification date and description

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07634393
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jun 8, 2026
Start date
Oct 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Oct 2028 (estimated)
Completion
Oct 2028 (estimated)
Last update
Oct 1, 2026

Study contacts

Hamed Sarikhani, MD
Contact
hsarikhani@montefiore.org
929-731-2137
Benjamin W Friedman, MD,MS
Contact
befriedman@montefiore.org
718-904-3333
Benjamin W Friedman, MD,MS
principal investigator · Montefiore Medical Center

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

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Studies of the drugs tested here: Metoclopramide · Acetaminophen

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