ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT07899164ProP-TBI ICUUpdated Oct 27, 2026

Efficacy of Propranolol in Traumatic Brain Injury Patients Admitted to the ICU: A Prospective, Randomized, Triple-Blind Study

A Phase 3 interventional study of Propranolol + Placebo in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Patients, sponsored by Fundació d'investigació Sanitària de les Illes Balears. Recruiting at 6 sites in Spain. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-27.

Sponsored by Fundació d'investigació Sanitària de les Illes Balears · Phase 3, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 4 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Jun 2026, registered Oct 2026).
  • Started Jun 2026; still recruiting 5 months later.
Updated Oct 27, 2026Newly registeredGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
536
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 80 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Beta-blockers have shown promise as a treatment to improve patient prognosis following traumatic brain injury (TBI), although the exact mechanism by which they might confer this benefit remains unknown.

At the clinical level, several retrospective cohort studies, prospective cohort studies, small prospective clinical trials, and various reviews and meta-analyses suggest that beta-blockers may be associated with an improved prognosis in patients with TBI. Furthermore, the optimal timing, dosage, and duration of beta-blocker treatment remain uncertain. This means there is still uncertainty regarding the overall efficacy of beta-blockade in patients with TBI, as well as the specifics of patient selection, drugs, dosages, routes of administration, and physiological targets.

In summary, the use of beta-blockers in patients with TBI appears to be associated with reduced mortality at the time of ICU discharge, as well as better long-term functional outcomes. However, the lack of high-quality scientific evidence clearly limits the ability to make a generalized recommendation regarding the use of beta-blockers in these patients. Therefore, further clinical trials are needed to analyze the effect of beta-blockers on mortality and short- and long-term functional outcomes in patients with TBI admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Read the detailed description

The Prop-TBI in ICU trial is a prospective, randomized, multicenter, triple-blind clinical trial with two parallel treatment groups, designed to evaluate the efficacy of propranolol versus placebo in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) requiring ICU admission.

02

Conditions studied

  • Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Patients

Keywords

  • traumatic brain injury
  • propranolol
  • clinical trial
03

In context

Brain Injuries, Traumatic

1,721 studies on the registry are indexed under Brain Injuries, Traumatic; 447 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 536 is above the median of 52 across 1,088 interventional studies indexed under Brain Injuries, Traumatic.

Browse Brain Injuries, Traumatic studies →

Lead sponsor

Fundació d'investigació Sanitària de les Illes Balears is the lead sponsor of 20 studies on the registry; 9 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 80 Years
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

  • Patients aged 18 to 80 years (inclusive) who have sustained a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury (GCS 3-13) and require ICU admission.
  • Signing of the by the patient or their legal representative, in the event that the patient is unable to do so.
  • Before starting the trial, the patient must be hemodynamically stable, defined as having a systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 110 mmHg or higher, a cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) of 60 mmHg or higher (for patients with ICP monitoring), and a heart rate (HR) of 60 beats per minute or higher. Patients meeting these hemodynamic parameters while receiving a noradrenaline dose lower than 0.10 µg/kg/min may be included.
  • Initiation of the study within the first 96 hours following the trauma.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Age 17 years or younger, or 81 years or older (inclusive)
  • Hemodynamically unstable patients, defined as having a systolic blood pressure of 109 mmHg or less, a cerebral perfusion pressure of 59 mmHg or less (in patients with ICP monitoring), and a heart rate of 59 beats per minute or less, and requiring a noradrenaline dose greater than 0.10 µg/kg/min.
  • Lactic acid >2 mmol/L at the time of randomization.
  • Patients with a TBI of more than 96 hours' duration
  • Polytrauma patients with an extracranial Injury Severity Score greater than 18 points or an extracranial AIS score of ≥4 in any region.
  • Patients with penetrating traumatic brain injury.
  • Pre-existing heart disease that contraindicates beta-blockers, such as first-, second-, or third-degree heart block without a permanent pacemaker; heart failure defined as an of less than 40%.
  • Patients receiving home treatment with digoxin, diltiazem, or verapamil.
  • Patients treated with beta-blockers prior to admission
  • Pre-existing asthma or bronchospasm
  • Patients with spinal cord injuries
  • Patients with both dilated pupils upon admission
  • Patients with a poor prognosis and a inferior to 24 hours
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women (a pregnancy test is required before inclusion in the clinical trial)
  • Patients with intolerance to any of the contained in the propranolol or placebo capsules: lactose, calcium carboxymethylcellulose, gelatin (E441), magnesium stearate, hypromellose (E464), glycerol (E422), titanium dioxide (E171), carmine (E120), or sodium carboxymethylcellulose.
  • Patients for whom follow-up at one month and six months cannot be guaranteed.
  • Patients unable to take medication orally due to swallowing difficulties, and for whom the placement of a nasogastric tube is not indicated.
  • Patients enrolled in another clinical trial
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(4)

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.

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.

LVEF (left ventricular ejection fraction)

The share of blood the heart’s main pumping chamber (the left ventricle) pushes out with each beat, measured by an echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) or a MUGA scan. About 50–70% is normal.

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.

Excipients

The other ingredients in a medicine besides the active drug, such as fillers, colours or preservatives.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
536 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo

    Patients with TBI admitted to these hospitals who meet the inclusion/exclusion criteria will be randomized to receive propranolol or placebo, administered orally or via nasogastric tube, for 14 days.

    Drug: Propranolol + Placebo

  • Experimental
    Propranolol

    Patients with TBI admitted to these hospitals who meet the inclusion/exclusion criteria will be randomized to receive propranolol or placebo, administered orally or via nasogastric tube, for 14 days. The propranolol dosages used are those typically employed in the ICU: treatment begins with an initial dose of 10 mg every 6 hours (40 mg/day), which may be increased to a maximum of 40 mg every 4 hours (maximum 240 mg/day) based on blood pressure and heart rate parameters.

    Drug: Propranolol + Placebo

Interventions

  • DrugPropranolol + Placebo

    Patients with TBI admitted to these hospitals who meet the inclusion/exclusion criteria will be randomized to receive propranolol or placebo, administered orally or via nasogastric tube, for 14 days. The propranolol dosages used are those typically employed in the ICU: treatment begins with an initial dose of 10 mg every 6 hours (40 mg/day), which may be increased to a maximum of 40 mg every 4 hours (maximum 240 mg/day) based on blood pressure and heart rate parameters.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. In-hospital mortality

    To compare in-hospital mortality in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) requiring ICU admission after receiving 14 days of treatment with propranolol versus placebo.

    Time frame: Through study completion

Secondary outcomes

  1. Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale score

    To compare the percentage of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) showing a good outcome (GOSE score ≥5) after receiving 14 days of treatment with propranolol versus placebo, at 1 month and 6 months post-injury. Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOSE) is a standardized 8-point clinical tool used to assess a patient's level of functional recovery and independence after a traumatic brain injury (TBI). From 1 (dead) to 8 (upper good recovery).

    Time frame: 1-month GOSE; 6-month GOSE

  2. Adverse events

    -Compare the occurrence of adverse effects between the two groups during the 14-day treatment period.

    Time frame: 14-day treatment period

07

Study locations

5 of 6 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Study documents

PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — All IPD collected throughout the trial under request to the PI

Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan

Time frame: December 1st of 2028

Access criteria: All study data will be available under request to the PI

09

Timeline

1 registry update 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

Started Jun 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Jun 2028, 24 months after the start.

Of 30 phase 3 interventional studies under Brain Injuries, Traumatic, half reached primary completion within 48 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 19 and three quarters within 69. This study's planned 24 months is below that.

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

Registered
Oct 16, 2026
First posted
Oct 27, 2026
StartActual
Jun 1, 2026
Primary completionEst.
Jun 1, 2028
CompletionEst.
Dec 1, 2028
Last update
Oct 27, 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.
Registered
First appeared on the registry. No changes since
Oct 27, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Oct 27, 2026
    First appeared on the registry

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
NCT07899164
Lead sponsor
Fundació d'investigació Sanitària de les Illes Balears
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Oct 27, 2026
Start date
Jun 1, 2026
Primary completion
Jun 1, 2028 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 1, 2028 (estimated)
Last update
Oct 27, 2026

Study contacts

Jon Pérez Bárcena, MD
Contact
juan.perez@ssib.es
+34620454370

Oversight

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

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