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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04265807

Remote Ischemic Conditioning to Enhance Resuscitation (RICE) Pilot

Following resuscitation from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), reperfusion injury can cause cell damage in the heart and brain. Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) consists of intermittent application of a device such as a blood pressure cuff to a limb to induce non-lethal ischemia. Studies in animals with cardiac arrest as well as in humans with acute myocardial infarction suggest that RIC before or after restoration of blood flow may reduce injury to the heart and improve outcomes but this has not been proven in humans who have had OHCA. The RICE pilot study is a single-center study to assess the feasibility of application of RIC in the emergency department setting for patients transported to the hospital after resuscitation from OHCA.

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Key information

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Graham Nichol

Seattle, Washington, 98104, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Included will be those with:

  • Age 18 years or more;
  • Defibrillation by laypersons or defibrillation and/or chest compressions by EMS providers dispatched to the scene;
  • Non-traumatic etiology of arrest, defined as without concomitant blunt, penetrating, or burn-related injury, or uncontrolled bleeding or exsanguination;
  • Spontaneous circulation upon emergency department arrival;
  • No response to verbal commands; and
  • Ongoing or planned induced hypothermia.

Excluded will be those with:

  • STEMI indicated on first 12-lead ECG obtained after restoration of circulation, defined as ST-elevation of ≥2 mm in two or more contiguous ECG leads;
  • Written do not attempt resuscitation (DNAR) reported to providers before randomization;
  • Drowning or hypothermia as cause of arrest;
  • Known prisoner or pregnant; or
  • Dialysis fistula in either upper extremity; or
  • Pre-existing amputation of upper extremity.

Treatment and study plan

Active Remote Ischemic Conditioning

Device

A standard non-invasive blood pressure cuff (e.g., American Diagnostics Corporation, Hauppauge, NY but any one can be used off the shelf) and disposable plastic clamp (e.g.,Medline Industries Incorporated, Mundelein, IL) can be used to apply RIC in patients resuscitated from OHCA via three cycles of 5-mins. inflation to 200 mmHg followed by 5-mins. deflation of a blood pressure cuff on a upper extremity. The cuff occludes the artery; the clamp maintains pressure in the air bladder of the cuff during the inflation periods.

Sham remote ischemic conditioning

Device

The control group will have a sham package opened at the bedside as soon as feasible after ED arrival. This will be identical in size, weight and appearance as that in the intervention group, but will contain a sham device. Upon identification that the patient has been randomized to the control group, the care team will proceed with all other resuscitative measures as in the the intervention group.

Primary outcomes

  1. Attrition

    Time frame: Completion of their allocated study intervention, an average of 30 minutes from enrollment

    Attrition assessed as the proportion of randomized subjects who do not remain on allocated therapy for the intended study duration among subjects randomly allocated. On therapy for the intended study duration consists of completing three cycles of inflation-deflation.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Treatment Success

    Time frame: 30 minutes from initiation of study intervention

    Treatment Success assessed as the proportion of intervention group patients who remain alive and on their allocated therapy for the intended study duration.

  2. Cardiac Function

    Time frame: Within 48 hours of index arrest

    Cardiac Function assessed as left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) using echocardiograms ordered for clinical indications.

  3. Proportion With Cardiogenic Shock, %

    Time frame: Within 48 hours of index arrest

    Cardiogenic Shock assessed as systolic BP < 80 mmHg during any 6 h period within 48 h of the index arrest not due to a correctable cause, and treated with pressors or inotropes or placement of a mechanical cardiac assist device (e.g. intra-aortic balloon pump). Cardiogenic shock correlates with survival after resuscitation from cardiac arrest.

  4. STEMI

    Time frame: Within 48 hours of index arrest

    STEMI assessed as the presence of electrocardiographic (ECG) and biomarker criteria for acute myocardial infarction within 48 h of the index arrest. Note that ST-elevation on the first 12-lead ECG after resuscitation is a poor predictor of acute infarction in this population. These patients often develop infarctions during the subsequent 48 h.

  5. Myocardial Injury

    Time frame: Within 24 hours of index arrest

    Myocardial Injury assessed as peak serum troponin in ng/mL at any time point within 24 h of index arrest.

  6. Renal Dysfunction

    Time frame: Within 24 hours of index arrest

    Renal Dysfunction assessed using Risk, Injury, Failure, Loss, End Stage criteria.

  7. Hospital Free Survival

    Time frame: Within 30 days of index arrest

    Hospital Free Survival (HFS) assessed as number of days alive and permanently out of hospital up to 30 days post arrest

  8. Withdrawal of Care

    Time frame: Discharge or 30 days after index arrest

    assessed as the reduction of support (i.e. reducing pressors, lab draws or medications) or withdrawal of support (i.e. extubation, stopping drips/meds, changing to comfort care only) during hospitalization.

  9. Favourable Neurologic Status at Discharge

    Time frame: Discharge or 30 days after index arrest

    Favourable Neurologic Status at Discharge assessed using modified Rankin Score (MRS) < 3 at hospital discharge or 30 days after index arrest. Modified Rankin Scale is scored from zero to six. Higher values represent a worse outcome. Favorable neurologic status is defined as a modified Rankin score 0, 1 or 2.

  10. Survival to Discharge

    Time frame: Discharge or 30 days after index arrest

    Survival to Discharge assessed as alive when discharged from hospital to home, nursing facility or rehabilitation. Patients transferred to another acute care facility (e.g. to undergo implantable defibrillator placement) will be considered still hospitalized.

  11. Clinical Instability at Discharge

    Time frame: Discharge or 30 days after index arrest

    Clinical Instability at Discharge assessed using the Kosecoff Index measured at discharge based on the presence of nine symptoms and signs associated with increased risk of rehospitalization. Instability will be the presence of any of these.

    Clinical instability at discharge was defined by the Kosecoff Index. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2214063/

    This was scored as 1 point for the presence and 0 for the absence of each of the following during the 24 h prior to discharge:

    Fever, temperature >38.3°C Urinary incontinence Chest pain Shortness of breath Confusion Heart rate >=130 beats/min Respiratory rate >=30/min Diastolic blood pressure >= 105 mmHg Systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg Heart rate < 50 bpm Premature ventricular contractions on telemetry

  12. Survival to 30 Days After Arrest

    Time frame: 30 days after index arrest

    Survival to 30 Days After Cardiac Arrest assessed as alive 30 days after the index cardiac arrest as confirmed by a brief telephone interview.

  13. Accrual

    Time frame: Before leaving the emergency department

    Accrual is the proportion of eligible subjects who have the study device applied

Other outcomes

  1. Device Failure

    Time frame: 30 minutes from initiation of study intervention

    device failure will be defined as discontinuation of use of the device prior to the end of allocated treatment interval because of mechanical failure as opposed to provider preference.

  2. Expected Adverse Event Related to Device- Pain

    Time frame: Within 24 hours of Enrollment

    Pain assessed using the Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale at 30 and 60 minutes after randomization in control and intervention group patients. No gold standard exists for pain assessment in sedated and ventilated patients.

  3. Expected Adverse Event Related to Device- Thrombophlebitis

    Time frame: Within 1 week of Enrollment

    Thrombophlebitis assessed as symptomatic non central nervous system venous or arterial thrombus documented radiographically or ultrasonographically in the upper extremity to which the study intervention was applied.

  4. Expected Adverse Event Related to Device- Sepsis

    Time frame: Within 1 week of Enrollment

    Sepsis assessed within one week of index arrest as either i) the presence of microbiologically proven, clinically proven, or suspected infection; or ii) presence of Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS); and iii) development of at least one organ dysfunction within the preceding 24 hours.

  5. Expected Adverse Event Related to Cardiac Arrest

    Time frame: Discharge or 30 days after index arrest

    Related to Cardiac Arrest The following are commonly observed in patients who experience cardiac arrest, and may or may not be attributable to specific resuscitation therapies. These will be monitored and reported but not classified as serious adverse events. Clinical diagnoses of pneumonia, cerebral bleeding, stroke, seizures, bleeding requiring transfusion or surgical intervention, rearrest, pulmonary edema, serious rib fractures, sternal fractures, internal thoracic or abdominal injuries as noted in the hospital discharge summary.

  6. Unexpected Adverse Event

    Time frame: Discharge or 30 days after index arrest

    These will be defined as any serious unexpected adverse effect on health or safety or any unexpected life-threatening problem caused by, or associated with, a device, if that effect or problem was not previously identified in nature, severity, or degree of incidence in the investigation plan or application, or any other unexpected serious problem associated with a device that relates to the rights, safety or welfare of subjects. Death or neurological impairment will not be considered an adverse event in this study, as it is an expected part of the natural history of the illness for a large proportion of the population.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Washington

Other

Collaborators

  • Charles F. Kettering Foundation

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2022
Study completion
2022
First posted
Feb 12, 2020
Registry last updated
Feb 4, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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