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Anticoagulation in Blunt Cerebrovascular Injuries

NCT00494156 · Status: WITHDRAWN · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Last updated 2015-10-21

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Originally thought to be a rare occurrence, BCVI are now diagnosed in approximately 1% of blunt trauma patients. Initially BCVI were thought to have unavoidable devastating neurologic outcomes. But early reports suggested anticoagulation might decrease these events. If untreated, carotid artery injuries (CAI) have a stoke rate up to 50% depending on injury grade, with increasing stroke rates correlating with increasing grades of injury. Current studies report early treatment with antithrombotics - either heparin or anti-platelet agents - in patients with BCVI markedly reduces stroke rates and resultant neurologic morbidity. As reports of bleeding complications have altered heparin protocols in these patients, the use of antiplatelet agents is attractive. Although heparin has been has been proposed as the gold standard treatment due to its initial empiric use, no comparative studies of antithrombotic agents has been performed.

In sum, Grade I-III blunt carotid and vertebral arterial injuries (BCVI) have the potential for stroke, and should be treated. Heparin has not been shown to clearly improve healing rates compared with antiplatelet therapy. The purpose of this study is to determine whether systemic anticoagulation alters the course of Grade I-III BCVI compared with antiplatelet therapy. The investigators study hypothesis is that Grade I-III BCVI will heal or progress to pseudoaneurysm formation, independent of systemic antithrombotic regimen, and that the combination of aspirin and clopidogrel is equally efficacious in preventing neurologic symptoms compared to systemic heparin associated with Grade I-III BCVI.

Conditions

  • Carotid Artery Injury
  • Vertebral Artery Injury

Interventions

DRUG

heparin

DRUG

aspirin and clopidogrel

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • C. Clay Cothren, MD

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Clay Cothren, MD · Denver Health Medical Center

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2003-07-31
Primary Completion
2008-07-31
Completion
2008-07-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT00494156 on ClinicalTrials.gov