Randomized Trial for Pain Management in Low-grade Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

NCT01851720 · Status: TERMINATED · Phase: PHASE2/PHASE3 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 1

Last updated 2017-06-22

Study results available
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Summary

Headaches associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) cause severe pain. Headache management is complex, requiring a balance between pain control and preservation of neurological assessment. Sufficient pain control can be achieved with narcotics, however, these carry numerous undesirable side effects. Most critically, all narcotics can result in respiratory depression and sedation. For patients who present without neurological defects but debilitating pain, management is particularly challenging. The sedative effect of narcotics confounds the management of these patients by interfering with the neurological examination. Pain management is also a significant concern for patient's families as they observe suffering without full understanding of the importance of preserved mental status. In order to control the pain associated with SAH headaches, the use of narcotics is often required despite the risks. This standard therapy involves an IV bolus dose delivered by the provider regularly as needed for pain control. A common approach to reduce pain in other patient populations, including acute pain relief following major spine surgery, is patient controlled analgesia (PCA). With the PCA method, patients deliver low doses of narcotics through a pain pump with preset maximal doses and frequency of delivery. We hypothesize that this approach to pain relief for SAH headaches will result in lower pain scores, greater patient and family satisfaction scores, and increased patient safety with lower narcotic doses minimally interfering with neurological assessment.

Conditions

  • Headaches Associated With Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH)

Interventions

DRUG

Low dose fentanyl PCA

DRUG

Standard IV fentanyl bolus

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
75 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2012-07-31
Primary Completion
2014-09-15
Completion
2014-09-15

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

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 NCT01851720 on ClinicalTrials.gov