NCT05097261

Ketamine in Acute Brain Injury Patients.

Brain Injury and Ketamine: a Prospective, Randomized Controlled Double Blind Clinical Trial to Study the Effects of Ketamine on Sedative Sparing and Intracranial Pressure in Traumatic Brain Injury Patients.

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: Phase 4
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 100 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Geert Meyfroidt, MD, PhD · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Although, in the past years, an increasing use of ketamine in Traumatic Brain injury (TBI) has been reported as an adjunct to other sedatives, there is no evidence from randomized clinical trial to support this practice. The BIKe (Brain Injury and Ketamine) study is a double-blind placebo controlled randomized multicenter clinical trial to examine the safety and feasibility of using ketamine as an adjunct to a standard sedative strategy in TBI patients.

Detailed description

In this study the effects of ketamine as an adjunct to an standard sedation regime in adult TBI patients will be investigated on the therapy intensity level and intracranial pressure. All patients will receive propofol for sedation to control ICP, to a maximum dose of 4 mg/kg/h. If the ICP is not controlled at the maximum dose of propofol, midazolam will be added, to a maximum dose of 0.3 mg/kg/h, as part of the current standard of care in the Participating Sites. All patients will receive remifentanil, fentanyl or sufentanil infusions for pain relief. The study medication (ketamine or placebo) will be started after randomization. As part of the current standard of care in the Participating Sites, the decision for decompressive craniectomy and/or barbiturate coma will be taken after multidisciplinary consultation between the treating intensivist and neurosurgeon. The decision to stop or reduce sedation, lies with the treating physician, based on the level of ICP control, the absence of clinical or radiological signs of deterioration of the neurologic state. In the case of barbiturate coma, the study drug will be discontinued. During and following decompressive craniectomy, the sedative regime (propofol/midazolam/study drug/ opioids) will be continued. In case of suspected or threatening Propofol-Related Infusion syndrome, propofol will be stopped and switched to midazolam. In case of hypertriglyceridemia \>200 mg/dL, propofol will be reduced and if necessary, midazolam will be associated to allow control of sedation. During surgical procedures related to the traumatic brain injury or not, the study drug will not be discontinued. The use of open label administration of ketamine is not allowed during the course of the trial, i.e until hospital discharge.

Conditions

• Brain Injuries, Traumatic

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	Ketamine	Racemic ketamine® will be administered by continuous infusion in a prefilled 50 ml syringe at a concentration of 50 mg/ml, undiluted. The ketamine dose is 1 mg/kg/h, to a maximum dose of 120 mg/hour, which corresponds to an infusion rate of 0.02 ml/kg/h to a maximum rate of 2.4 ml/h.
DRUG	Placebo	Placebo (NaCl 0.9%) will be provided in the same type syringes and administered at the same infusion rate as the IMP (0.02 ml/kg/h to a maximum rate of 2.4 ml/h).

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-09-06
• Primary completion: 2025-12-31
• Completion: 2026-06-30
• First posted: 2021-10-28
• Last updated: 2024-08-22

Locations

8 sites across 1 country: Belgium