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The Effect of Anesthesia on Neurodevelopmental Outcome (NDO)

Anesthesia and the Developing Brain: a Comparison of Two Anesthetic Techniques

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03882788
Acronym
NDO
Enrollment
153
Registered
2019-03-20
Start date
2013-04-22
Completion date
2020-11-19
Last updated
2022-05-09

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Anesthesia; Adverse Effect, Congenital Heart Disease, Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to assess whether the type of anesthesia, narcotic-based versus inhalational anesthesia administered during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) surgery contributes to the wide variation in neurologic recovery and developmental outcome after surgery in infants with congenital heart disease.

Detailed description

All subjects will be consented prior to participation in this study and prior to randomization. All the subjects enrolled in the study will receive a preoperative assessment by one of the cardiac anesthesiologists and receive standardized induction with sevoflurane up to 2%, 2 mcg/kg of fentanyl and 1 mg/kg of rocuronium. The anesthetic maintenance will be determined using a computer- generated randomization table and assigning each patient to one of the two anesthetic regimens. Both of these anesthetic techniques are standard of care and are commonly used for these procedures. Anesthetic Technique: Volatile anesthetic: In volatile anesthetic technique, maintenance of anesthesia will be standardized to the volatile anesthetic isoflurane. Isoflurane will be used for the study since this is what is presently available on the CPB machines. Anesthesia at 1.0 minimum anesthetic concentration (MAC) indicates that at this concentration 50% of the patients will not move when surgically stimulated. Anesthesiologists commonly use about 1.2-1.4 MAC in neonates, since the MAC value in infants is higher than that of children and adults. Isoflurane will be delivered at 1.5-2.0%% as required for anesthetic management. Rocuronium or pancuronium will be used for muscle relaxation. Narcotic, fentanyl will be administered at no greater than 2 mcg/kg/hr. Narcotic-based anesthetic: In narcotic based anesthetic technique, no volatile anesthetics will be used except during induction. Maintenance of anesthesia will be with fentanyl 5 mcg/kg/hr not to exceed 10 mcg/kg/hr. The anesthetic may be supplemented with dexmedetomidine 0.05 mcg/kg/hr but not to exceed 1.0 mcg/kg/hr. Narcotic-based anesthetic will be used by the cardiac anesthesia team and the CPB technician throughout the operative case. 5 mcg/kg/hr of fentanyl is felt to represent 0.6 MAC of anesthesia. Postoperative Sedative and Analgesic Care: As per institutional standard of care, postoperative sedation will consist of fentanyl infusions of 2-4 mcg/kg/hr for the first 48 hours postoperatively. A total of 9 Blood samples will be collected at different time points throughout the entire study for metabolomics determination (NAA/Cr and Chol/Cr) EEG monitoring will be done for baseline in the pre-operative period for 15-20 minutes, during surgery and post-operatively up to 48 hours and prior to discharge for 15-20 minutes. Neurological and behavioral testing including Bayley Exam III will be done at 18-48 months.

Interventions

DRUGIsoflurane

Isoflurane (volatile anesthesia) will be delivered at 1.5-2.0%% as required for anesthetic management.

Fentanyl (narcotic anesthesia) maintenance will be with fentanyl 5 mcg/kg/hr not to exceed 10 mcg/kg/hr.

Fentanyl (narcotic anesthesia) maintenance will be with fentanyl 2 mcg/kg/hr.

Sponsors

The Gerber Foundation
CollaboratorOTHER
Stanford University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

EEG, metabolic/NMRS analysis and neurodevelopment outcome is blinded.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
1 Days to 36 Months
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Neonates of at least 32 weeks of gestation, infants and children up to 2 years of age admitted to The Children's Hospital for treatment of cyanotic or non-cyanotic heart disease requiring surgical intervention. * Admitting diagnosis of cyanotic or non-cyanotic heart disease

Exclusion criteria

* Neonates less than 32 weeks of gestational age, and children more than 2 years of age. * Any documented central nervous system malformations. * Any potential subject requiring unexpected postoperative Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Bayley IIIAssessed once between age 18 to 48 months (approximately 2 hours to assess), up to 48 months from study startNeurodevelopmental assessment scores are age dependent and based motor and behavioral abilities, often reported for normal or abnormal for age. Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, third edition, (Bayley III) is an instrument designed to measure the developmental functioning of infants and toddlers between the ages of 1 month and 42 months (age adjustments for prematurity are accommodated with the tool). It provides age specific composite scores for cognitive (91 items, score min 55 max 145), language (98 items, score min 47 max 153), and motor (138 items, score min 46 max 154) skills. For all scales, higher scores are better and lower scores indicate possible delay/deficit.
ElectroencephalogramEEG taken immediately prior to surgery, during surgery, during cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) stay (up to 48 hours after surgery), and immediately prior to discharge (between 5 to 20 minutes to assess EEG at each time point)Brain electrical activity: observation is for brain region specific abnormal or seizure activity. Number of participants with abnormal EEG are reported.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Lactate0-72 hoursblood levels:time and patient dependent variation, observed patient related trends over time
Choline0-72 hoursblood levels: time and patient dependent variation, observed patient related trends over time
Glutamate0-72 hoursblood levels:time and patient dependent variation, observed patient related trends over time
N-acetylaspartate (Naa)0-72 hoursblood levels:time and patient dependent variation, observed patient related trends over time

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Pre-assignment details

Randomization data are available for only 89 of the 153 participants enrolled.

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Narcotic Based Anesthesia
Participants receive fentanyl 5 mcg/kg/hr not to exceed 10 mcg/kg/hr (high dose).
44
Volatile Anesthesia
Participants receive volatile anesthetic isoflurane (1.5-2.0%) as primary anesthetic; participants also receive rocuronium or pancuronium for muscle relaxation, and fentanyl at no greater than 2 mcg/kg/hr (low dose).
45
Total89

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicNarcotic Based AnesthesiaVolatile AnesthesiaTotal
Age, Continuous8.1 months
STANDARD_DEVIATION 8.5
6.2 months
STANDARD_DEVIATION 8.5
7.1 months
STANDARD_DEVIATION 8.5
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Asian
9 Participants8 Participants17 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Black or African American
1 Participants2 Participants3 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Caucasian
20 Participants18 Participants38 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Hispanic
14 Participants15 Participants29 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Highlander
0 Participants2 Participants2 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
44 Participants45 Participants89 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
18 Participants20 Participants38 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
26 Participants25 Participants51 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
3 / 441 / 45
other
Total, other adverse events
0 / 440 / 45
serious
Total, serious adverse events
7 / 4410 / 45

Outcome results

Primary

Bayley III

Neurodevelopmental assessment scores are age dependent and based motor and behavioral abilities, often reported for normal or abnormal for age. Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, third edition, (Bayley III) is an instrument designed to measure the developmental functioning of infants and toddlers between the ages of 1 month and 42 months (age adjustments for prematurity are accommodated with the tool). It provides age specific composite scores for cognitive (91 items, score min 55 max 145), language (98 items, score min 47 max 153), and motor (138 items, score min 46 max 154) skills. For all scales, higher scores are better and lower scores indicate possible delay/deficit.

Time frame: Assessed once between age 18 to 48 months (approximately 2 hours to assess), up to 48 months from study start

Population: Participants with a completed Bayley III assessment are included in the analysis.

ArmMeasureGroupValue (MEAN)Dispersion
Narcotic Based AnesthesiaBayley IIICognitive Standard Score91 score on a scaleStandard Deviation 10
Narcotic Based AnesthesiaBayley IIILanguage Standard Score88 score on a scaleStandard Deviation 11
Narcotic Based AnesthesiaBayley IIIMotor Standard Score97 score on a scaleStandard Deviation 13
Volatile AnesthesiaBayley IIIMotor Standard Score90 score on a scaleStandard Deviation 15
Volatile AnesthesiaBayley IIICognitive Standard Score93 score on a scaleStandard Deviation 15
Volatile AnesthesiaBayley IIILanguage Standard Score90 score on a scaleStandard Deviation 18
Primary

Electroencephalogram

Brain electrical activity: observation is for brain region specific abnormal or seizure activity. Number of participants with abnormal EEG are reported.

Time frame: EEG taken immediately prior to surgery, during surgery, during cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) stay (up to 48 hours after surgery), and immediately prior to discharge (between 5 to 20 minutes to assess EEG at each time point)

ArmMeasureGroupValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
Narcotic Based AnesthesiaElectroencephalogramAbnormal preoperative EEG0 Participants
Narcotic Based AnesthesiaElectroencephalogramAbnormal intraoperative EEG1 Participants
Narcotic Based AnesthesiaElectroencephalogramAbnormal EEG in CVICU0 Participants
Narcotic Based AnesthesiaElectroencephalogramAbnormal EEG predischarge0 Participants
Volatile AnesthesiaElectroencephalogramAbnormal EEG predischarge0 Participants
Volatile AnesthesiaElectroencephalogramAbnormal preoperative EEG0 Participants
Volatile AnesthesiaElectroencephalogramAbnormal EEG in CVICU1 Participants
Volatile AnesthesiaElectroencephalogramAbnormal intraoperative EEG1 Participants
Secondary

Choline

blood levels: time and patient dependent variation, observed patient related trends over time

Time frame: 0-72 hours

Population: Data were not collected for this outcome measure.

Secondary

Glutamate

blood levels:time and patient dependent variation, observed patient related trends over time

Time frame: 0-72 hours

Population: Data were not collected for this outcome measure.

Secondary

Lactate

blood levels:time and patient dependent variation, observed patient related trends over time

Time frame: 0-72 hours

Population: Data were not collected for this outcome measure.

Secondary

N-acetylaspartate (Naa)

blood levels:time and patient dependent variation, observed patient related trends over time

Time frame: 0-72 hours

Population: Data were not collected for this outcome measure.

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026