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Non-invasive Vagal Neurostimulation (nVNS) for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)-Induced Acute Respiratory Distress

Non-invasive Vagal Neurostimulation (nVNS) to Mitigate Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)-Induced Acute Respiratory Distress and Acute Lung Injury

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04935697
Enrollment
3
Registered
2021-06-23
Start date
2021-08-04
Completion date
2025-03-01
Last updated
2026-05-29

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

Conditions

Acute Lung Injury, Acute Lung Injury/Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Traumatic Brain Injury

Keywords

Non-invasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation

Brief summary

This is a prospective, randomized, two-arm, controlled 30-day investigational pilot trial using the gammaCore Sapphire S non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) device + standard of care (SOC) in newly-hospitalized patients with mild-to-moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) to prevent the progression towards immunokine storms, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), severe respiratory distress, and requirement for invasive mechanical ventilation, and death, when compared to SOC alone (the control arm).

Detailed description

A pilot population of 46 individuals between 18-80 years of age inclusive, will be enrolled, with an in-trial monitoring period of up to 30 days following baseline measurements. Study subjects will remain in-trial until one of the following occurs: a) 30 days without any progression to respiratory distress requiring mechanical ventilation; b) requirement for mechanical ventilation prior to 30 days; or c) death prior to 30 days. In addition to the screening, a total of up to 5 additional in-trial events (depending on the time at discharge from hospitalization) plus one additional clinical site visit at the end of the follow-up period will comprise the study events schedule of this trial.

Interventions

DEVICEnVNS

3x daily treatment of nVNS + SOC

OTHERSOC

Standard of care patient management.

Sponsors

Allegheny Singer Research Institute (also known as Allegheny Health Network Research Institute)
Lead SponsorOTHER
ElectroCore INC
CollaboratorINDUSTRY
Chuck Noll Foundation
CollaboratorUNKNOWN

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
12 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. Patient is between 12-80 years, inclusive 2. Patient has been admitted to the hospital for mild-to-moderate TBI that is restricted to the head and/or neck region. 3. Patient is not on invasive mechanical ventilation 4. Patient has a mild-to-moderate TBI based on a non-resuscitated or post-resuscitated Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) sum score of =\>12 5. Patient has a Lung Injury Prediction Score (LIPS) of =\>2 6. Administration of the first nVNS treatment must be planned to take place within 24 h of intake 7. A signed, written informed consent form from the patient or legally authorized representative

Exclusion criteria

1. Patient has a diagnosis of moderate or greater grade of respiratory distress/ARDS according to the Berlin definition of ARDS: Partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) /Fraction of Inspired Oxygen (FiO2) \> 100 mmHg (\>13.3 kPa) to ≤ 200 mmHg (≤ 26.6 kPa) with positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) ≥ 5 cmH2O) 2. Woman known to be pregnant, lactating or with a positive (urine or serum test) or indeterminate (serum test) pregnancy test 3. Patient simultaneously taking part in another clinical trial 4. Patient is not expected to survive for 24 hours 5. Patient has an underlying clinical condition where, in the opinion of the study physicians and the institutional health provider physician, it would be extremely unlikely that the patient would not progress to invasive mechanical ventilation within 48 hours or any other condition that might require immediate invasive mechanical ventilation (e.g. motor neuron disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or rapidly-progressive interstitial pulmonary fibrosis) 6. Patient has severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) requiring long-term home oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilation (non-invasive ventilation or via tracheotomy) except for continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or bi-level positive airway pressure (BIPAP) used solely for sleep-disorder breathing 7. Patient has congestive heart failure 8. Patient has acute left ventricular failure 9. Patient has liver failure (Child-Pugh grade C) 10. Patient is receiving renal dialysis therapy for chronic renal failure 11. Patient is receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) or any form of extracorporeal lung support 12. Patient has had any form of mechanical ventilation (invasive or non-invasive, excluding CPAP alone) for longer than 48 h prior to the diagnosis of mild-to-moderate respiratory distress/ARDS 13. Patient has burns to ≥ 15% of their total body surface area

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
All-Cause 90-Day Admission to Any Hospital or ED Encounter90 daysA composite endpoint of 90-day presentation to any emergency department and/or 90-day admission to any hospital.

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
Number of Participants With AEs/SAEs Up to 30 Days From Baseline30 days from baseline
Number of Participants With Abnormal Physical Examination by Day 3030 days from baseline
Number of Participants With Abnormal Vital Signs by Day 3030 days from baseline
Number of Participants With Abnormal Laboratory Results by Day 3030 days from baseline

Countries

United States

Contacts

STUDY_DIRECTORSarah Kimutis

Allegheny Health Network

Baseline characteristics

Characteristic
Age, Continuous29 years
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
0 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
3 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
3 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
1 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
1 Participants
Smoking Status
Non-smoker
2 Participants
Smoking Status
Smoker
0 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 10 / 2
other
Total, other adverse events
0 / 10 / 2
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 10 / 2

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: May 30, 2026