Skip to content

Evaluation of the Analgesic Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) for Sedated Patients in Intensive Care Unit.

Evaluation of the Analgesic Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) for Sedated Patients in Intensive Care Unit.Randomized, Placebo-controlled, Double-blind Study.

Status
Not yet recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06179199
Acronym
REASTIM
Enrollment
40
Registered
2023-12-21
Start date
2026-01-31
Completion date
2026-12-31
Last updated
2025-12-12

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

Conditions

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)

Keywords

Pain management, Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), Analgesic therapy, Chronic pain, Sedated patient, Intensive care unit

Brief summary

Pain management for sedated ICU patients is complex, partly because of the difficulty of assessing pain in non-communicative patients, and partly because of the side effects associated with excessive use of morphine. In this context, the use of another non-pharmacological approach, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), could be of interest. With tDCS, neuronal activity is modulated by inducing a weak electric current through the cerebral cortex between two electrodes applied to the surface of the scalp. Although the mechanisms of action of tDCS are not yet fully understood, the medium-term effects are thought to be linked to the activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors, glutamate-activated receptors involved in cellular memory. The use of tDCS as an analgesic therapy for chronic pain has produced encouraging results in patients suffering from fibromyalgia, migraine and central pain following spinal cord injury, Its use in sedated intensive care patients is unknown. To assess the possible analgesic effect of tDCS in these patients, we will use quantitative pupillometry, a technique already used in routine intensive care, to quantify nociception during a standardized nociceptive simulation.

Interventions

DEVICESOOMA™ tDCS™

The SOOMA™ tDCS™ device is designed to treat chronic pain, with a stimulation current of 2milliampere and a duration of 20 minutes

Sponsors

University Hospital, Grenoble
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Intervention model description

* Active tDCS stimulation ; * Placebo tDCS stimulation.

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

* Age from 18 to 80 years, * Sedated patient requiring mechanical ventilation for at least 48 hours with administration of morphine. * Person affiliated to the social security system or beneficiary of an assimilated regime. * RASS ≤ -2 * Close consent or emergency inclusion

Exclusion criteria

* History of epilepsy. * Severe brain injury (head trauma, stroke, neuromeningeal infection, status epilepticus). * Presence of intracranial ferromagnetic material. * Presence of electronic stimulators or implants (e.g. pacemaker, spinal cord or intracranial stimulator). * Facial trauma preventing eye opening. * Patients who are blind and/or have eye damage. * Protected persons: pregnant women, parturients, nursing mothers, persons deprived of their liberty by judicial or administrative decision, persons under legal protection. * Subjects excluded from another study.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Pupillary Pain Index measurementFrom Day1 to Day 4Measurement of the Pupillary Pain Index before and at the end of the tDCS stimulation session in both groups (active stimulation or placebo)

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
Inter-group comparison of variations in pupil diameter measured by quantitative pupillometry in response to painful care (tracheal suctioning).From Day1 to Day 4
Comparison between groups of daily consumption of analgesics and sedativesFrom Day1 to Day 4
Inter-group comparison of changes in Behavioral Pain Scale score during painful care (tracheal suctioning)From Day1 to Day 4
Inter-group comparison of changes in sedation levels measured by the Richmond Agitation-Sedation ScaleFrom Day1 to Day 4
Inter-group comparison of the proportion of patients with a reduction in the Pupillary Pain Index ≥2 from baseline at the end of treatment.From Day1 to Day 4

Countries

France

Contacts

Primary ContactHODAJ Hasan, DOCTOR
HHodaj@chu-grenoble.fr00330476765213

Outcome results

None listed

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