Optimizing (Longer, Deeper) Cooling for Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy(HIE)

NCT ID: NCT01192776

Last Updated: 2025-11-28

Study Results

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Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

TERMINATED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

364 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2010-09-30

Study Completion Date

2016-03-31

Brief Summary

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The Optimizing Cooling trial will compare four whole-body cooling treatments for infants born at 36 weeks gestational age or later with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy: (1) cooling for 72 hours to 33.5°C; (2) cooling for 120 hours to 33.5°C; (3) cooling for 72 hours to 32.0°C; and (4) cooling for 120 hours to 32.0°C. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether whole-body cooling initiated at less than 6 hours of age and continued for 120 hours and/or a depth at 32.0°C in will reduce death and disability at 18-22 months corrected age.

Detailed Description

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Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a rare, but life-threatening condition characterized by brain injury due to asphyxia diagnosed at or shortly after birth. According to the World Health Organization, more than 722,000 children died from birth asphyxia and birth trauma worldwide in 2004. An estimated 50-75 percent of infants with severe (stage 3) HIE will die, with 55 percent of these deaths occurring in the first month. Up to 80 percent of infants who survive stage 3 HIE develop significant long-term disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, epilepsy, and cerebral palsy with hemiplegia, paraplegia, or quadriplegia; 10-20 percent develop moderately serious disabilities; and up to 10 percent are normal.

Previous studies have shown treatment with hypothermia to be an effective therapy for HIE. Currently, infants diagnosed with HIE at less than six hours of age are given whole-body cooling, decreasing their core body temperature to 33.5°C (93.2° Fahrenheit) for a period 72 hours using a cooling blanket. This treatment appears to protect the brain, decreasing the rate of death and disability and improving the chances of survival and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18 months correct age. But additional trials are needed to help define the most effective cooling strategies.

The Optimizing Cooling trial will examine whether cooling for a longer time period and/or to a lower temperature will improve the chance of survival and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18-22 months corrected age. Eligible infants with HIE will be placed in one of four cooling groups: (1) cooling for 72 hours to 33.5°C; (2) cooling for 120 hours to 33.5°C; (3) cooling for 72 hours to 32.0°C; and (4) cooling for 120 hours to 32.0°C. Infants will be monitored closely and receive the care of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Infants enrolled in the study will be placed on a cooling blanket - the same type of blanket children's hospitals use in the NICU, in operating rooms during surgeries, and to cool children with high fevers. Each infant will be cooled according to the study group he or she is assigned to. During cooling, the infant's temperature will be very closely monitored by continuous esophageal (core)temperature readings. This will be done by placing a soft, narrow, flexible plastic tube into the infant's nose and down to just above the stomach. Skin temperatures will also be monitored closely. At the end of the assigned period of cooling, the infant will be slowly re-warmed until a normal core temperature of 36.5 to 37.0°C (97.7 to 98.6°C) is reached.

Infants will be examined at 18-22 months corrected age to assess their neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Secondary Studies include:

A. Using aEEG to 1)predict mortality or moderate to severe disability at 18-22 months in term infants with HIE treated with systemic hypothermia and 2) to record electrical seizure activity to compare rewarming initiated at 72 hours and later rewarming that is initiated at 120 hours.

B. Secondary Study includes determining an association between MRI detectable injury and neurodevelopment at 18-22 months.

Conditions

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Infant, Newborn Hypoxia, Brain Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain Encephalopathy, Hypoxic-Ischemic Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy Ischemic-Hypoxic Encephalopathy

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

FACTORIAL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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33.5°C for 72 hours

Target Temp: 33.5°C Duration: 72 hrs

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Whole-body Cooling

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Whole-body cooling using a Blanketrol II or III to reach either a target core temperature of 33.5°C or 32.0°C for a duration of either 72 hours or 120 hours.

33.5°C for 120 hours

Target Temp: 33.5°C Duration: 120 hrs

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Whole-body Cooling

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Whole-body cooling using a Blanketrol II or III to reach either a target core temperature of 33.5°C or 32.0°C for a duration of either 72 hours or 120 hours.

32.0°C for 72 hours

Target Temp: 32.0°C Duration: 72 hrs

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Whole-body Cooling

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Whole-body cooling using a Blanketrol II or III to reach either a target core temperature of 33.5°C or 32.0°C for a duration of either 72 hours or 120 hours.

32.0°C for 120 hours

Target Temp: 32.0°C Duration:120 hrs

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Whole-body Cooling

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Whole-body cooling using a Blanketrol II or III to reach either a target core temperature of 33.5°C or 32.0°C for a duration of either 72 hours or 120 hours.

Interventions

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Whole-body Cooling

Whole-body cooling using a Blanketrol II or III to reach either a target core temperature of 33.5°C or 32.0°C for a duration of either 72 hours or 120 hours.

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Other Intervention Names

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Blanketrol II Model 222R Blanketrol III Model 233 (used in the II mode)

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

Eligibility will be determined in a stepped process:

1. All infants with a gestational age ≥ 36 weeks will be screened for study entry if they are admitted to the NICU with a diagnosis of fetal acidosis, perinatal asphyxia, neonatal depression or encephalopathy.
2. Infants will be eligible if:

* They have a pH ≤ 7.0 or a base deficit ≥ 16m mEq/ L on umbilical cord or any postnatal sample within 1 hour of age.
* If, during this interval, they have a pH between 7.01 and 7.15, a base deficit is between 10 and 15.9 mEq/L, or a blood gas is not available, AND they have an acute perinatal event AND either a 10-minute Apgar score ≤ 5 or assisted ventilation initiated at birth and continued for at least 10 minutes.
3. Once these criteria are met, eligible infants will have a standardized neurological examination performed by a certified physician examiner. Infants will be candidates for the study when encephalopathy or seizures are present. For this study, encephalopathy is defined as the presence of 1 or more signs in 3 of the following 6 categories:

* Level of consciousness: lethargy, stupor or coma;
* Spontaneous activity: decreased, absent;
* Posture: distal flexion, decerebrate;
* tone: hypotonia, flaccid or hypertonia, rigid;
* Primitive reflexes: a) suck, weak, absent; b) Moro, incomplete, flaccid;
* Autonomic nervous system: a) pupils: constricted, unequal, skew deviation or non reactive to light; b) heart rate: bradycardia, variable heart rate or c) respiration: periodic breathing, apnea.

Eligible infants from multiple births will be enrolled in the same arm of the study.

Exclusion Criteria

* Inability to randomize by 6 hours of age
* Major congenital abnormality
* Major chromosomal abnormality (including Trisomy 21),
* Severe growth restriction (≤ 1800gm birth weight),
* Infant is moribund and will not receive any further aggressive treatment,
* Refusal of consent by parent
* Refusal of consent by attending neonatologist
* Infants with a core temperature \< 33.5°C for \> 1 hour at the time of screening by the research team would not be eligible for the study.
Maximum Eligible Age

6 Hours

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

NICHD Neonatal Research Network

NETWORK

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Seetha Shankaran, MD

Role: STUDY_CHAIR

Wayne State University

Abbot R Laptook, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Brown University, Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island

Michele C Walsh, MD MS

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Case Western Reserve University, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital

Ronald N. Goldberg, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Duke University

Barbara J. Stoll, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Emory University

Brenda B. Poindexter, MD MS

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Indiana University

Abhik Das, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

RTI International

Krisa P. Van Meurs, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Stanford University

Kurt Schibler, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati

Waldemar A. Carlo, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Edward F. Bell, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Iowa

Kristi L. Watterberg, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of New Mexico

Pablo J. Sanchez, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Kathleen A. Kennedy, MD MPH

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

William Truog, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Children's Mercy Hospital Kansas City

Barbara Schmidt, MD, MSc

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Pennsylvania

Carl D'Angio, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Rochester

Uday Devaskar, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of California, Los Angeles

Leif Nelin, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital

Locations

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University of Alabama at Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama, United States

Site Status

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California, United States

Site Status

Stanford University

Palo Alto, California, United States

Site Status

Emory University

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Site Status

Indiana University

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Site Status

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa, United States

Site Status

Wayne State University

Detroit, Michigan, United States

Site Status

Children's Mercy Hospital

Kansas City, Missouri, United States

Site Status

University of New Mexico

Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

Site Status

University of Rochester

Rochester, New York, United States

Site Status

RTI International

Durham, North Carolina, United States

Site Status

Duke University

Durham, North Carolina, United States

Site Status

Cincinnati Children's Medical Center

Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Site Status

Case Western Reserve University, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital

Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Site Status

Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital

Columbus, Ohio, United States

Site Status

Univeristy of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Site Status

Brown University, Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Site Status

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Dallas, Texas, United States

Site Status

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Houston, Texas, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Shankaran S, Laptook AR, Guimaraes C, Murnick J, McDonald SA, Das A, Petrie Huitema CM, Pappas A, Higgins RD, Hintz SR, Zaterka-Baxter KM, Van Meurs KP, Sokol GM, Chalak LF, Colaizy TT, Devaskar U, Tyson JE, Reynolds AM, DeMauro SB, Sanchez PJ, Laughon MM, Carlo WA, Watterberg K, Puopolo KM, Hibbs AM, Hamrick SEG, Cotten CM, Barks J, Poindexter BB, Truog WE, D'Angio CT; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. NICHD Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Score in Term Infants With Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Pediatr. 2025 Apr 1;179(4):383-395. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.6209.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 39960680 (View on PubMed)

Bonifacio SL, Chalak LF, Van Meurs KP, Laptook AR, Shankaran S. Neuroprotection for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy: Contributions from the neonatal research network. Semin Perinatol. 2022 Nov;46(7):151639. doi: 10.1016/j.semperi.2022.151639. Epub 2022 Jun 10.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 35835616 (View on PubMed)

Shukla VV, Bann CM, Ramani M, Ambalavanan N, Peralta-Carcelen M, Hintz SR, Higgins RD, Natarajan G, Laptook AR, Shankaran S, Carlo WA. Predictive Ability of 10-Minute Apgar Scores for Mortality and Neurodevelopmental Disability. Pediatrics. 2022 Apr 1;149(4):e2021054992. doi: 10.1542/peds.2021-054992.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 35296895 (View on PubMed)

Chalak LF, Pappas A, Tan S, Das A, Sanchez PJ, Laptook AR, Van Meurs KP, Shankaran S, Bell EF, Davis AS, Heyne RJ, Pedroza C, Poindexter BB, Schibler K, Tyson JE, Ball MB, Bara R, Grisby C, Sokol GM, D'Angio CT, Hamrick SEG, Dysart KC, Cotten CM, Truog WE, Watterberg KL, Timan CJ, Garg M, Carlo WA, Higgins RD; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Association Between Increased Seizures During Rewarming After Hypothermia for Neonatal Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy and Abnormal Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 2-Year Follow-up: A Nested Multisite Cohort Study. JAMA Neurol. 2021 Dec 1;78(12):1484-1493. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2021.3723.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 34882200 (View on PubMed)

Ambalavanan N, Shankaran S, Laptook AR, Carper BA, Das A, Carlo WA, Cotten CM, Duncan AF, Higgins RD; EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER NICHD NEONATAL RESEARCH NETWORK. Early Determination of Prognosis in Neonatal Moderate or Severe Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy. Pediatrics. 2021 Jun;147(6):e2020048678. doi: 10.1542/peds.2020-048678. Epub 2021 May 13.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 33986149 (View on PubMed)

Shankaran S, Laptook AR, Pappas A, McDonald SA, Das A, Tyson JE, Poindexter BB, Schibler K, Bell EF, Heyne RJ, Pedroza C, Bara R, Van Meurs KP, Huitema CMP, Grisby C, Devaskar U, Ehrenkranz RA, Harmon HM, Chalak LF, DeMauro SB, Garg M, Hartley-McAndrew ME, Khan AM, Walsh MC, Ambalavanan N, Brumbaugh JE, Watterberg KL, Shepherd EG, Hamrick SEG, Barks J, Cotten CM, Kilbride HW, Higgins RD; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Effect of Depth and Duration of Cooling on Death or Disability at Age 18 Months Among Neonates With Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2017 Jul 4;318(1):57-67. doi: 10.1001/jama.2017.7218.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 28672318 (View on PubMed)

Pedroza C, Tyson JE, Das A, Laptook A, Bell EF, Shankaran S; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Advantages of Bayesian monitoring methods in deciding whether and when to stop a clinical trial: an example of a neonatal cooling trial. Trials. 2016 Jul 22;17(1):335. doi: 10.1186/s13063-016-1480-4.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 27450203 (View on PubMed)

Shankaran S, Laptook AR, Pappas A, McDonald SA, Das A, Tyson JE, Poindexter BB, Schibler K, Bell EF, Heyne RJ, Pedroza C, Bara R, Van Meurs KP, Grisby C, Huitema CM, Garg M, Ehrenkranz RA, Shepherd EG, Chalak LF, Hamrick SE, Khan AM, Reynolds AM, Laughon MM, Truog WE, Dysart KC, Carlo WA, Walsh MC, Watterberg KL, Higgins RD; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Effect of depth and duration of cooling on deaths in the NICU among neonates with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2014 Dec 24-31;312(24):2629-39. doi: 10.1001/jama.2014.16058.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 25536254 (View on PubMed)

Shankaran S. Outcomes of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in neonates treated with hypothermia. Clin Perinatol. 2014 Mar;41(1):149-59. doi: 10.1016/j.clp.2013.10.008.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 24524452 (View on PubMed)

Study Documents

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Document Type: Publication

View Document

Related Links

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http://neonatal.rti.org

Neonatal Research Network website

Other Identifiers

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U10HD021364

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD021373

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD021385

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD027851

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD027853

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD027856

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD027871

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD027880

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD027904

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD034216

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD036790

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD040492

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD040689

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD053089

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD053109

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD053119

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD053124

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

UL1RR024139

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

UL1RR024979

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

UL1RR025008

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

UL1RR025744

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

UL1RR025747

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

UL1RR025761

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

UL1RR025764

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD068284

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD068278

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD068270

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD068263

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

U10HD068244

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

NICHD-NRN-0043

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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