The Long-term Consequences of Neonatal Encephalopathy in the Hypothermia Era

NCT ID: NCT05756296

Last Updated: 2023-10-23

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

NOT_YET_RECRUITING

Total Enrollment

198 participants

Study Classification

OBSERVATIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-11-01

Study Completion Date

2028-12-31

Brief Summary

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The goal of this study is to characterize the ability and related brain profiles of children with Neonatal encephalopathy (NE) - Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) at 9 years old. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Compare executive function, attention, social cognition, behaviour, anxiety, self-esteem, and peer problems between children with NE-TH and matched peers without NE.
2. Compare brain volumes, cortical and subcortical morphology, white matter microstructure, and myelination between children with NE-TH and matched peers without NE.
3. Evaluate the associations of perinatal risk factors and structural brain integrity with neuropsychological deficits to inform about the potential aggravating and protective factors for neuropsychological functioning.

Participants will complete one study visit to perform standardized evaluations and a brain MRI. Parents of participants will be invited to complete a series of questionnaires during this study visit or at a moment of their choice virtually.

Detailed Description

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Rationale:

Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) became the standard of care treatment for neonates with moderate and severe neonatal encephalopathy (NE) in most industrialized countries about 10 years ago. Although TH is effective in reducing mortality and the incidence of severe developmental disabilities, various morbidities are still frequent in survivors. Moreover, because the focus of previous follow-up studies has been restricted to mortality rates and the most severe forms of morbidities, it is wrong to conclude that TH minimizes all developmental deficits. In fact, recent literature reports frequent cognitive and behavioural difficulties at school entry in children with NE-TH without severe disabilities. Although these difficulties can be less impressive than cerebral palsy and intellectual disability, their negative impacts on a child's self-determination and family well-being are not less important and their nature and extend need to be comprehensively assessed.

Aims and Hypotheses:

1. To compare higher-order cognitive, socialization, and psycho-emotional abilities using comprehensive standardized assessments of outcomes between 9-year-old children with NE-TH and age- and sex-matched peers without NE.

Hypothesis 1: Children with NE-TH will display lower IQ, executive functioning, attention, social cognition, and self-esteem, but more anxiety and behavioural and peer problems than age- and sex-matched peers without NE-TH.
2. To compare structural brain integrity using quantitative MRI between 9-year-old children with NE-TH and age- and sex-matched peers without NE.

Hypothesis 2: Children with NE-TH will present with smaller total and regional (basal ganglia, hippocampus, cerebellum) brain volumes, altered cortical and subcortical morphometry, and widespread white matter microstructural and myelination alterations when compared to age- and sex-matched peers without NE-TH.
3. To evaluate the relationships between cognitive, psycho-emotional and motor skills at 9 years and (1) individual and perinatal risk factors and (2) structural brain integrity at 9 years.

Hypothesis 3: A combination of individual (e.g., socio-economic), perinatal factors (e.g., neonatal brain injury) and markers of aberrant brain integrity (e.g., volume, microstructure) will be associated with domain-specific deficits at 9 years in children with NE-TH.

Population:

Children born between 2014 and 2018, who received whole-body cooling to an esophageal temperature of 33.5°C initiated within the first 6 hours of life, continued for 72 hours, and then they were slowly rewarmed for moderate or severe NE at one of the two centers will be approached. Eligibility for TH at our institutions followed those established in previous TH trials. Participants with a history of (1) congenital infections, (2) genetic or metabolic disorders, or (3) major brain malformations (e.g., lissencephaly), as well as (4) any contraindication for MRI (e.g., metal implant, claustrophobia), are ineligible.

For each of two same-sex and same-age NE-TH participants, a matched control for age (+/- 6 months of mean age) and sex will be recruited. Participants born at term (gestational age ≥37 weeks), without neonatal complication, will be considered as ineligible controls. Inclusion criteria for the controls include the same were similar to the NE-TH group, and a previous history of neurodevelopmental delay or disorder, or a traumatic brain injury were the specific exclusion cirteria for the comparison group.

Assessment procedure:

For this study, enrollees will complete one study visit to perform standardized evaluations and a brain MRI. Children will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the MRI environment on a mock scanner before the MRI and to watch a movie or listen to the music of their choice during the acquisition. Parents will be invited to complete a series of questionnaires during their child's testing or at a moment of their choice via a provided secure link. The visit will start with the outcome evaluations that are the most cognitively demanding and breaks will be provided as necessary. Outcome evaluations will be conducted by trained research staff or trainees blinded to the details of the child's neonatal and developmental history, and group allocation (i.e., NE-TH vs. control) to the extent possible. The choice of outcome measures has been made based on their clinical significance, psychometric properties, and availability in both French and English, considering the bilingual context of Quebec, Canada.

Conditions

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Neonatal Encephalopathy Therapeutic Hypothermia Brain Injuries Child Development

Study Design

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Observational Model Type

COHORT

Study Time Perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Study Groups

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Intervention group

Children aged 9 years old with NE-TH meeting study inclusion criteria.

Therapeutic hypothermia

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

whole-body cooling to an esophageal temperature of 33.5°C initiated within the first 6 hours of life, continued for 72 hours, and then they were slowly rewarmed for moderate or severe NE

Control group

A comparison group of sex and age matched children with no NE-TH meeting similar study inclusion criteria to intervention group. Specific exclusion criteria for matched control group include a previous history of neurodevelopmental delay or disorder, or a traumatic brain injury, and born at term (gestational age ≥37 weeks), or born without neonatal complication.

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Therapeutic hypothermia

whole-body cooling to an esophageal temperature of 33.5°C initiated within the first 6 hours of life, continued for 72 hours, and then they were slowly rewarmed for moderate or severe NE

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* born between 2014 and 2018
* received whole-body cooling to an esophageal temperature of 33.5°C initiated within the first 6 hours of life, continued for 72 hours, and then they were slowly rewarmed received TH for moderate or severe NE

Exclusion Criteria

Participants with a history of

* congenital infections
* genetic or metabolic disorders
* major brain malformations (e.g., lissencephaly) and
* any contraindication for MRI (e.g., metal implant, claustrophobia)
Minimum Eligible Age

8 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

11 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role collaborator

McGill University Health Centre/Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Marie Brossard-Racine

Associate Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

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Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Ste-Justine (CHUSJ).

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Site Status

the Montreal Children's Hospital (MCH) of the McGill University Health Centre

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Site Status

Countries

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Canada

Central Contacts

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Marie Brossard-Racine, PhD

Role: CONTACT

(514)934-1934 ext. 76295

Facility Contacts

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Marie Brossard-Racine, PhD

Role: primary

(514)934-1934 ext. 76295

Marie Brossard-Racine, PhD

Role: primary

(514)934-1934 ext. 76295

References

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Shankaran S, Laptook AR, Ehrenkranz RA, Tyson JE, McDonald SA, Donovan EF, Fanaroff AA, Poole WK, Wright LL, Higgins RD, Finer NN, Carlo WA, Duara S, Oh W, Cotten CM, Stevenson DK, Stoll BJ, Lemons JA, Guillet R, Jobe AH; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Whole-body hypothermia for neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. N Engl J Med. 2005 Oct 13;353(15):1574-84. doi: 10.1056/NEJMcps050929.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16221780 (View on PubMed)

Levine DS. Neuroexecutive Function. In: Encyclopedia of Human Behavior.2012:701-706

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Scarpina F, Tagini S. The Stroop Color and Word Test. Front Psychol. 2017 Apr 12;8:557. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00557. eCollection 2017.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28446889 (View on PubMed)

Deli DC, Kaplan E, Kramer JH. Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System. Pearson Publication Inc; 2001

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Rey A. L'examen psychologique dans les cas d'encéphalopathie traumatique. (Les problems.). [The psychological examination in cases of traumatic encepholopathy. Problems.]. Archives de Psychologie. 1941;28:215-285

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Conners CK. Conner Continuous Performance Test - 3rd Ed Pearson Publication Inc.; 2014.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Hunt C, Borgida E, Lavine H. Social Cognition. In: Encyclopedia of Human Behavior.2012:456-462

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Korjman M, Kirk U, Kemp S. NEPSY Second Edition (NEPSY-II): A developmental NEuroPSYchological Assessment. Pearson Publication Inc; 2007

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Roid GH, Miller LJ. Leither Internaltional Performance Scale - Revised. Wod Dale, IL: Stoelting; 1997

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Thompson EJ, Beauchamp MH, Darling SJ, Hearps SJC, Brown A, Charalambous G, Crossley L, Darby D, Dooley JJ, Greenham M, Jaimangal M, McDonald S, Muscara F, Turkstra L, Anderson VA. Protocol for a prospective, school-based standardisation study of a digital social skills assessment tool for children: The Paediatric Evaluation of Emotions, Relationships, and Socialisation (PEERS) study. BMJ Open. 2018 Feb 8;8(2):e016633. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016633.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29439065 (View on PubMed)

Beck J, S., Beck A, T., Jolly J, B. . Beck Youth Inventories - Second Edition. San Antonio, TX: Peason; 2005

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Spence SH. Spence Children's Anxiety Scale. Washington, DC: American Psychology Association; 1997

Reference Type BACKGROUND

March JS, Parker JD, Sullivan K, Stallings P, Conners CK. The Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC): factor structure, reliability, and validity. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1997 Apr;36(4):554-65. doi: 10.1097/00004583-199704000-00019.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 9100431 (View on PubMed)

Gratz KL, Roemer L. Multidimensional Assessment of Emotion Regulation and Dysregulation: Development, Factor Structure, and Initial Validation of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Journal of Pyschopathology and Behavioral Assessment. 2004;26(1):41-54

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Russel DJ, Rosenbaum P, Wright M, Avery LM. Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-66 & GMFM-88) User's Manual, 2nd Edition. 2nd ed: Mac Keith Press; 2013

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Harrison P, Oakland T. Adaptive Behavior Assessment Systems 3rd Ed. Pearson Publication Inc; 2015.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Brossard-Racine M, Rampakakis E, Tardif CL, Gilbert G, White A, Luu TM, Gallagher A, Pinchefsky E, Montreuil T, Simard MN, Wintermark P. Long-term consequences of neonatal encephalopathy in the hypothermia era: protocol for a follow-up cohort study at 9 years of age. BMJ Open. 2023 Apr 13;13(4):e073063. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-073063.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 37055215 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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MP-37-2023-9320

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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