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HydrocephalusNCT02737163

Strata Programmable CSF Shunt Valve Study

An observational study of Hydrocephalus, run by Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital at 1 site in United States.

Terminated

Stopped early. The study ended before it was planned to and will not resume.

Official record
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Trial summary

The treatment of hydrocephalus is the most time consuming, and arguably the most important role of the pediatric neurosurgical service at most children's' hospitals. Despite many technological advances, cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) shunting procedures remain the mainstay of hydrocephalus treatment. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 1 year to 21 years
Conditions the study is for
Hydrocephalus
How many people
95 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
1 Apr 2016to 8 Jun 2017
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 1 year to 21 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child, Adult

Study population: Patients 21 years of age and younger, with Strata valve CSF shunts, who are being evaluated by the All Children's Hospital (ACH) neurosurgical service as part of standard of care, will be eligible for participation during the three-year enrollment period. Each time an eligible patient has contact with the neurosurgical service their valve will be checked for possible inadvertent reprogramming in the outpatient facilities, emergency department, and inpatient setting. Patients will only have their valves checked as part of this study once during each encounter. Only patients who were evaluated by the neurosurgical service and returned to their normal environment more than seven days prior to their current encounter will be eligible to have their valves rechecked as part of this study.

Who may be able to join

  • Patients 21 years of age and younger
  • With Strata valve CSF shunts
  • Who are being evaluated by the All Children's Hospital (ACH) neurosurgical service as part of standard of care

Who cannot join

  • Patients older than 21 years of age
  • Do not have a Strata CSF shunt valve
  • Not patients of the All Children's Hospital neurosurgical service

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital

    St. Petersburg, Florida, 33701

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Inadvertent Cerebral Spinal Fluid Valve Reprogramming: Prevalence and the Correlation With Signs, Symptoms, Radiographic Changes and the Exposure to Magnetic Fields.

The treatment of hydrocephalus is the most time consuming, and arguably the most important role of the pediatric neurosurgical service at most children's' hospitals. Despite many technological advances, cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) shunting procedures remain the mainstay of hydrocephalus treatment. While often lifesaving, CSF shunting procedures are associated with high complication rates and account for a disproportionate share of health care expenditures and morbidity.

Programmable CSF shunt valves, through which CSF flow and pressure can be adjusted by quick and painless transcutaneous reprogramming, have been implanted for more than 15 years in the developed world. Reprogramming these valves relies on rotational magnetic forces, which are applied by neurosurgeons and neurosurgical advanced practice providers. Inadvertent reprogramming (IR) can occur when patients with these valves are exposed to magnetic fields in the environment, which may lead to serious symptoms that may require urgent reprogramming and/or surgery.

Read more

The concurrent proliferation of magnetically sensitive programmable CSF shunt valves and household items that generate substantial magnetic fields has caused concern among patients, parents and providers about the potential consequences of inadvertent valve reprogramming. This growing concern led the FDA to issue a warning to individuals with programmable valves in 2014, which deemed the programmable valves safe for use but vulnerable to IR when household devices such as tablets or cell phones are placed within 2 inches of the valve. The FDA recommended further study, stating that no systematic evaluation had been performed regarding the prevalence of accidental valve adjustments.

By evaluating each of the patients with magnetically susceptible CSF shunt valves, during each of the routine points of contact with the service, investigators aim to define the prevalence of inadvertent shunt reprogramming, to correlate with the presence and absence of symptoms and radiographic changes, and to evaluate the risk of inadvertent shunt reprogramming based on exposure to common environmental items.

Read the detailed description

Investigators intend to evaluate all patients 21 years old and younger with magnetically susceptible CSF shunts, specifically those with Strata (Medtronic, Dublin) valves implanted. All evaluations will be performed during routine patient care in the hospital, the emergency department and in the outpatient facilities. Valve settings will be checked transcutaneously in the standard manner, before and after any MRI studies.

Evaluating IR and making correlations between exposure to MRI or environmental magnets and symptoms and radiographic changes (when available) will require the patient or family to complete a brief questionnaire. It will then require the study team and delegated providers to check the valve setting before and after MRI, and to gather clinical information from the medical record and from the current clinical evaluation.

Each patient's initial enrollment will require the acquisition of an informed consent, which will cover all future evaluations of IR during the three year study period for that patient. However, every time a patient enrolled in the study encounters the neurosurgical service, all study steps will be performed, including the valve check before and after MRI, the participant's completion of the questionnaire, and the research staff's completion of the data sheets.

Conditions
Hydrocephalus
Keywords
Programmable shunts, Strata valve
Medical subject headings
Hydrocephalus

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Number of Encounters With Inadvertent Reprogramming of Strata CSF Shunt Valves.

    Assessed by checking the valves at routine follow-up visits, in patient hospitalizations and prior to MRI imaging. The frequency will be calculated by the number of encounters/visits during which an assessed valve was inadvertently reprogrammed divided by the total number of encounters/visits in the trial. Here, we report the number of encounters/visits during which valves were inadvertently reprogrammed.

    Measured: 14 months

Secondary outcomes (3)
  1. Number of Encounters/Visits With or Without Valve Changes Due to MRI Field Strengths.

    Shunt valve settings were assessed before and after MRI studies using the 1.5 Tesla (T), 3 Tesla (T) or other MRI field strengths for any valve setting changes.

    Measured: 14 months

  2. Number of Encounters With Increased Signs, Symptoms and Radiographic Changes Suggestive of Shunt Malfunction in Participants With Inadvertent Reprogramming of the Strata Valve Compared to Those Without Inadvertent Reprogramming.

    Increased Signs, Symptoms and Radiographic Changes Suggestive of Shunt Malfunction in Participants With Inadvertent Reprogramming of the Strata Valve Compared to Those Without Inadvertent Reprogramming Assessment will be made using a family questionnaire and data sheet from clinical evaluation.

    Measured: 14 months

  3. Number of Encounters of Inadvertent Reprogramming With Exposure to Household Devices With Electromagnetic Charge.

    Here we report the number of encounter/visits during which valves were inadvertently reprogrammed due to household devices with electromagnetic charge.

    Measured: 14 months

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted13 Apr 2016 (estimated)
  2. Study start1 Apr 2016
  3. Primary completion8 Jun 2017
  4. Study completion8 Jun 2017

Why it stopped: Terminated early due to sufficient data acquired to meet our study objectives

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrolment
95 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT02737163
Sponsor's protocol ID
IRB00093490
Status last verified
Jun 2023
First submitted
1 Apr 2016
Last updated
3 Jul 2023
Data monitoring committee
No
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Hydrocephalus, run by Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: stopped early, as of the sponsor's last update on 3 Jul 2023. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 19 Sep 2019). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Number of Encounters With Inadvertent Reprogramming of Strata CSF Shunt Valves. (time frame: 14 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 3 Jul 2023.

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