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Cerebrospinal Fluid ShuntsNCT02776085

Bedside Ultrasound to Measure Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter in Pediatric CSF Shunts

An observational study of Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts, run by Wake Forest University Health Sciences at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Bedside ultrasound in the emergency department is useful for quick assessments of patients. One growing use is to measure the optic nerve sheath diameter of patients for whom increased pressure in the head is a concern. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 6 months to 17 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts
How many people
64 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
May 2016to Jan 2019
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

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 6 months to 17 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Child

Study population: Pediatric patients with cerebrospinal fluid shunts who are evaluated in the emergency department for any reason, or are admitted to the hospital through the neurosurgery clinic.

Who may be able to join

  • Children and adolescents, ages 6 months through 17 years who have a shunt and who present to the children's emergency department for evaluation and treatment.
  • Children and adolescents, ages 6 months through 17 years who have a shunt and are directly admitted to the inpatient children's hospital from an outside facility.

Who cannot join

  • Patients for whom the parents or guardians do not agree to participate in the study.
  • Patients with any acute trauma to the eyes, face, or head.
  • Severe anaphylactic allergy to ultrasound gel or Tegaderm

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Carolinas Medical Center

    Charlotte, North Carolina, 28203

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Using Bedside Ultrasound to Measure the Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter in the Evaluation of Pediatric Patients With CSF Shunts

Bedside ultrasound in the emergency department is useful for quick assessments of patients. One growing use is to measure the optic nerve sheath diameter of patients for whom increased pressure in the head is a concern. This study will look at the optic nerve sheath diameters of a specific population of pediatric patients with shunts that drain extra fluid from their heads.

Read the detailed description

The particular interest of this study is the use of ultrasound to evaluate a child's optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD), or the size of the covering around the nerve behind the eye. This covering expands when there is a higher than normal pressure inside the head. The group of interest on which this study focuses is the children with cerebrospinal shunts that drain extra fluid from their heads to other parts of the body (abdomen, heart, lungs) because the brain cannot drain all of the fluid like normal. When these shunts malfunction or fail, this can cause a backup of fluid in the brain, and raise the intracranial pressure (ICP) inside the skull. Depending on the degree of pressure buildup, this can be a surgical emergency due to pressure on the brain. Currently, computed tomography (CT) scans or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans are used to diagnose the condition, but a quick screening tool, such as use of ultrasound to screen for elevated ICP in the emergency department, would be of great benefit to the patients to expedite care. Previous studies have explored the use of bedside ultrasound to evaluate the optic nerve sheath diameter in children with shunts. However, to date, there have been no reported prospective observational studies that compared before and after ultrasound measurements of the ONSD in patients in whom shunt failure is diagnosed and treated. Of note, this study is observational and the measurements taken with the ultrasound machine will not be used for clinical decision making. The measurements in this study will have no clinical impact on patient care. The use of ultrasound to measure the ONSD is an already accepted application of ultrasound.

Keywords
optic nerve sheath diameter, ultrasound, shunt failure

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

Study groups in NCT02776085
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
AsymptomaticGroup of patients with CSF shunts who are evaluated for a reason other than concern for shunt failure. The optic nerve sheath diameter of these patients will be used as baseline measurements for children with CSF shunts.
Symptomatic, Not AdmittedGroup of patients with CSF shunts who are evaluated for concerns of shunt malfunction or failure, but either have shunt failure ruled out, or are felt to be safe for discharge to home. They are not admitted to the hospital. The optic nerve sheath diameter of these patients will be measured once in the emergency department.
Symptomatic, AdmittedGroup of patients with CSF shunts who are evaluated for concerns of shunt malfunction or failure, and then are admitted to the hospital secondary to these concerns. The optic nerve sheath diameter of these patients will be measured once in the emergency department or as close to admission as possible, and then measured again while they are still inpatient, but after they have an intervention performed (medical or surgical) to relieve their shunt malfunction or failure. These patients will have their initial optic nerve sheath diameters compared to the other two populations, but they will also have their initial and final optic nerve sheath diameters compared to each other.

What is being measured

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

  1. Compare the initial and final optic nerve sheath diameters measured by ultrasound in patients who are admitted for shunt failure

    Patients will have their ONSD measured by ultrasound in the emergency department or immediately after admission. After they either receive antibiotics or shunt revision surgery, and are no longer symptomatic from shunt failure, their ONSD will be measured again and compared to the initial measurement.

    Measured: 3 days

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Compare the optic nerve sheath diameter measurements of asymptomatic patients vs symptomatic patients who are not diagnosed with shunt failure vs those are diagnosed with shunt failure and admitted.

    The ONSD will be measured for all pediatric patients with CSF shunts who come to the emergency department, and then the average measurements of each group will be compared to the other two groups to evaluate if there are significant differences in the measurements.

    Measured: 6 months

Timeline

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

  1. First posted18 May 2016 (estimated)
  2. Study startMay 2016
  3. Primary completionJan 2018
  4. Study completionJan 2019

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
Other
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrolment
64 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT02776085
Sponsor's protocol ID
ONSD
Status last verified
Jan 2019
First submitted
16 May 2016
Last updated
28 Apr 2022
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts, run by Wake Forest University Health Sciences 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 2 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: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 28 Apr 2022. 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?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

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?

Compare the initial and final optic nerve sheath diameters measured by ultrasound in patients who are admitted for shunt failure (time frame: 3 days). 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 28 Apr 2022; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 7 Nov 2026.

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