Concussion Post SyndromePhase 4IMPACTNCT07634393
Intravenous Metoclopramide Versus Intravenous Acetaminophen for Acute Concussion Treatment
A Phase 4 study testing Metoclopramide 10mg and Acetaminophen in people with Concussion Post Syndrome and Head Trauma Injury, run by Montefiore Medical Center at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The IMPACT study is a randomized, double-blind clinical trial evaluating two commonly used intravenous medications - metoclopramide and acetaminophen - for treating acute post-concussion symptoms in emergency department patients after mild head injury. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Concussion Post Syndrome, Head Trauma Injury
- What is being tested?
- Metoclopramide 10mg and Acetaminophen
- Type of treatment
- Injection or infusion
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 200 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- Oct 2026to Oct 2028
- Phase
- Phase 4
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 18 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Adults presenting to one of the study emergency departments (EDs)
- Acute minor traumatic brain injury/concussion as defined by the Zurich Consensus Statement, including symptoms in somatic, cognitive, emotional, behavioral, physical, cognitive impairment, or sleep domains
- ED visit occurring within 7 days of the head injury
- Overall pain intensity greater than >=6 on a 0-10 scale
- Rivermead Post-Concussion Questionnaire (RPQ) score of at least 10
- Reported post-concussion symptoms were not present prior to the injury
- Treating attending physician plans to administer a parenteral medication
Who cannot join
- Already treated with an anti-dopaminergic medication for post-concussion symptoms
- Contraindications to study medications, including:
- Pheochromocytoma
- Seizure disorder
- Parkinson's disease
- Use of monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors
- Use of anti-rejection transplant medications
- Pregnant patients will not be excluded because both acetaminophen and metoclopramide are commonly used during pregnancy.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site
Montefiore Medical Center
New York, New York, 10467
Hamed Sarikhani Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, MD, 929-731-2137, hsarikhani@montefiore.org
Benjamin W Friedman, MD,MS, 718-904-3333, befriedman@montefiore.org
About this study
Official title: A Randomized Study of Intravenous Metoclopramide Versus Intravenous Acetaminophen for Acute Concussion Treatment
The IMPACT study is a randomized, double-blind clinical trial evaluating two commonly used intravenous medications - metoclopramide and acetaminophen - for treating acute post-concussion symptoms in emergency department patients after mild head injury. The study aims to determine which treatment more effectively improves symptoms such as headache, dizziness, nausea, concentration difficulties, and emotional changes within the first week after injury.
Participants will be enrolled across two Montefiore emergency departments and followed using a validated post-concussion symptom questionnaire. Findings from this study may help improve evidence-based treatment strategies for patients experiencing concussion-related symptoms after head trauma.
Read the detailed description
Nearly 1.5 million patients present to US emergency departments (ED) annually following head trauma. Many, even with a low velocity mechanism of injury, report a variety of post-concussion symptoms, including headache, dizziness, and nausea. For most patients, post-concussion symptoms will resolve after several days, though up to 1/4 will develop persistent symptomatology that can last months or years.
Very few randomized studies are available to guide treatment of acute post-concussion symptoms. In the absence of evidence, most emergency physicians treat post-concussion symptoms using typical medications for the symptom - thus headache is treated with analgesic medication, nausea with antiemetics, and dizziness with medications such as meclizine. Other symptoms commonly described as part of post-concussion syndrome, such as fatigue, irritability, and poor concentration, are usually left untreated.
Two randomized studies among ED patients who experienced head trauma were recently completed at Montefiore EDs. In the first, one dose of IV metoclopramide, when compared to placebo, improved post-concussion syndrome both in the ED and one week later. In this study, IV metoclopramide was effective against a broad range of symptoms beyond just headache and nausea. Variables related to concentration (including concentration, remembering, and feeling like one is in a fog) were better in the metoclopramide arm at both one hour and at one week. Similarly, variables related to emotion (including feeling more emotional, irritability and sadness) were better in the active group. In the second study, adding IV dexamethasone to metoclopramide did not result in increased or prolonged efficacy.
The pharmacy will use sealedenvelope.com to generate the blinded assignment sequence.
- Conditions
- Concussion Post Syndrome, Head Trauma Injury
- Being tested
- Metoclopramide 10mg, Acetaminophen
- Keywords
- Concussion, Head Trauma, Acetaminophen, Metoclopramide
- Medical subject headings
- Post-Concussion Syndrome, Brain Concussion, Craniocerebral Trauma
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Metoclopramide 10mgDrug
Intravenous drip
AcetaminophenDrug
Intravenous drip over 15 minutes
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Metoclopramide 10 mg | Active comparator | Metoclopramide 10 mg IV over 15 minutes Receives: Drug: Metoclopramide 10mg |
| Acetaminophen | Active comparator | 1000 Mg IV over 15 minutes Receives: Drug: Acetaminophen |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change in Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (RPQ) score
Change in post-concussion symptoms from baseline to 48 hours after treatment will be measured using the RPQ. The RPQ is a validated instrument designed to quantify the severity of post-concussive symptoms following mild traumatic brain injury. It consists of 16 items encompassing physical (e.g., headache, dizziness), cognitive (e.g., poor concentration, forgetfulness), and emotional (e.g., irritability, depression) domains, each rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 0 ("Not experienced at all") to 4 ("A severe problem"), for an overall possible range of 0-64, such that higher scores reflect worsening concussive symptomatology. Absolute change from baseline scores will be summarized by study arm using descriptive statistics. For patients requiring rescue therapy in the ED, the pre-rescue medication RPQ score will be used in lieu of the 48-hour score to ensure that the 48-hour outcome reflects the individual's poor response to the investigational medication.
Measured: From baseline to 48 hours post-treatment
Secondary outcomes (1)
Change in RPQ score Improvement in post-concussion symptoms measured using the RPQ between baseline and 1 hour after treatment.
Change in post-concussion symptoms will also be measured at 1 hour and 7 days post-treatment using the RPQ. The RPQ is a validated instrument designed to quantify the severity of post-concussive symptoms following mild traumatic brain injury. It consists of 16 items encompassing physical (e.g., headache, dizziness), cognitive (e.g., poor concentration, forgetfulness), and emotional (e.g., irritability, depression) domains, each rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 0 ("Not experienced at all") to 4 ("A severe problem"), for an overall possible range of 0-64, such that higher scores reflect worsening concussive symptomatology. For purposes of this study, an absolute change from baseline score will be reported for the 1 hour and 7 days post-treatment timepoints. Values will be summarized by study arm using descriptive statistics.
Measured: From baseline to 1 hour and 7 days post-treatment
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted8 Jun 2026
- Study startOct 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completionOct 2028 (estimated)
- Study completionOct 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (9)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Concussion Post SyndromeStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase 4
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- Comparative effectiveness study. Randomization will occur in blocks of four based on a random number generator.
- Masking
- Quadruple blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 200 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Montefiore Medical Center
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Benjamin W Friedman, MD,MS, Principal investigator, Montefiore Medical Center
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07634393
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2025-17404
- Other IDs
- 2025
- Acronym
- IMPACT
- Status last verified
- Sep 2026
- First submitted
- 4 Jun 2026
- Last updated
- 1 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- Yes
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided
Publications
McCrory P, Meeuwisse WH, Aubry M, Cantu B, Dvorak J, Echemendia RJ, Engebretsen L, Johnston K, Kutcher JS, Raftery M, Sills A, Benson BW, Davis GA, Ellenbogen RG, Guskiewicz K, Herring SA, Iverson GL, Jordan BD, Kissick J, McCrea M, McIntosh AS, Maddocks D, Makdissi M, Purcell L, Putukian M, Schneider K, Tator CH, Turner M. Consensus statement on concussion in sport: the 4th International Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Zurich, November 2012. Br J Sports Med. 2013 Apr;47(5):250-8. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2013-092313. No abstract available.
PubMed 23479479Fanciullacci M, Alessandri M, Del Rosso A. Dopamine involvement in the migraine attack. Funct Neurol. 2000;15 Suppl 3:171-81.
PubMed 11200788Charbit AR, Akerman S, Goadsby PJ. Dopamine: what's new in migraine? Curr Opin Neurol. 2010 Jun;23(3):275-81. doi: 10.1097/WCO.0b013e3283378d5c.
PubMed 20164768Friedman BW, Irizarry E, Cain D, Caradonna A, Minen MT, Solorzano C, Zias E, Zybert D, McGregor M, Bijur PE, Gallagher EJ. Randomized Study of Metoclopramide Plus Diphenhydramine for Acute Posttraumatic Headache. Neurology. 2021 May 4;96(18):e2323-e2331. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000011822. Epub 2021 Mar 24.
PubMed 33762421Larsen EL, Ashina H, Iljazi A, Al-Khazali HM, Seem K, Ashina M, Ashina S, Schytz HW. Acute and preventive pharmacological treatment of post-traumatic headache: a systematic review. J Headache Pain. 2019 Oct 21;20(1):98. doi: 10.1186/s10194-019-1051-7.
PubMed 31638888Barlow KM. Post-traumatic headache: An unmet medical need. Headache. 2021 Nov;61(10):1465-1466. doi: 10.1111/head.14241. No abstract available.
PubMed 34928511Evans RW. The Postconcussion Syndrome and Posttraumatic Headaches in Civilians, Soldiers, and Athletes. Neurol Clin. 2024 May;42(2):341-373. doi: 10.1016/j.ncl.2023.12.001. Epub 2024 Jan 16.
PubMed 38575256Blyth BJ, Bazarian JJ. Traumatic alterations in consciousness: traumatic brain injury. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2010 Aug;28(3):571-94. doi: 10.1016/j.emc.2010.03.003.
PubMed 20709244Varner C, Thompson C, de Wit K, Borgundvaag B, Houston R, McLeod S. Predictors of persistent concussion symptoms in adults with acute mild traumatic brain injury presenting to the emergency department. CJEM. 2021 May;23(3):365-373. doi: 10.1007/s43678-020-00076-6. Epub 2021 Feb 8.
PubMed 33555602