Antihypertensive Treatment of Acute Cerebral Hemorrhage-II

The report from a National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Workshop on priorities for clinical research in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in December 2003 recommended clinical trials for evaluation of blood pressure (BP) management in acute ICH as a leading priority. The Special Writing Group of the Stroke Council of the American Heart Association in 1999 and 2007 emphasized the need for clinical trials to ensure evidence-based treatment of acute hypertension in ICH. Consequently, we propose to conduct a five-year international, multicenter, open-labeled, randomized, controlled, Phase III trial to determine the efficacy of early, intensive antihypertensive treatment using intravenous nicardipine for acute hypertension in subjects with co-morbid hypertension and spontaneous supratentorial ICH. The primary hypothesis of this large, streamlined, focused trial is that the group treated with intensive BP reduction (systolic BP [SBP] of 140 mmHg or less - hereafter referred to as the intensive treatment) using intravenous nicardipine infusion for 24 hours reduces the proportion of death and disability at 3 months by 10% or greater compared with the group treated with the standard BP reduction (SBP of 180 mmHg or less - hereafter referred to as the standard treatment) among patients with ICH treated within 4.5 hours of symptom onset. The underlying mechanism for this expected beneficial effect of intensive treatment is mediated through reduction of the rate and magnitude of hematoma expansion observed in approximately 38% of patients with acute ICH. The trial will recruit a maximum of 1,280 subjects with ICH who meet the eligibility criteria. The primary outcome is the proportion of death and disability at 3 months defined by modified Rankin scale (mRS) score of 4 to 6. The proposed clinical trial is the natural extension of numerous case series, a subsequent pilot trial funded by the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Health (NIH), and a preliminary randomized controlled trial in this patient group funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, that have recently confirmed the safety and tolerability of both the regimen and goals of the antihypertensive treatment in acutely hypertensive patients with ICH proposed in the present trial. The proposed trial will have important public health implications by providing necessary information regarding the efficacy and safety of antihypertensive treatment of acute hypertension observed in up to 75% of the subjects with ICH. BP treatment represents a strategy that can be made widely available without the need of specialized equipment and personnel and therefore can make a major impact upon outcome in patients with ICH. Substantial reduction in morbidity and mortality appears possible if the estimates of treatment effect sizes from current pilot trials are accurate.