Infant, NewbornNCT01192776
Optimizing (Longer, Deeper) Cooling for Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy(HIE)
A study testing Whole-body Cooling in people with Infant, Newborn and Hypoxia, Brain, run by NICHD Neonatal Research Network at 19 sites in United States.
Trial summary
The Optimizing Cooling trial will compare four whole-body cooling treatments for infants born at 36 weeks gestational age or later with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy: (1) cooling for 72 hours to 33.5°C; (2) cooling for 120 hours to 33.5°C; (3) cooling for 72 hours to 32.0°C; and (4) cooling for 120 hours to 32.0°C. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages Up to 6 hours
- Conditions the study is for
- Infant, Newborn, Hypoxia, Brain, Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain
- What is being tested?
- Whole-body Cooling
- Type of treatment
- Surgery or procedure
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 364 participants
- Where
- 19 sitesUnited States
- Study dates
- Sep 2010to Mar 2016
- Phase
- Interventional
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 Up to 6 hours
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child
Who may be able to join
- Eligibility will be determined in a stepped process:
- All infants with a gestational age ≥ 36 weeks will be screened for study entry if they are admitted to the NICU with a diagnosis of fetal acidosis, perinatal asphyxia, neonatal depression or encephalopathy.
- Infants will be eligible if:
- They have a pH ≤ 7.0 or a base deficit ≥ 16m mEq/ L on umbilical cord or any postnatal sample within 1 hour of age.
- If, during this interval, they have a pH between 7.01 and 7.15, a base deficit is between 10 and 15.9 mEq/L, or a blood gas is not available, AND they have an acute perinatal event AND either a 10-minute Apgar score ≤ 5 or assisted ventilation initiated at birth and continued for at least 10 minutes.
- Once these criteria are met, eligible infants will have a standardized neurological examination performed by a certified physician examiner. Infants will be candidates for the study when encephalopathy or seizures are present. For this study, encephalopathy is defined as the presence of 1 or more signs in 3 of the following 6 categories:
Show all 13Show fewer
- Level of consciousness: lethargy, stupor or coma;
- Spontaneous activity: decreased, absent;
- Posture: distal flexion, decerebrate;
- tone: hypotonia, flaccid or hypertonia, rigid;
- Primitive reflexes: a) suck, weak, absent; b) Moro, incomplete, flaccid;
- Autonomic nervous system: a) pupils: constricted, unequal, skew deviation or non reactive to light; b) heart rate: bradycardia, variable heart rate or c) respiration: periodic breathing, apnea.
- Eligible infants from multiple births will be enrolled in the same arm of the study.
Who cannot join
- Inability to randomize by 6 hours of age
- Major congenital abnormality
- Major chromosomal abnormality (including Trisomy 21),
- Severe growth restriction (≤ 1800gm birth weight),
- Infant is moribund and will not receive any further aggressive treatment,
- Refusal of consent by parent
- Refusal of consent by attending neonatologist
- Infants with a core temperature < 33.5°C for > 1 hour at the time of screening by the research team would not be eligible for the study.
Trial locations and contacts
19 sites in 1 country.
19 sites in 1 country
United States19 sites
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131
Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia, 30303
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama, 35233
Cincinnati Children's Medical Center
Cincinnati, Ohio, 45267
Case Western Reserve University, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital
Cleveland, Ohio, 44106
Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital
Columbus, Ohio, 43205
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
Dallas, Texas, 75235
Wayne State University
Detroit, Michigan, 48201
RTI International
Durham, North Carolina, 27705
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina, 27710
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Houston, Texas, 77030
Indiana University
Indianapolis, Indiana, 46202
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa, 52242
Children's Mercy Hospital
Kansas City, Missouri, 64108
University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California, 90025
Stanford University
Palo Alto, California, 94304
Univeristy of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104
Brown University, Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island, 02905
University of Rochester
Rochester, New York, 14642
About this study
Official title: Optimizing Cooling Strategies at < 6 Hours of Age for Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy
The Optimizing Cooling trial will compare four whole-body cooling treatments for infants born at 36 weeks gestational age or later with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy: (1) cooling for 72 hours to 33.5°C; (2) cooling for 120 hours to 33.5°C; (3) cooling for 72 hours to 32.0°C; and (4) cooling for 120 hours to 32.0°C. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether whole-body cooling initiated at less than 6 hours of age and continued for 120 hours and/or a depth at 32.0°C in will reduce death and disability at 18-22 months corrected age.
Read the detailed description
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a rare, but life-threatening condition characterized by brain injury due to asphyxia diagnosed at or shortly after birth. According to the World Health Organization, more than 722,000 children died from birth asphyxia and birth trauma worldwide in 2004. An estimated 50-75 percent of infants with severe (stage 3) HIE will die, with 55 percent of these deaths occurring in the first month. Up to 80 percent of infants who survive stage 3 HIE develop significant long-term disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, epilepsy, and cerebral palsy with hemiplegia, paraplegia, or quadriplegia; 10-20 percent develop moderately serious disabilities; and up to 10 percent are normal.
Previous studies have shown treatment with hypothermia to be an effective therapy for HIE. Currently, infants diagnosed with HIE at less than six hours of age are given whole-body cooling, decreasing their core body temperature to 33.5°C (93.2° Fahrenheit) for a period 72 hours using a cooling blanket. This treatment appears to protect the brain, decreasing the rate of death and disability and improving the chances of survival and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18 months correct age. But additional trials are needed to help define the most effective cooling strategies.
The Optimizing Cooling trial will examine whether cooling for a longer time period and/or to a lower temperature will improve the chance of survival and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18-22 months corrected age. Eligible infants with HIE will be placed in one of four cooling groups: (1) cooling for 72 hours to 33.5°C; (2) cooling for 120 hours to 33.5°C; (3) cooling for 72 hours to 32.0°C; and (4) cooling for 120 hours to 32.0°C. Infants will be monitored closely and receive the care of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Infants enrolled in the study will be placed on a cooling blanket - the same type of blanket children's hospitals use in the NICU, in operating rooms during surgeries, and to cool children with high fevers. Each infant will be cooled according to the study group he or she is assigned to. During cooling, the infant's temperature will be very closely monitored by continuous esophageal (core)temperature readings. This will be done by placing a soft, narrow, flexible plastic tube into the infant's nose and down to just above the stomach. Skin temperatures will also be monitored closely. At the end of the assigned period of cooling, the infant will be slowly re-warmed until a normal core temperature of 36.5 to 37.0°C (97.7 to 98.6°C) is reached.
Infants will be examined at 18-22 months corrected age to assess their neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Secondary Studies include:
- Using aEEG to 1)predict mortality or moderate to severe disability at 18-22 months in term infants with HIE treated with systemic hypothermia and 2) to record electrical seizure activity to compare rewarming initiated at 72 hours and later rewarming that is initiated at 120 hours.
- Secondary Study includes determining an association between MRI detectable injury and neurodevelopment at 18-22 months.
- Conditions
- Infant, Newborn, Hypoxia, Brain, Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain, Encephalopathy, Hypoxic-Ischemic, Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy, Ischemic-Hypoxic Encephalopathy
- Being tested
- Whole-body Cooling
- Keywords
- NICHD Neonatal Research Network, Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), Hypothermia, Neonatal depression, Perinatal asphyxia, Fetal acidosis
- Medical subject headings
- Hypoxia, Brain, Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain, Hypothermia
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Whole-body CoolingProcedure or surgery
Also called Blanketrol II Model 222R, Blanketrol III Model 233 (used in the II mode)
Whole-body cooling using a Blanketrol II or III to reach either a target core temperature of 33.5°C or 32.0°C for a duration of either 72 hours or 120 hours.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| 33.5°C for 72 hours | Active comparator | Target Temp: 33.5°C Duration: 72 hrs Receives: Procedure: Whole-body Cooling |
| 33.5°C for 120 hours | Experimental | Target Temp: 33.5°C Duration: 120 hrs Receives: Procedure: Whole-body Cooling |
| 32.0°C for 72 hours | Experimental | Target Temp: 32.0°C Duration: 72 hrs Receives: Procedure: Whole-body Cooling |
| 32.0°C for 120 hours | Experimental | Target Temp: 32.0°C Duration:120 hrs Receives: Procedure: Whole-body Cooling |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Death or Moderate to Severe Disability
Death includes any mortality prior to follow up at 18-22 months. Severe disability was defined by any of the following: a Bayley III cognitive score <70, a GMFCS level of 3-5, blindness or profound hearing loss (inability to understand commands despite amplification). Moderate disability was defined as a Bayley cognitive score of 70-84 and either a GMFCS level of 2, seizure disorder, or a hearing deficit requiring amplification to understand commands.
Measured: Birth to 22 months corrected age
Secondary outcomes (11)
Death
Death includes any mortality prior to follow up at 18-22 months.
Measured: Birth to 22 months corrected age
Level of Disability Among Survivors
Among survivors number of normal infants and infants with mild, moderate, and severe disability
Severe disability was defined by any of the following: a Bayley III cognitive score <70, a GMFCS level of 3-5, blindness or profound hearing loss (inability to understand commands despite amplification). Moderate disability was defined as a Bayley cognitive score of 70-84 and either a GMFCS level of 2, seizure disorder, or a hearing deficit requiring amplification to understand commands. Mild impairment was defined by a cognitive score 70-84, or a cognitive score ≥ 85 and any of the following: presence of a GMFCS level 1 or 2, seizure disorder or hearing loss not requiring amplification. Normal was defined by a cognitive score ≥ 85 in the absence of any neurosensory deficits or seizures after NICU discharge.
Measured: Follow up at 18-22 months corrected age
Withdrawal of Care
Number of infants for whom aggressive care is withdrawn
Measured: Birth through hospital discharge, average 22 days.
Clinical Neonatal Seizures
Documented seizures during hospital course
Measured: Through death, discharge, or transfer
Bayley Cognitive Score
Bayley Scale of Infant Development Composite Cognitive Score. The total composite score is reported, ranging from the lowest score of 55 to the highest score of 145. Lower values specify worse outcome.
Measured: Follow up at 18-22 months corrected age
Cerebral Palsy
Measured: Follow up at 18-22 months corrected age
Level of Disability Among Survivors, by Level of HIE
Among survivors, number of normal infants and infants with mild, moderate and severe disability Severe disability was defined by any of the following: a Bayley III cognitive score <70, a GMFCS level of 3-5, blindness or profound hearing loss (inability to understand commands despite amplification). Moderate disability was defined as a Bayley cognitive score of 70-84 and either a GMFCS level of 2, seizure disorder, or a hearing deficit requiring amplification to understand commands. Mild impairment was defined by a cognitive score 70-84, or a cognitive score ≥ 85 and any of the following: presence of a GMFCS level 1 or 2, seizure disorder or hearing loss not requiring amplification. Normal was defined by a cognitive score ≥ 85 in the absence of any neurosensory deficits or seizures after NICU discharge.
Measured: Follow up at 18-22 months corrected age
Visual Impairment
Visual impairment is defined as bilateral blindness with some/no useful vision
Measured: Follow up at 18-22 months corrected age
Hearing Impairment
Hearing impairment is defined as hearing impairment despite amplification
Measured: Follow up at 18-22 months corrected age
Multiple Disabilities
Multiple disabilities is defined as two or more of the following 5 components: disabling CP, GMFCS level 3-5, Bayley cognitive score < 70, blindness, or deafness.
Measured: Follow up at 18-22 months corrected age
Multiorgan Dysfunction
The data needed for this analysis are not collected directly, and will not be analyzed as the study was terminated early and no funds available to complete this complex analysis. The data for this study will be stored at the NICHD-DASH for investigators.
Measured: Until death, discharge, or transfer
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted1 Sep 2010 (estimated)
- Study startSep 2010
- Primary completionMar 2016
- Study completionMar 2016
Why it stopped: The trial closed for emerging safety profile and futility analysis and will not resume.
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, outcome measures and adverse events reported by the sponsor.
- Publications (9)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Infant, NewbornStudies 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 N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 364 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- NICHD Neonatal Research Network
- Sponsor type
- Research network
- Collaborators
- National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Seetha Shankaran, MD, Study chair, Wayne State UniversityAbbot R Laptook, MD, Principal investigator, Brown University, Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode IslandMichele C Walsh, MD MS, Principal investigator, Case Western Reserve University, Rainbow Babies and Children's HospitalRonald N. Goldberg, MD, Principal investigator, Duke UniversityBarbara J. Stoll, MD, Principal investigator, Emory UniversityBrenda B. Poindexter, MD MS, Principal investigator, Indiana UniversityAbhik Das, PhD, Principal investigator, RTI InternationalKrisa P. Van Meurs, MD, Principal investigator, Stanford University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT01192776
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- NICHD-NRN-0043
- Other IDs
- U10HD021364, U10HD021373, U10HD021385, U10HD027851, U10HD027853, U10HD027856, U10HD027871, U10HD027880
- Status last verified
- Jun 2026
- First submitted
- 31 Aug 2010
- Last updated
- 24 Jun 2026
- Results posted
- Yes, on ClinicalTrials.gov
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
Publications
Shankaran S, Laptook AR, Guimaraes C, Murnick J, McDonald SA, Das A, Petrie Huitema CM, Pappas A, Higgins RD, Hintz SR, Zaterka-Baxter KM, Van Meurs KP, Sokol GM, Chalak LF, Colaizy TT, Devaskar U, Tyson JE, Reynolds AM, DeMauro SB, Sanchez PJ, Laughon MM, Carlo WA, Watterberg K, Puopolo KM, Hibbs AM, Hamrick SEG, Cotten CM, Barks J, Poindexter BB, Truog WE, D'Angio CT; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. NICHD Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Score in Term Infants With Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Pediatr. 2025 Apr 1;179(4):383-395. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.6209.
PubMed 39960680Bonifacio SL, Chalak LF, Van Meurs KP, Laptook AR, Shankaran S. Neuroprotection for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy: Contributions from the neonatal research network. Semin Perinatol. 2022 Nov;46(7):151639. doi: 10.1016/j.semperi.2022.151639. Epub 2022 Jun 10.
PubMed 35835616Shukla VV, Bann CM, Ramani M, Ambalavanan N, Peralta-Carcelen M, Hintz SR, Higgins RD, Natarajan G, Laptook AR, Shankaran S, Carlo WA. Predictive Ability of 10-Minute Apgar Scores for Mortality and Neurodevelopmental Disability. Pediatrics. 2022 Apr 1;149(4):e2021054992. doi: 10.1542/peds.2021-054992.
PubMed 35296895Chalak LF, Pappas A, Tan S, Das A, Sanchez PJ, Laptook AR, Van Meurs KP, Shankaran S, Bell EF, Davis AS, Heyne RJ, Pedroza C, Poindexter BB, Schibler K, Tyson JE, Ball MB, Bara R, Grisby C, Sokol GM, D'Angio CT, Hamrick SEG, Dysart KC, Cotten CM, Truog WE, Watterberg KL, Timan CJ, Garg M, Carlo WA, Higgins RD; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Association Between Increased Seizures During Rewarming After Hypothermia for Neonatal Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy and Abnormal Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 2-Year Follow-up: A Nested Multisite Cohort Study. JAMA Neurol. 2021 Dec 1;78(12):1484-1493. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2021.3723.
PubMed 34882200Ambalavanan N, Shankaran S, Laptook AR, Carper BA, Das A, Carlo WA, Cotten CM, Duncan AF, Higgins RD; EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER NICHD NEONATAL RESEARCH NETWORK. Early Determination of Prognosis in Neonatal Moderate or Severe Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy. Pediatrics. 2021 Jun;147(6):e2020048678. doi: 10.1542/peds.2020-048678. Epub 2021 May 13.
PubMed 33986149Shankaran S, Laptook AR, Pappas A, McDonald SA, Das A, Tyson JE, Poindexter BB, Schibler K, Bell EF, Heyne RJ, Pedroza C, Bara R, Van Meurs KP, Huitema CMP, Grisby C, Devaskar U, Ehrenkranz RA, Harmon HM, Chalak LF, DeMauro SB, Garg M, Hartley-McAndrew ME, Khan AM, Walsh MC, Ambalavanan N, Brumbaugh JE, Watterberg KL, Shepherd EG, Hamrick SEG, Barks J, Cotten CM, Kilbride HW, Higgins RD; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Effect of Depth and Duration of Cooling on Death or Disability at Age 18 Months Among Neonates With Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2017 Jul 4;318(1):57-67. doi: 10.1001/jama.2017.7218.
PubMed 28672318Pedroza C, Tyson JE, Das A, Laptook A, Bell EF, Shankaran S; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Advantages of Bayesian monitoring methods in deciding whether and when to stop a clinical trial: an example of a neonatal cooling trial. Trials. 2016 Jul 22;17(1):335. doi: 10.1186/s13063-016-1480-4.
PubMed 27450203Shankaran S, Laptook AR, Pappas A, McDonald SA, Das A, Tyson JE, Poindexter BB, Schibler K, Bell EF, Heyne RJ, Pedroza C, Bara R, Van Meurs KP, Grisby C, Huitema CM, Garg M, Ehrenkranz RA, Shepherd EG, Chalak LF, Hamrick SE, Khan AM, Reynolds AM, Laughon MM, Truog WE, Dysart KC, Carlo WA, Walsh MC, Watterberg KL, Higgins RD; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Effect of depth and duration of cooling on deaths in the NICU among neonates with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2014 Dec 24-31;312(24):2629-39. doi: 10.1001/jama.2014.16058.
PubMed 25536254Shankaran S. Outcomes of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in neonates treated with hypothermia. Clin Perinatol. 2014 Mar;41(1):149-59. doi: 10.1016/j.clp.2013.10.008.
PubMed 24524452