Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (aSAH)Phase 4NCT07116408
Intranasal Sphenopalatine Ganglion Blockade for Headaches Following Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
A Phase 4 study testing Lidocaine (drug) and Tx 360 in people with Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (aSAH) and Headache, run by Wright State University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
In patients with bleeding from a brain aneurysm, severe headache is the most common complaint. However, the pain is difficult to treat. The use of standard pain medications is common, but pain control remains poor. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (aSAH), Headache
- What is being tested?
- Lidocaine (drug) and Tx 360
- Type of treatment
- Medical device
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 20 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 20 May 2024to May 2027
- Phase
- Phase 4
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
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
- Patients aged 18 years or older who are being treated in the neurologic ICU for subarachnoid hemorrhage with Hunt and Hess scale of 0-3 (Scale ranges from 0 to 5 with higher numbers indicating more severe symptoms) and able to verbally report headache will be considered for inclusion in this study.
Who cannot join
- Patients under the age of 18 years of age.
- Patients with an allergy to lidocaine.
- Patients from all vulnerable groups.
- Patients with Hunt and Hess scale score of 4-5. (Scale ranges from 0 to 5 with higher numbers indicating more severe symptoms.)
- Patients who are not able to consent.
- Mentally impaired patients that are unable to provide consent.
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- Patients that are prisoners.
- Pregnant patients.
- Additionally, patients with contraindications to use of the Tx 360 device will be excluded. Contraindications include:
- History of recurrent nose bleeds.
- Nasal septal deformity such as cleft lip and palate, choanal atresia (narrowed nasal passages), atrophic rhinitis, rhinitis medicamentosa, septal perforation, nasal/midface trauma.
- Recent nasal/sinus surgery
- Presence of a bleeding disorder (eg., Von Willebrand's disease or hemophilia).
- Severe respiratory distress.
- Presence of angiofibroma, sinus tumor, or granulomatous disease of the nasopharynx.
- Presence of nasal trauma.
- Nasal congestion that has been present more than 10 days, high fever, or abnormal appearance of the nasal mucosa or mucus.
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, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Miami Valley Hospital
Dayton, Ohio, 45409
About this study
Official title: Intranasal Sphenopalatine Ganglion Blockade as a Non-invasive, Opioid-sparing Treatment for Headaches Following Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
In patients with bleeding from a brain aneurysm, severe headache is the most common complaint. However, the pain is difficult to treat. The use of standard pain medications is common, but pain control remains poor. Additionally, pain medicines have multiple side effects including sedation, interference with breathing, intestinal cramping, low blood pressure, and the risk of addiction. In the present study, the investigators will examine the use of a medication to block the sphenopalatine ganglion which is a bundle of nerves that includes nerves that cause head pain. This block is performed by spraying numbing medication into the back of the nasal cavity on both sides. This particular pain medication does not have the side effects discussed above. The purpose of the study is to see if this treatment will decrease pain without causing unwanted side effects.
All patients in the study will receive standard pain medicine as needed for headache. Information will be collected from the patient's medical chart on the amount of pain medication used and the amount of pain the patient describes having. The average pain will be calculated for the first 24 hours the patient is in the hospital. At that point, the patient will receive pain medication sprayed into the back of the nasal cavity on both sides. Patients will also receive this treatment 3 days later. Following these treatments, information will be obtained on the average amount of pain, and how much other pain medication is used.
The investigators will look at the amount of pain and the amount of other pain medicine used over the first 24 hours before the nasal pain medicine treatment and compare it to the time after the treatments to see if the amount of pain decreases and if the amount of other pain medicine needed decreases as well. Six months after discharge, the patient will be contacted by phone to find out more information about how much head pain they had after discharge from the hospital.
Read the detailed description
Spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) accounts for up to 8% of strokes and affects approximately 30,000 individuals yearly in the US alone. Of those, ruptured intracranial aneurysm is the etiology up to 85% of the time. In these patients, severe headache is the most common complaint and its treatment is difficult and often inadequate. However, adequate. Opioids, often in escalating doses, are guideline recommended, but unfortunately they have significant side effects and are often not effective. There have been numerous trials looking at different treatments for the headache caused by SAH. There is an urgent need for an effective treatment with tolerable side effects. The pathophysiology of pain in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is not well elucidated.
It is likely related to vasoactive and inflammatory byproducts of blood degradation in the subarachnoid space. The intracranial vessels themselves are abundantly innervated, predominantly by branches of the maxillary nerve. The sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) is a possible target for intervention, as blockade has been shown to be effective in cluster headaches. The SPG is located near the maxillary nerve, which may explain why blockade is also useful in several other head pain disorders. A small, single center pilot study of seven patients evaluated a bilateral suprazygomatic pterygopalatine fossa blockade as a treatment for headache, and all the patients had clinically significant reductions in reported pain. This study aims to evaluate whether intranasal SPG blockade could provide an effective and minimally invasive treatment option to improve pain and possibly reduce opioid requirements in these patients.
- Being tested
- Lidocaine (drug), Tx 360
- Keywords
- Headache, subarachnoid hemorrhage, aneurysm
- Medical subject headings
- Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, Headache, Aneurysm
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Lidocaine (drug)Drug
Tx 360/lidocaine
Tx 360Device
Tx 360 device
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment arm | Experimental | Treatment arm Receives: Drug: Lidocaine (drug); Device: Tx 360 |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Headache severity
Description of headache severity using the headache numerical rating scale. The scale is a subjective rating of headache pain. The scale ranges from 0-10 with 0 being no pain (minimum value, better outcome) and 10 being the worst pain imaginable (maximum value, worse outcome).
Measured: Day 1 (day of consent) Patient receives first treatment. Pain will be recorded every 8 hours. Second treatment is on day 4. Pain will be recorded every 8 hours until discharge from the ICU, an average of 2 weeks, and at 6 months post discharge.
Secondary outcomes (1)
Opioid dose
Amount of morphine equivalents/opioids used for pain control
Measured: 2 weeks (or duration of hospitalization)
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted11 Aug 2025
- Study start20 May 2024
- Primary completionNov 2026 (estimated)
- Study completionMay 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (4)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (aSAH)Studies 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
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 20 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Wright State University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, John Terry, Wright State University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07116408
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2022-196
- Status last verified
- May 2026
- First submitted
- 18 Jun 2025
- Last updated
- 27 May 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- Yes
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Binfalah M, Alghawi E, Shosha E, Alhilly A, Bakhiet M. Sphenopalatine Ganglion Block for the Treatment of Acute Migraine Headache. Pain Res Treat. 2018 May 7;2018:2516953. doi: 10.1155/2018/2516953. eCollection 2018.
PubMed 29862074Macdonald RL, Schweizer TA. Spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage. Lancet. 2017 Feb 11;389(10069):655-666. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30668-7. Epub 2016 Sep 13.
PubMed 27637674Morad AH, Tamargo RJ, Gottschalk A. The Longitudinal Course of Pain and Analgesic Therapy Following Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A Cohort Study. Headache. 2016 Nov;56(10):1617-1625. doi: 10.1111/head.12908. Epub 2016 Oct 5.
PubMed 27704534Abraham MK, Chang WW. Subarachnoid Hemorrhage. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2016 Nov;34(4):901-916. doi: 10.1016/j.emc.2016.06.011.
PubMed 27741994
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 27 May 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Intranasal Sphenopalatine Ganglion Blockade as a Non-invasive, Opioid-sparing Treatment for Headaches Following Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07116408
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 2022-196
- Keywords
- Headache, subarachnoid hemorrhage, aneurysm
- Phase
- Phase 4
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 20 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Wright State UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 20 May 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- Nov 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- May 2027 (estimated)
- First posted
- 11 Aug 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
In patients with bleeding from a brain aneurysm, severe headache is the most common complaint. However, the pain is difficult to treat. The use of standard pain medications is common, but pain control remains poor. Additionally, pain medicines have multiple side effects including sedation, interference with breathing, intestinal cramping, low blood pressure, and the risk of addiction. In the present study, the investigators will examine the use of a medication to block the sphenopalatine ganglion which is a bundle of nerves that includes nerves that cause head pain. This block is performed by spraying numbing medication into the back of the nasal cavity on both sides. This particular pain medication does not have the side effects discussed above. The purpose of the study is to see if this treatment will decrease pain without causing unwanted side effects.
All patients in the study will receive standard pain medicine as needed for headache. Information will be collected from the patient's medical chart on the amount of pain medication used and the amount of pain the patient describes having. The average pain will be calculated for the first 24 hours the patient is in the hospital. At that point, the patient will receive pain medication sprayed into the back of the nasal cavity on both sides. Patients will also receive this treatment 3 days later. Following these treatments, information will be obtained on the average amount of pain, and how much other pain medication is used.
The investigators will look at the amount of pain and the amount of other pain medicine used over the first 24 hours before the nasal pain medicine treatment and compare it to the time after the treatments to see if the amount of pain decreases and if the amount of other pain medicine needed decreases as well. Six months after discharge, the patient will be contacted by phone to find out more information about how much head pain they had after discharge from the hospital.
Detailed description
Spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) accounts for up to 8% of strokes and affects approximately 30,000 individuals yearly in the US alone. Of those, ruptured intracranial aneurysm is the etiology up to 85% of the time. In these patients, severe headache is the most common complaint and its treatment is difficult and often inadequate. However, adequate. Opioids, often in escalating doses, are guideline recommended, but unfortunately they have significant side effects and are often not effective. There have been numerous trials looking at different treatments for the headache caused by SAH. There is an urgent need for an effective treatment with tolerable side effects. The pathophysiology of pain in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is not well elucidated.
It is likely related to vasoactive and inflammatory byproducts of blood degradation in the subarachnoid space. The intracranial vessels themselves are abundantly innervated, predominantly by branches of the maxillary nerve. The sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) is a possible target for intervention, as blockade has been shown to be effective in cluster headaches. The SPG is located near the maxillary nerve, which may explain why blockade is also useful in several other head pain disorders. A small, single center pilot study of seven patients evaluated a bilateral suprazygomatic pterygopalatine fossa blockade as a treatment for headache, and all the patients had clinically significant reductions in reported pain. This study aims to evaluate whether intranasal SPG blockade could provide an effective and minimally invasive treatment option to improve pain and possibly reduce opioid requirements in these patients.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment arm | Experimental | Drug: Lidocaine (drug), Device: Tx 360Treatment arm |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Patients aged 18 years or older who are being treated in the neurologic ICU for subarachnoid hemorrhage with Hunt and Hess scale of 0-3 (Scale ranges from 0 to 5 with higher numbers indicating more severe symptoms) and able to verbally report headache will be considered for inclusion in this study.
Key exclusion criteria (17 listed)
- Patients under the age of 18 years of age.
- Patients with an allergy to lidocaine.
- Patients from all vulnerable groups.
- Patients with Hunt and Hess scale score of 4-5. (Scale ranges from 0 to 5 with higher numbers indicating more severe symptoms.)
- Patients who are not able to consent.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Lidocaine (drug)Tx 360/lidocaine | Drug | Treatment arm |
| Tx 360Tx 360 device | Device | Treatment arm |
Primary outcome
Headache severity
Time frame: Day 1 (day of consent) Patient receives first treatment. Pain will be recorded every 8 hours. Second treatment is on day 4. Pain will be recorded every 8 hours until discharge from the ICU, an average of 2 weeks, and at 6 months post discharge.
Description of headache severity using the headache numerical rating scale. The scale is a subjective rating of headache pain. The scale ranges from 0-10 with 0 being no pain (minimum value, better outcome) and 10 being the worst pain imaginable (maximum value, worse outcome).
1 secondary outcome
Opioid dose
Time frame: 2 weeks (or duration of hospitalization)
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 27 May 2026.
- Background: PubMed 29862074Binfalah M, Alghawi E, Shosha E, Alhilly A, Bakhiet M. Sphenopalatine Ganglion Block for the Treatment of Acute Migraine Headache. Pain Res Treat. 2018 May 7;2018:2516953. doi: 10.1155/2018/2516953. eCollection 2018.
- Background: PubMed 27637674Macdonald RL, Schweizer TA. Spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage. Lancet. 2017 Feb 11;389(10069):655-666. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30668-7. Epub 2016 Sep 13.
- Background: PubMed 27704534Morad AH, Tamargo RJ, Gottschalk A. The Longitudinal Course of Pain and Analgesic Therapy Following Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A Cohort Study. Headache. 2016 Nov;56(10):1617-1625. doi: 10.1111/head.12908. Epub 2016 Oct 5.
- Background: PubMed 27741994Abraham MK, Chang WW. Subarachnoid Hemorrhage. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2016 Nov;34(4):901-916. doi: 10.1016/j.emc.2016.06.011.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A Phase 4 study testing Lidocaine (drug) and Tx 360 in people with Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (aSAH) and Headache, run by Wright State University 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 1 inclusion and 17 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: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 27 May 2026. 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.
What does this phase mean?
Phase 4 studies take place after a treatment is approved, to learn more about its long-term benefits and risks in everyday use.
Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact John B Terry, MD (937-208-4200, jbterry@premierhealth.com), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Headache severity (time frame: Day 1 (day of consent) Patient receives first treatment. Pain will be recorded every 8 hours. Second treatment is on day 4. Pain will be recorded every 8 hours until discharge from the ICU, an average of 2 weeks, and at 6 months post discharge.). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT07116408, which also lists 4 linked publications.
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 27 May 2026.