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Completed No phase listed Observational

Diaphragm Pacing After Spinal Cord Injury

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02556125

Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT02556125. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.

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Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.

Official title

Intramuscular Pacing to Enhance Voluntary Diaphragm Activation

Brief summary

Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.

Respiratory dysfunction is the leading cause of death in individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCIs). Nearly one quarter of all SCI cases involve injury to the upper spinal cord segments which impairs neural activation of the diaphragm muscle and compromises breathing. Although mechanical ventilation can be life-saving after cervical SCI (C-SCI), it also triggers rapid and profound diaphragm muscle atrophy, thereby complicating (or even preventing) ventilator weaning. Intramuscular diaphragm stimulation, or diaphragm pacing, was developed to replace long-term ventilator support, and is now used acutely post C-SCI (\<4 months following injury) to promote ventilator weaning. The impact of diaphragm pacing on respiratory function and diaphragm muscle activation has not been formally evaluated. This is an essential step in determining the efficacy of intramuscular diaphragm stimulation and its effects on respiratory function after SCI. Accordingly, this research study will evaluate the effects of intramuscular diaphragm stimulation and test the hypothesis that diaphragm pacing enhances neuromuscular diaphragm activation and respiratory function in adults with cervical SCIs. The investigators will test the hypothesis by evaluating the effects of diaphragm pacing on neuromuscular activation of the diaphragm by directly recording electromyogram (EMG) activity from the intramuscular pacing electrodes. Recording from these surgically-implanted electrodes allows direct comparisons of EMG activity across time, minimizing methodological limitations inherent with surface or percutaneous EMG recordings. This approach, in association with respiratory assessments, will be used to investigate the impact of diaphragm pacing in adults with intramuscular diaphragm pacing electrodes following acute, traumatic C-SCIs.

Study identification

NCT ID
NCT02556125
Recruitment status
Completed
Study type
Observational
Phase
Not listed
Lead sponsor
University of Florida
Other
Enrollment
16 participants

Conditions and interventions

Interventions

Device

Eligibility (public fields only)

Age range
18 Years and older
Sex
All
Healthy volunteers
Healthy volunteers not accepted

This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.

Study timeline

Start date
Nov 30, 2015
Primary completion
Aug 10, 2020
Completion
Aug 10, 2020
Last update posted
Aug 12, 2020

2015 – 2020

United States locations

U.S. sites
2
U.S. states
1
U.S. cities
2
Facility City State ZIP Site status
University of Florida Gainesville Florida 32610
Brooks Rehabilitation Jacksonville Florida 32216

Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.

About this trial record page

What this page shows
Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT02556125, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
What this page does not do
No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
Where the data comes from
Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
Last refresh
Last update posted Aug 12, 2020 · Synced Sep 2, 2026

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