Ketone drink after cardiac arrest pilot v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Feasibility and safety of delivering a ketone drink to comatose survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
IRAS ID
204774
Contact name
Ajay Jain
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Barts Health NHS Trust/Queen Mary University London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 2 days
Research summary
In the UK approximately 30,000 patients suffer cardiac arrest (the heart stopping) outside of the hospital environment every year. Of these, around 6,350 are subsequently treated on an intensive care unit, 46% of whom die due to neurological (brain) injury. Around 50% of intensive care unit survivors will suffer long-term neurological impairment. Apart from controlling patients’ temperatures, there are no known treatments to protect the brain or improve outcome.\n\n’Ketone bodies’ are naturally produced by the human body under conditions of starvation. There is evidence from human and animal studies that ketone bodies may help to protect tissues, including the brain, during or shortly after periods of reduced oxygen supply, such as cardiac arrest.\n\nKetone bodies have now been manufactured, and have been safely used in ’drink’ form by athletes for many years. We aim to investigate whether giving a ketone drink to patients admitted to hospital after cardiac arrest will improve their outcomes. This pilot study will assess the practicalities and safety of giving a ketone drink to these patients. The drink will be given through a feeding tube inserted into a patient’s stomach via their nose.\n\nAdult patients presenting to hospital after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest would be eligible. The study will be conducted at a single site and will recruit 10 participants. The study will last 72 hours for each participant. The intervention will include the placement of a feeding tube via the nose into the stomach (a part of standard care) with a ketone drink given via this tube for 48 hours. The dose used is safe in normal individuals, with effective absorption via this tube route. During this period blood samples will be taken to assess any ill-effects. Patients will also have non-invasive tests of the heart, brain and nervous system between 24 and 72 hours after admission.
REC name
South Central - Berkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/SC/0417
Date of REC Opinion
20 Sep 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion