NCT04308122

Brief Summary

Use of cervical orthosis after instrumented posterior cervical spinal surgery is still widely practiced even though modern fusion techniques likely do not require additional stabilization from an external orthosis. This is a single, centre randomized, non-blinded equivalence trial. Patients undergoing multi-level posterior cervical fusion will be randomized to cervical orthosis (CO group) or no orthosis (NO group). Immediately following surgery patients in the CO group will be fitted with a Philadelphia collar prior to being transferred to the recovery room. On the patient ward a physiotherapist will fit the patient with a Cervimax/Aspen/Miami J collar which will be worn at all times for 6 weeks according the standard of care. The NO group will have no specific precautions applied to their neck range of motion. Outcomes will be assessed prior to surgery, on the second day after surgery, and at 2, 4, 6 and 12 weeks after surgery. The primary outcome will be neck pain score on the numerical rating scale (ranging from 0-10 with higher scores indicating more severe pain) during the first 4 weeks after surgery with an equivalence margin of 2.0 points. Secondary outcomes will be neck disability, general health, treatment satisfaction, pain medication use, adverse events, neck range of motion, time meeting discharge status, and compliance in wearing the collar.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
64

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Oct 2020

Typical duration for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

March 6, 2020

Completed
7 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

March 13, 2020

Completed
7 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

October 1, 2020

Completed
1.8 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

August 1, 2022

Completed
2 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

September 30, 2022

Completed
Last Updated

November 15, 2022

Status Verified

November 1, 2022

Enrollment Period

1.8 years

First QC Date

March 6, 2020

Last Update Submit

November 14, 2022

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Neck pain intensity

    numerical rating scale, 0 to 10 with higher scores indicating more severe pain

    Through study duration to 12 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (9)

  • Neck Disability Index

    Through study duration to 12 weeks

  • Arm pain intensity

    Through study duration to 12 weeks

  • General health SF12

    Through study duration to 12 weeks

  • Treatment satisfaction (% of patients satisfied)

    Through study duration to 12 weeks

  • Time to meet discharge status (days)

    day 2

  • +4 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (2)

Cervical Orthosis (CO)

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Cervical orthosis will be worn at all times for 6 weeks according the standard of care after posterior cervical fusion

Device: Cervical Orthosis (CO)

No Orthosis (NO)

EXPERIMENTAL

No cervical orthosis will be worn after posterior cervical fusion

Device: No Orthosis

Interventions

Immediately following surgery patients in the CO group will be fitted with a Philadelphia collar prior to being transferred to the recovery room. On the patient ward a physiotherapist will fit the patient with a Cervimax/Aspen/Miami J collar which will be worn at all times for 6 weeks according the standard of care.

Cervical Orthosis (CO)

The NO group will have no specific precautions applied to their neck range of motion.

No Orthosis (NO)

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Undergoing multi-level (2- or more level), open, posterior cervical fusion which may extent into the second thoracic vertebrae (C1-T2)
  • years of age and older

You may not qualify if:

  • Spinal cord injury
  • Primary cervical spine infection
  • Cervical spine tumor
  • Inability to comprehend patient rated outcome instruments
  • Substance abuse
  • Dementia
  • Psychosis
  • Previous surgery at same level

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

London Health Sciences Centre

London, Ontario, N6A 5W9, Canada

Location

Related Publications (1)

  • Fernandes R, Thornley P, Urquhart J, Alahmari A, Alenezi N, Kelly S, Rasoulinejad P, Singh S, Siddiqi F, Gurr K, Bailey C. Cervical orthosis does not improve postoperative pain following posterior cervical fusion: a randomized controlled trial. Eur Spine J. 2024 Oct;33(10):4002-4011. doi: 10.1007/s00586-024-08456-7. Epub 2024 Aug 21.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

RadiculopathySpondylosis

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Peripheral Nervous System DiseasesNeuromuscular DiseasesNervous System DiseasesSpinal DiseasesBone DiseasesMusculoskeletal Diseases

Study Officials

  • Chris Bailey

    London Health Science Centre

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Associate Professor and Staff Physician Department of Surgery, London Health Sciences Centre

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

March 6, 2020

First Posted

March 13, 2020

Study Start

October 1, 2020

Primary Completion

August 1, 2022

Study Completion

September 30, 2022

Last Updated

November 15, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-11

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will not share

Locations