NCT06429332

Brief Summary

Spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) accounts for approximately 10-15% of all strokes but stands for 50% of stroke-related morbidity and mortality. Approximately half of all patients with ICH have a decreased level of consciousness at hospital admission. Despite this, intensive care and neurosurgical interventions are uncommon. A study conducted in low- and middle-income countries has demonstrated a beneficial effect of a treatment package consisting of early intensive blood pressure lowering, as well as the treatment of pyrexia and elevated blood glucose levels. The I-CATCHER team is now planning to conduct a similar study in Sweden and Australia, as well as in other high-income countries. The study has a clear focus on implementation, aiming to improve treatment and prognosis for patients with ICH within a few years. The purpose of I-CATCHER is to investigate whether a structured treatment package (Care Bundle) improves 3-month prognosis in patients with spontaneous ICH compared to standard care.

Trial Health

83
On Track

Trial Health Score

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

Enrollment
3,500

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for phase_4

Timeline
14mo left

Started Jan 2025

Typical duration for phase_4

Geographic Reach
8 countries

52 active sites

Status
recruiting

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

Study Progress54%
Jan 2025Jul 2027

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

May 14, 2024

Completed
10 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

May 24, 2024

Completed
8 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

January 7, 2025

Completed
2.1 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

March 1, 2027

Expected
4 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

July 1, 2027

Last Updated

February 9, 2026

Status Verified

May 1, 2025

Enrollment Period

2.1 years

First QC Date

May 14, 2024

Last Update Submit

February 6, 2026

Conditions

Keywords

intracerebral hemorrhageoral anticoagulantblood pressure loweringearly intensive blood pressure loweringcare bundleimplementation studyreversal treatmentoutcomeUW-mRSModified Rankin Scale

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Evaluation of functional outcome based on the Utility Weighted modified Rankin Scale score

    The modified Rankin Scale (mRS) is an efficient, reliable, and simple functional outcome measure widely used as a primary endpoint in clinical trials for acute stroke. However, being an ordered categorical scale, it may not reflect potentially unequal differences in perceived quality of life associated with certain 1-point shifts vs others. Utility-weighted mRS is a score that weighs the mRS against a health utility scale, which defined as the desirability of a specific health outcome, facilitates comparisons of health-related quality of life across an array of clinical settings. Utility weights, as referred to hereafter, reflect the spectrum between perfect health (a score of 1) and outcomes worse than death (where death is a score of 0 and negative values indicate an outcome worse than death). The primary outcome is UW-mRS at 3 months and will be analyzed by means of a linear regression, with mRS as a dependent variable with 7 levels (0 \[no residual symptom\] to 6 \[death\]).

    180±30 days

Secondary Outcomes (4)

  • Ordinal shift analysis of mRS

    180 days±30 days

  • Assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQoL)

    180 days±30 days

  • Poor outcome defined as mRS 3-6

    180 days±30 days

  • Separate outcomes for death and disability

    180 days±30 days

Study Arms (2)

Intervention group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

A range of implementation methods will be used to introduce an active Care Bundle with time- and target-based metrics that involve the rapid correction of abnormal physiological variables over days or hospital discharge (or death, if sooner) and referral pathways

Other: Reversal of Oral anticoagulation within 30 minutesOther: Early intensive blood pressure loweringOther: Treatment of pyrexiaOther: Hyperglycemia treatmentOther: Do-not-resuscitate (DNR) or withdrawal of careOther: Referral to Intensive CareOther: Referral to NeurosurgeryDiagnostic Test: Repeat brain imaging

Usual care

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

For patients in the usual-care group, decisions about the location of care delivery, investigations, monitoring, and all treatments are made by the treating clinical team. Data will be collected regarding the management of patients, including insertion of invasive monitoring devices, intravenous fluid resuscitation, BP lowering, vasoactive support, glycemic control, mechanical ventilation, neurosurgery, and other supportive therapy.

Other: Standard care

Interventions

A systolic blood pressure (BP) target of 130-140 mmHg within 30 minutes of ICH diagnosis on NCCT is strived for, and to maintain this BP level for the first 7 days (for patients presenting with blood pressure \<200 mmHg). If blood pressure ≥200 and \<220, a target BP of 160 mmHg should be targeted at 30 minutes, and 130-140 mmHg should be achieved in 60 minutes. If BP ≥220, target BP of 160 mmHg and should be achieved in 60 minutes.

Intervention group

To achieve a body temperature target \<37.5 °C within the first 24h following ICH diagnosis on NCCT

Intervention group

Immediate (\<30 min) referral to intensive care if airway, breathing and/or circulation are compromized

Intervention group

Immediate (\<30 min) referral to neurosurgery if any of the following criteria are fulfilled: * Large and/or rapidly evolving supratentorial ICH (\>20 ml volume) * Any intraventricular extension * Posterior fossa bleed, irrespective of volume * Suspicion of a vascular malformation, independent of volume or location * Reduction in reaction to sensory stimulation or drowsiness

Intervention group
Repeat brain imagingDIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Repeat 6-12-hour brain imaging with the physicians choice of modality, preferably computed tomography (CT), if clinical deterioration or the patient received OAC reversal treatment

Intervention group

For patients in the usual-care group, decisions about the location of care delivery, investigations, monitoring, and all treatments are made by the treating clinical team. Data will be collected regarding the management of patients, including insertion of invasive monitoring devices, intravenous fluid resuscitation, BP lowering, vasoactive support, glycemic control, mechanical ventilation, neurosurgery, and other supportive therapy.

Usual care

In situations of either an elevated INR with the use of warfarin - treatment with either 3- or 4-factor prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) or fresh frozen plasma (FFP) within 30 minutes of ICH diagnosis on NCCT to reach and maintain an INR target \<1.3; or where there has been recent use (\<48 hours) of a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC), use of an appropriate reversal agent within 30 minutes, where available, and according to local approvals.

Also known as: OAC reversal
Intervention group

To maintain a blood glucose level 7-10 mmol/L within the first 24h following ICH diagnosis on NCCT

Intervention group

Refrain from the use of DNR or withdrawal of care orders for 48 hours

Intervention group

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

  • Adults (age ≥18 years)
  • Non-contrast computerized tomography (NCCT) imaging-verified diagnosis of spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage
  • ≤24 hours from symptom onset or presumed symptom onset (last seen well)

You may not qualify if:

  • Previous care limitation
  • End-stage comorbidity with short life-expectancy (\<6 m; e.g. terminal cancer)
  • ICH caused by brain tumor or cerebral venous thrombosis
  • Clinical signs of brain herniation at first presentation (unresponsive patient with bilaterally fixed, maximally dilated pupils)
  • Pregnant women beyond 22 weeks gestation may only be included after thorough discussion with an obstetrician to determine risks vs benefit.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (52)

The University of Oklahoma Health

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 73126-0901, United States

RECRUITING

Royal Adelaide Hospital

Adelaide, 5000, Australia

RECRUITING

Monash Medical Centre

Clayton, 3168, Australia

RECRUITING

The George Institute for Global Health

Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

NOT YET RECRUITING

Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 4E9, Canada

RECRUITING

Hong Kong University Hospital

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

RECRUITING

Landspitali University Hospital

Reykjavik, 105, Iceland

RECRUITING

Avezzano Ospedale SS. Filippo e Nicola

Avezzano, 67051, Italy

RECRUITING

Citta di Castello Ospedale Città di Castello

Città di Castello, 06012, Italy

RECRUITING

Gubbio Ospedale di Gubbio e Gualdo Tadino

Gubbio, Italy, Italy

RECRUITING

Azienda Ospedaliera Santa Maria della Misericordia Perugia

Perugia, 06129, Italy

RECRUITING

Roma Policlinico Gemelli

Roma, 00136, Italy

RECRUITING

National University of Malaysia Hospital

Kuala Lumpur, 56000, Malaysia

RECRUITING

Universiti Putra Malaysia Hospital

Serdang, 43400, Malaysia

RECRUITING

Höglandssjukhuset i Eksjö

Eksjö, 575 81, Sweden

RECRUITING

Sahlgrenska Universitetssjukhuset

Gothenburg, 413 45, Sweden

RECRUITING

Östra Sjukhuset

Gothenburg, 41685, Sweden

RECRUITING

Hässleholms Sjukhus

Hässleholm, Sweden

RECRUITING

Helsingborgs Lasarett

Helsingborg, Sweden

RECRUITING

Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset Huddinge

Huddinge, Sweden

RECRUITING

Länssjukhuset Ryhov

Jönköping, 551 85, Sweden

RECRUITING

Länssjukhuset Kalmar

Kalmar, 391 85, Sweden

RECRUITING

Blekingesjukhuset Karlskrona

Karlskrona, 371 41, Sweden

RECRUITING

Blekingesjukhuset

Karlskrona, Sweden

RECRUITING

Centralsjukhuset Karlstad

Karlstad, 651 85, Sweden

RECRUITING

Västmanlands sjukhus Köping

Köping, 731 81, Sweden

RECRUITING

Centralsjukhuset Kristianstad

Kristianstad, Sweden

RECRUITING

Kungälvs sjukhus

Kungälv, 442 83, Sweden

RECRUITING

Univeristetssjukhuset Linköping

Linköping, 581 85, Sweden

RECRUITING

Ljungby Lasarett

Ljungby, 341 35, Sweden

RECRUITING

Skåne University Hospital Lund Neurosurgery dept

Lund, Sweden

RECRUITING

Skåne University Hospital Lund

Lund, Sweden

RECRUITING

Region Skåne, Skåne University Hospital in Malmö, Department of Neurology

Malmo, 20502, Sweden

RECRUITING

Mölndals Sjukhus

Mölndal, 431 80, Sweden

RECRUITING

Oskarshamn Sjukhus

Oskarshamn, 572 28, Sweden

RECRUITING

Universitetssjukhuset Örebro

Örebro, 701 85, Sweden

RECRUITING

Östersunds Lasarett

Östersund, Sweden

RECRUITING

Skaraborgs Sjukhus Skövde

Skövde, 541 85, Sweden

RECRUITING

Capio St Görans Sjukhus

Stockholm, 112 81, Sweden

RECRUITING

Södersjukhuset

Stockholm, 118 83, Sweden

RECRUITING

Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset Solna

Stockholm, 171 76, Sweden

RECRUITING

Danderyds sjukhus

Stockholm, 182 88, Sweden

RECRUITING

Länssjukhuset Sundsvall

Sundsvall, Sweden

RECRUITING

Norra Älvsborgs Länssjukhus

Trollhättan, 461 85, Sweden

RECRUITING

Norrlands Universitetssjukhus

Umeå, Sweden

RECRUITING

Lasarettet i Enköping

Uppsala, 751 85, Sweden

RECRUITING

Akademiska Sjukhuset Uppsal

Uppsala, 75185, Sweden

RECRUITING

Hallands sjukhus Varberg

Varberg, 43237, Sweden

RECRUITING

Centrallasarettet Växjö

Vaxjo, Sweden

RECRUITING

Värnamo sjukhus

Värnamo, 331 85, Sweden

RECRUITING

Västerås

Västerås, 721 89, Sweden

RECRUITING

Ystads lasarett

Ystad, Sweden

RECRUITING

Related Publications (9)

  • GBD 2019 Stroke Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of stroke and its risk factors, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet Neurol. 2021 Oct;20(10):795-820. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(21)00252-0. Epub 2021 Sep 3.

    PMID: 34487721BACKGROUND
  • Qureshi AI, Tuhrim S, Broderick JP, Batjer HH, Hondo H, Hanley DF. Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. N Engl J Med. 2001 May 10;344(19):1450-60. doi: 10.1056/NEJM200105103441907. No abstract available.

    PMID: 11346811BACKGROUND
  • van Asch CJ, Luitse MJ, Rinkel GJ, van der Tweel I, Algra A, Klijn CJ. Incidence, case fatality, and functional outcome of intracerebral haemorrhage over time, according to age, sex, and ethnic origin: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Neurol. 2010 Feb;9(2):167-76. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(09)70340-0. Epub 2010 Jan 5.

    PMID: 20056489BACKGROUND
  • Parry-Jones AR, Sammut-Powell C, Paroutoglou K, Birleson E, Rowland J, Lee S, Cecchini L, Massyn M, Emsley R, Bray B, Patel H. An Intracerebral Hemorrhage Care Bundle Is Associated with Lower Case Fatality. Ann Neurol. 2019 Oct;86(4):495-503. doi: 10.1002/ana.25546. Epub 2019 Aug 16.

    PMID: 31291031BACKGROUND
  • Hemphill JC 3rd, Newman J, Zhao S, Johnston SC. Hospital usage of early do-not-resuscitate orders and outcome after intracerebral hemorrhage. Stroke. 2004 May;35(5):1130-4. doi: 10.1161/01.STR.0000125858.71051.ca. Epub 2004 Mar 25.

    PMID: 15044768BACKGROUND
  • Becker KJ, Baxter AB, Cohen WA, Bybee HM, Tirschwell DL, Newell DW, Winn HR, Longstreth WT Jr. Withdrawal of support in intracerebral hemorrhage may lead to self-fulfilling prophecies. Neurology. 2001 Mar 27;56(6):766-72. doi: 10.1212/wnl.56.6.766.

    PMID: 11274312BACKGROUND
  • Zahuranec DB, Brown DL, Lisabeth LD, Gonzales NR, Longwell PJ, Smith MA, Garcia NM, Morgenstern LB. Early care limitations independently predict mortality after intracerebral hemorrhage. Neurology. 2007 May 15;68(20):1651-7. doi: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000261906.93238.72.

    PMID: 17502545BACKGROUND
  • Song L, Hu X, Ma L, Chen X, Ouyang M, Billot L, Li Q, Munoz-Venturelli P, Abanto C, Pontes-Neto OM, Antonio A, Wasay M, Silva A, Thang NH, Pandian JD, Wahab KW, You C, Anderson CS; INTERACT3 investigators. INTEnsive care bundle with blood pressure reduction in acute cerebral hemorrhage trial (INTERACT3): study protocol for a pragmatic stepped-wedge cluster-randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2021 Dec 20;22(1):943. doi: 10.1186/s13063-021-05881-7.

    PMID: 34930428BACKGROUND
  • Apostolaki-Hansson T, Ouyang M, Dowlatshahi D, Caso V, Bufi A, Law ZK, Billot L, Norrving B, Anderson CS, Ullberg T. International Care Bundle Evaluation in Cerebral Hemorrhage Research (I-CATCHER): Study protocol for a multicenter, batched, parallel, cluster-randomized trial with a baseline period. Int J Stroke. 2025 Aug;20(7):891-897. doi: 10.1177/17474930251342888. Epub 2025 May 12.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Cerebral HemorrhageStrokeCerebrovascular Disorders

Interventions

Resuscitation OrdersStandard of Care

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Intracranial HemorrhagesBrain DiseasesCentral Nervous System DiseasesNervous System DiseasesVascular DiseasesCardiovascular DiseasesHemorrhagePathologic ProcessesPathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

ResuscitationEmergency TreatmentTherapeuticsTerminal CarePatient CareHealth ServicesHealth Care Facilities Workforce and ServicesJurisprudenceSocial Control, FormalHealth Care Economics and OrganizationsQuality Indicators, Health CareQuality of Health CareHealth Services AdministrationHealth Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation

Central Study Contacts

Teresa Ullberg, MD, PhD

CONTACT

Trine Apostolaki-Hansson, MD PhD

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
phase 4
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
SINGLE
Who Masked
OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Masking Details
Treatment allocation is on a site-level and not on an individual level. The allocation is not blinded. Follow-up clinical outcome assessors, who have no prior association with the study and are unaware of the patients' allocation to either the intervention or control arm, will contact the participant by telephone at 6 months. At the initiation of contact, study subjects will be urged not to disclose their treatment allocation.
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Model Details: international multicentre, batched, cluster. Patients are not randomized, hospitals will be randomized. In each batch, hospitals are randomized into two groups according to the timing of the intervention (Care Bundle) over 3 phases (usual care, randomized evaluation, post-implementation follow-up): Phase 1 - baseline routine data collection, training and formative study (assess context and local resources, support adjustment of the protocol into local pathways) Phase 2 - start intervention implementation in the intervention group, data collection for comparison with usual care in the control group Phase 3 - all hospitals implement the intervention, data collection for quality improvement, assess sustainability and integration
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

May 14, 2024

First Posted

May 24, 2024

Study Start

January 7, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2027

Last Updated

February 9, 2026

Record last verified: 2025-05

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will not share

Locations