Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for People With Etomidate Addiction (SToP-E-rTMS x Etomidate)

NCT07736742 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: UW 26-263
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 40
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if high-frequency rTMS works to treat etomidate addiction in adults. It will also learn about the safety and tolerability of rTMS. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Does active rTMS reduce craving, amount of etomidate use, frequency of etomidate use, and severity of etomidate use disorder?
• Does active rTMS improve cognitive biases related to delayed reward discounting and risk sensitivity?
• What side-effects do participants have when receiving rTMS? Researchers will compare active rTMS to sham rTMS to see if active rTMS works to treat etomidate addiction. Participants will:
• Receive active rTMS or sham rTMS over 4 weeks
• Complete 20 rTMS sessions in total
• Visit the clinic for treatment sessions and follow-up assessments
• Complete assessments of etomidate use, craving, withdrawal symptoms, mood symptoms, cognition, and decision-making Attend follow-up assessments up to 6 months after baseline

Conditions

Etomidate Use Disorder; Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS)

Keywords

Etomidate; rTMS; addiction

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (6)

• Change in etomidate craving

  Change in craving measured by the Craving Automated Scale-Substance from baseline to follow-up. Higher scores indicate stronger craving.

  Baseline, Week 1, Week 4, Month 3, and Month 6

• Change in etomidate withdrawal symptoms

  Change in withdrawal symptoms measured by the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Benzodiazepines from baseline to follow-up.

  Baseline, Week 1, Week 4, Month 3, and Month 6

• Change in amount of etomidate use

  Change in the amount of etomidate use over the past 30 days measured by the Beat Drugs Fund Evaluation Question Set No. 5 and substance use interview from baseline to follow-up.

  Baseline, Week 1, Week 4, Month 3, and Month 6

• Change in frequency of etomidate use

  Change in the frequency of etomidate use over the past 30 days measured by the Beat Drugs Fund Evaluation Question Set No. 5 and substance use interview from baseline to follow-up.

  Baseline, Week 1, Week 4, Month 3, and Month 6

• Change in severity of dependence

  Change in severity of dependence measured by the Severity of Dependence Scale from baseline to follow-up. Higher scores indicate greater dependence severity.

  Baseline, Week 1, Week 4, Month 3, and Month 6

• Change in urine-confirmed etomidate use

  Change in etomidate use status assessed by urine test from baseline to follow-up. Urine testing will be used to assess recent etomidate use and compare biological testing results with self-reported etomidate use.

  Baseline, Week 1, Week 4, Month 3, and Month 6

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Change in anxiety symptoms

  Baseline, Week 1, Week 4, Month 3, and Month 6

• Change in depressive symptoms

  Baseline, Week 1, Week 4, Month 3, and Month 6

• Change in delayed reward discounting

  Baseline, Week 4, Month 3, and Month 6

• Change in risk sensitivity

  Baseline, Week 4, Month 3, and Month 6

• Change in global cognitive function

  Baseline, Week 4, Month 3, and Month 6

Study Arms (2)

Active rTMS

EXPERIMENTAL

Subjects receive 20 high-frequency rTMS sessions over 4 weeks.

Device: high-frequency Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Sham rTMS

SHAM COMPARATOR

Subjects receive 20 Sham rTMS sessions over 4 weeks.

Device: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation

Interventions

high-frequency Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation DEVICE

high-frequency rTMS using Magventure TMS system using the Coil Cool-B70 Active/Placebo Bended Butterfly coil is delivered at the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of consented subjects

Active rTMS

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation DEVICE

Sham rTMS will be delivered using the Coil Cool-B70 Active/Placebo Bended Butterfly coil, which generates a negligible magnetic field. The sham procedure will follow the same schedule as the active rTMS arm.

Sham rTMS

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 45 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Able to read and communicate in English and/or Chinese
• Able to give informed consent and/or able to provide an informed consent from the legal guardian (if applicable)
• Using etomidate and/or its related analogues as the primary psychoactive substance of abuse
• Suffering from etomidate addiction as defined by:
• Etomidate Use Disorder classified under "Sedative-, Hypnotic-, or Anxiolytic Use Disorder" according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR) with severity ≥ 1, or
• Harmful Use or Dependence for etomidate classified under "Mental and behavioral disorders due to use of sedatives or hypnotics" according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10), or
• Hazardous use, harmful use or dependence classified under "Hazardous use of sedatives, hypnotics or anxiolytics" or "Disorders due to use of sedatives, hypnotics or anxiolytics" according to the Clinical descriptions and diagnostic requirements for International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision (ICD-11) mental, behavioral, and neurodevelopmental disorders.

You may not qualify if:

• Age \< 18 years old
• Unable to read English or Chinese
• Unable to give informed consent
• Had been diagnosed with the following disorders including:
• \. Neurodevelopmental Disorders:
• DSM-5: Intellectual Disabilities, Communication Disorders, Specific Learning Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Motor Disorders
• International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 11th Revision (ICD-11): Disorders of intellectual development (6A00), Developmental speech or language disorders (6A01), Autism spectrum disorder (6A02), Developmental learning disorder (6A03), Developmental motor coordination disorder (6A04), Stereotyped movement disorder (6A06), Primary tics or tic disorders (8A05.0)
• Other DSM-5 defined Substance Use Disorder greater than moderate in severity (i.e., severity score ≥4)
• Neurocognitive Disorders (DSM-5, or ICD-11 6D70-72 \& 6D80-86) 2. Contra-indicated to undergo rTMS:
• with electronic and/or magnetic implants (e.g., pacemaker, implantable cardioverter defibrillator \[ICD\], cerebral shunts, cochlear implant, etc.)
• with metallic or mechanic fragments (e.g., screws, plates, stents, clips, etc.)
• pregnant
• with any known or history of neurological conditions including cerebral vascular accidents (CVA), epilepsy, brain tumor or space occupying lesion, etc.
• poorly controlled or unstable diabetes mellitus
• receiving unstable dose(s) of antipsychotics, antidepressants, benzodiazepines and/or anticonvulsants in the past 3 months

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of Hong Kong: lead

Study Sites (1)

Queen Mary Hospital

Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 000000, Hong Kong

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Behavior, Addictive

Interventions

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Compulsive Behavior; Impulsive Behavior; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Magnetic Field Therapy; Therapeutics

Study Officials

• Albert KK Chung

  Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Albert KK Chung

CONTACT

+85260440993; Chungkka@hku.hk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: randomized, double-blinded, placebo (sham) controlled

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 26, 2026
• First Posted: July 30, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 31, 2029
• Last Updated: July 30, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

HK (1)