PARAMEDIC 2: The Adrenaline Trial
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Prehospital Assessment of the Role of Adrenaline: Measuring the Effectiveness of Drug administration In Cardiac arrest
IRAS ID
147538
Contact name
Gavin Perkins
Contact email
Eudract number
2014-000792-11
ISRCTN Number
n/a
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
n/a
Research summary
A cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating, and is one of the most severe medical emergencies. Over 50,000 people die each year following an out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in the UK, less than 10% of patients survive. Although adrenaline has been used to treat cardiac arrest for a number of years, no one is really sure about whether it is safe and effective for improving long-term survival and helping the brain to recover.
The aim of this trial is to work out how safe and effective adrenaline is as a treatment for patients who suffer out of hospital cardiac arrest.
This trial will involve putting people into two groups where one group receive the active drug (adrenaline) and the other group a dummy drug (known as a placebo). The results are compared to see if one is better. To try to make sure the groups are the same to start with, each patient is put into a group by chance (randomly). The study is referred to as a “double blind trial”, as neither the patient nor the paramedic / nurse/ doctor will know in which treatment group someone was in.
We will collect data on 8,000 patients who have been treated for cardiac arrest. All surviving patients will be invited to take part in the follow up which involves completing questionaires about health and quality of life after the cardiac arrest.
REC name
South Central - Oxford C Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/SC/0157
Date of REC Opinion
6 May 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion