Can a hormone shot help comatose cardiac arrest survivors wake up?
NCT ID NCT00999583
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This phase 3 trial tested whether high doses of epoetin alpha, a drug that boosts red blood cells and may protect the brain, could improve recovery in 500 comatose adults who survived a cardiac arrest. Half received the drug plus standard care, half got standard care alone. The main goal was to see if more patients reached the best level of brain function by day 60.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- epoetin alpha (a lab-made version of erythropoietin, a hormone that boosts red blood cells and may protect the brain)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a treatment that helps more people wake up with good brain function after a cardiac arrest.
- What could go wrong
- This trial is already completed, so results are known. The drug may not improve outcomes and could raise the risk of blood clots. The study is also limited to a specific type of cardiac arrest.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Phase 3
Large-scale testing in a bigger group. Usually the last step before a treatment can be approved.
- Participants
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500 people
The number who actually took part.
- Start date
-
Oct 2009
- Finished
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May 2014
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 80 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion criteria: * Age between 18 and 80 * Witnessed out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, presumed of cardiac origin (non asphyxic) * Time from cardiac arrest and recovery of circulatory activity less than 60 minutes * Persistent coma after ROSC (Coma Glasgow Scale \< 7) Exclusion criteria: * Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with evidence of extra-cardiac cause (trauma, sepsis, acute respiratory insufficiency, asphyxia) * Previous or chronic treatment with erythropoietin or analogues * Pregnancy * Rapidly fatal underlying disease (expected life duration \< 6 months) * No social security
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Medical intensive care unit of Cochin-St Vincent de Paul university Hospital
Paris, 75679, France
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.