Ultrasound may help doctors get clean spinal fluid samples from babies
NCT ID NCT07612644
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether using ultrasound to guide the needle during a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) helps doctors get a clean sample of spinal fluid from infants under 12 months. The goal is to reduce failed attempts and avoid repeat procedures. Eighty infants who need a lumbar puncture for diagnosis will be enrolled.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- ultrasound guidance
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could make lumbar punctures in infants more successful and reduce the need for repeat procedures.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial with only 80 infants. The ultrasound technique may not improve success rates in all cases, and results may not apply to older children or adults.
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
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 80 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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May 2026
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- 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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1 day to 12 months
- 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: * \- Neonates and infants (\< 12 months) * Hemodynamically stable * Undergoing a lumbar puncture for diagnostic testing Exclusion Criteria: * \- Infants \> 12 months and 1 day * Signs of clinical instability * Known spinal anomalies (e.g., spina bifida, meningomyelocele) or previous spinal surgery
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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.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Vanderbilt University Medical Center
RECRUITINGNashville, Tennessee, 37232, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Ultrasound may help doctors hit the mark on infant spinal taps
- New sitting position may make spinal anesthesia easier and safer
- Virtual reality training could make spinal taps safer for patients
- Sitting or lying down? study tests best position for spine scans in obese patients
- Sound waves may replace spinal taps for brain pressure checks