RIC-NEC Randomized Controlled Trial

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a serious intestinal disease of preterm and term neonates which remains a major cause of intestinal failure, and an unsolved clinical challenge in pediatrics. While overall mortality of preterm infants continues to decrease due to improvements in general neonatal care, mortality caused by NEC remains high (up to 30-50%) and survivors suffer from reduced quality of life, and long-term disabilities such as debilitating complications of intestinal failure, poor growth and neurodevelopmental delay. Besides prevention, there have been hardly any innovations in the treatment of NEC which underwent trial evaluation.

NEC pathogenesis is multifactorial, but bowel ischemia is known to play an essential role in the development of NEC. Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) is a therapeutic maneuver that involves brief cycles of non-lethal ischemia and reperfusion applied to a limb, which protects distant organs (such as the intestine) from ischemic damage. The investigators have shown that in preclinical models of NEC, RIC effectively reduces intestinal damage and prolongs survival. The investigators have also demonstrated the safety of RIC in preterm neonates with NEC. Before the investigators can evaluate the effectiveness of RIC in treating neonates with NEC in a Phase III randomized clinical trial (RCT), a Phase II Feasibility RCT must be conducted to evaluate issues related to the enrollment and randomization of neonates, masking of the RIC intervention, and measurement of clinical outcomes.

The investigators hypothesize that it is feasible to conduct a multicenter RCT to evaluate RIC during the management of neonates with medical NEC.

Background: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a serious intestinal disease of preterm and term neonates which remains a major cause of intestinal failure, and an unsolved clinical challenge in pediatrics resulting in mortality rates as high as 50%, reduced quality of life and long-term disabilities such as short bowel syndrome, poor growth, and neurodevelopmental delay. Experimentally, the investigators have discovered that intestinal and brain damage, as well as mortality following NEC, can be avoided by remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) in the early stage of the disease. Remote ischemic conditioning is a therapeutic maneuver involving brief cycles of non-lethal ischemia and reperfusion applied to a limb that protects distant organs (such as the intestine) from sustained ischemic damage. In the clinical setting, the cycles of ischemia and reperfusion can be administered by inflation and deflation of a blood pressure cuff, similar to routine blood pressure measurements. The investigators have also demonstrated that this non-invasive, simple, and easy-to-use maneuver consisting of inflation/deflation of a blood pressure cuff on the upper arm is safe in preterm human neonates with NEC.

Hypothesis and Objectives: The investigators hypothesize that a masked multi-center randomized controlled trial of RIC in neonates with early-stage NEC is feasible.

Study design: This is a Phase II multicenter, masked, randomized controlled feasibility trial consisting of two arms: RIC (intervention) and no RIC (control).

Study population: Preterm neonates with clinical and radiological evidence of early-stage NEC and receiving medical treatment.

Sample size/power of primary endpoint: In the 12 international collaborating centers, the investigators expect to randomize, in 30 months, 78 patients with NEC receiving medical treatment (39 per arm) which represents 40% of approached eligible neonates.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

1. Preterm neonates with all gestational age at birth.
2. Current weight ≥750 g
3. Confirmed diagnosis of "medical" NEC based on the joint opinion of two attending experts in the field (two neonatologists or one neonatologist and one pediatric surgeon).
4. NEC diagnosis established within the previous 24 hours.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Indication for surgery in the joint opinion of the attending neonatologist and pediatric surgeon (i.e. surgical NEC). This diagnosis is based on the presence of pneumoperitoneum in the abdominal radiograph and/or failure of medical treatment for NEC
2. Previous episodes of NEC
3. Diagnosis of NEC established \>24 hours ago
4. Major congenital heart disease which needs surgical repair
5. Antecedent limb ischemia/limb thrombotic events, occlusive arterial or venous thrombosis
6. Associated gastrointestinal anomalies including gastroschisis or congenital diaphragmatic hernia.