Head Position in Stroke Trial (HeadPoST)--sitting-up vs lying-flat positioning of patients with acute stroke: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Positioning a patient lying-flat in the acute phase of ischaemic stroke may improve recovery and reduce disability, but such a possibility has not been formally tested in a randomised trial. We therefore initiated the Head Position in Stroke Trial (HeadPoST) to determine the effects of lying-flat (0°) compared with sitting-up (≥ 30°) head positioning in the first 24 hours of hospital admission for patients with acute stroke.

Methods/design

We plan to conduct an international, cluster randomised, crossover, open, blinded outcome-assessed clinical trial involving 140 study hospitals (clusters) with established acute stroke care programs. Each hospital will be randomly assigned to sequential policies of lying-flat (0°) or sitting-up (≥ 30°) head position as a 'busine

SUBMITTER: Munoz-Venturelli P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4460701 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature