A study initiated and conducted by a researcher, with international cooperation, organized regionally, multicentre, prospective, randomized in groups, crossed, with blind evaluation of results that compared the effectiveness of the flat head position (0 °) with the semi sitting position (≥ 30 °) in the first 24 hours of hospitalization in patients with acute stroke with the worst result of death or disability in the following 90 days. This study was completed and its main results were published on June 22, 2017 in the New England Journal of Medicine. We observed an absence of difference in the two positions analyzed in relation to functional outcomes and death in 3 months. HeadPoST results will influence clinical practice guidelines in the management of acute stroke patients.
Clinical Trials: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01706094
Highlights of scientific production:
1: Muñoz Venturelli P, Li X, Middleton S, Watkins C, Lavados PM, Olavarría VV, Brunser A, Pontes-Neto O, Santos TEG, Arima H, Billot L, Hackett ML, Song L, Robinson T, Anderson CS; HEADPOST (Head Positioning in Acute Stroke Trial) Investigators. Impact of Evidence-Based Stroke Care on Patient Outcomes: A Multilevel Analysis of an International Study. J Am Heart Assoc. 2019 Jul 2;8(13):e012640. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.119.012640. Epub 2019 Jun 25. PMID: 31237173; PMCID: PMC6662356.
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6662356/pdf/JAH3-8-e012640.pdf
2: Anderson CS, Arima H, Lavados P, Billot L, Hackett ML, Olavarría VV, Muñoz Venturelli P, Brunser A, Peng B, Cui L, Song L, Rogers K, Middleton S, Lim JY, Forshaw D, Lightbody CE, Woodward M, Pontes-Neto O, De Silva HA, Lin RT, Lee TH, Pandian JD, Mead GE, Robinson T, Watkins C; HeadPoST Investigators and Coordinators. Cluster-Randomized, Crossover Trial of Head Positioning in Acute Stroke. N Engl J Med. 2017 Jun 22;376(25):2437-2447. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1615715. PubMed PMID: 28636854.
Link: https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa1615715?articleTools=true