Clinical Efficacy and Safety of the Herbal Prescription, HH333, in Preventing Recurrent Stroke in Patients With Ischemic Stroke Induced by Small-Vessel Disease: Protocol for Multicenter, Double-Blind, Randomized, Prospective, Pilot Clinical Trial (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Patients with ischemic stroke are at high risk of recurrence, making preventive care an important factor. Current antiplatelet therapy for recurrence prevention treatment has several limitations. Recent retrospective observational studies suggested that HH333, an herbal prescription, has an inhibitory effect on stroke recurrence in small-vessel diseases. OBJECTIVE This study aims to propose a protocol for evaluating the efficacy and safety of HH333 in patients with ischemic stroke induced by small-vessel disease. METHODS In this multicenter, double-blind, randomized, prospective, pilot clinical trial, 236 patients from 3 university Korean medicine hospitals in South Korea with ischemic stroke caused by small-vessel disease will be recruited and randomly assigned to either the HH333 or the placebo group. Both patients and investigators will be blinded to prevent access to the allocation results. The HH333 group will take 2 capsules of HH333 once daily for 720 days, whereas the placebo group will take HH333 placebo capsules in the same manner. Efficacy will be assessed using the recurrence rate of ischemic stroke, which will be assessed on days 30, 90, 180, 270, 360, 450, 540, 630, 720, and 750 after starting the medication. The effects on quality of life and fatigue with the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS), and Korean Patient Health Questionnaire (K-PHQ-9), functional improvement with Korean National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (K-NIHSS), modified Rankin Scale (mRS), Korean modified Barthel Index (K-mBI), and Korean Montreal Cognitive Assessment (K-MoCA) and Pattern Identification also will be evaluated on days 0, 90, 180, 270, 360, 450, 540, 630, and 720 after starting the medication. Safety will be evaluated by performing blood and urine tests and electrocardiography on days 30, 90, 180, 270, 360, 450, 540, 630, and 720 after starting the medication. RESULTS Recruitment for the study started on May 22, 2024, and is scheduled to end on November 30, 2026. As of November 13, 2024, a total of 12 participants have been randomized. CONCLUSIONS The protocol will provide a detailed process for a clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of preventing recurrent ischemic stroke caused by small-vessel disease and improving neurologic symptoms and the safety of HH333 in ischemic stroke. The results of this study provide a basis for alternative treatments to prevent and treat ischemic stroke. CLINICALTRIAL Clinical Research Information Service KCT0009431; https://tinyurl.com/y2ctvje8 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT DERR1-10.2196/70953