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Adverse Reaction to Peripheral Nerve- and Plexus-blocking AnestheticsPhase 4NCT01374464

Reducing Respiratory Side Effects of Interscalene Brachial Plexus Block

A Phase 4 study testing Interscalene brachial plexus block in people with Adverse Reaction to Peripheral Nerve- and Plexus-blocking Anesthetics, run by Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust at 1 site in United Kingdom.

Unknown status

Status not confirmed. The sponsor has not verified this record for over two years, so it may be out of date.

Official record
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Trial summary

Shoulder surgery is known to be extremely painful requiring high doses of opiate analgesics (morphine) to control pain. Morphine has numerous unwanted side effects including sedation, hallucinations and vomiting. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 80 years
What is being tested?
Interscalene brachial plexus block
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
92 participants
Where
1 siteUnited Kingdom
Study dates
Aug 2012to Mar 2013
Phase
Phase 4
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 80 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • All patients undergoing day case shoulder surgery that would normally be managed with a nerve block for post-operative pain relief will be considered eligible for the study. Inclusion criteria are detailed below
  • Age > 18 and < 80 years
  • American Society of Anaesthetists (ASA) grades I - III. (ASA grade determines how 'fit' a patient is for surgery, with 1 being a normal healthy patient and 5 being a moribund patient that is not expected to survive. 'Fitter' patients are being chosen as it is felt that severe associated illness may influence our results).
  • A composite pain score of 0 when assessed in the post anaesthetic care unit (PACU) at 30mins post-operatively. This will be required in order for the patient to be deemed to have an 'effective' nerve block and be entered into the study. Patients reporting pain at this point will be removed from the study and offered either a rescue brachial plexus block or alternative analgesia. (Published research by Riazi et al and by McNaught et al, indicates that 5mls of local anaesthetic solution is adequate for establishing an effective ISBPB in this immediate post-operative period).

Who cannot join

  • Significant respiratory disease including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or unstable asthma
  • Renal or hepatic impairment
  • Allergy to local anaesthetic
  • Opiod tolerance (more then 30mg of morphine or its equivalent per day)
  • Body mass index > 40
  • Body weight < 56kg (due to potentially toxic doses of local anaesthetic drug if using higher volume of 0.75% concentration at below this weight)

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Gillian Foxall, MBChB, MA contact

07917865767

gillianfoxall@nhs.net

Michele N Kigozi, BMedSci,BMBS contact

07977165224

nabakka@btinternet.com

United Kingdom1 site
  • Royal Surrey County Hospital

    Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XX

    Michele Kigozi, BMedSci,BMBS

Other trials in United Kingdom

About this study

Official title: A Double Blind Randomised Control Trial Assessing Effects of Local Anaesthetic Concentration (0.5% vs 0.75%) and Volume (5mls vs 15mls) on the Respiratory Consequences of Ultrasound Guided Interscalene Brachial Plexus Nerve Block

Shoulder surgery is known to be extremely painful requiring high doses of opiate analgesics (morphine) to control pain. Morphine has numerous unwanted side effects including sedation, hallucinations and vomiting.

It is now standard procedure for patients undergoing shoulder surgery to have their pain controlled by means of an injection made around the nerves where they pass through the neck to supply the shoulder with sensation (similar to the numbing injections made by the dentist before a dental procedure). This injection is called a 'nerve block'.

Read more

Nerve blocks provide complete analgesia after shoulder surgery allowing clinicians to discharge patients home on the day of surgery, pain free and with no opiate side effects. However, a side effect of nerve blocks at this level is involvement of the phrenic nerve, which is anatomically close to the injection point. This may cause (temporary) paralysis of the diaphragm and in some cases, severe respiratory dysfunction.

Research shows that reducing either the volume or the concentration of the drug injected, can reduce the consequent respiratory dysfunction. However no study has compared both volume and concentration in parallel, to see which of these has the more significant effect in reducing respiratory dysfunction. Furthermore there has been no assessment of how these changes may affect the duration of analgesia received and patient coping after discharge.

The investigators propose to conduct a double blind randomised controlled trial at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, enrolling patients presenting for elective day case arthroscopic (key hole) surgery over a period of 6 months. Patients will receive one of four treatment allocations:

  1. Low concentration-high volume of local anaesthetic
  2. Low concentration-low volume of local anaesthetic
  3. High concentration-high volume of local anaesthetic
  4. High concentration-low volume of anaesthetic drug of local anaesthetic.

The aim of this study is to inform an optimum dosing regimen for patients in order to facilitate maximal pain relief and quality of recovery with minimum respiratory dysfunction.

Being tested
Interscalene brachial plexus block
Keywords
Interscalene brachial plexus nerve block, Nerve block

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Interscalene brachial plexus blockOther

    Also called Levobupivicaine, Chirocaine

    4 different administrations of levobupivicaine will be applied:

    1. High Volume, High Concentration = 15mls of 0.75% levobupivicaine
    2. High Volume, Low Concentration = 15mls of 0.5% levobupivicaine
    3. Low Volume, High Concentration = 5mls of 0.75% levobupivicaine
    4. Low Volume, Low Concentration = 5mls of 0.5% levobupivicaine
Study groups in NCT01374464
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
High Volume, High ConcentrationActive comparatorNot described
Receives: Other: Interscalene brachial plexus block
High Volume, Low ConcentrationActive comparatorNot described
Receives: Other: Interscalene brachial plexus block
Low Volume, High ConcentrationActive comparatorNot described
Receives: Other: Interscalene brachial plexus block
Low Volume, Low ConcentrationActive comparatorNot described
Receives: Other: Interscalene brachial plexus block

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Change from baseline in Functional Vital Capacity post interscalene brachial plexus block

    The functional vital capacity refers to the amount of air which can be forcibly exhaled from the lungs after taking the deepest breath possible. Measuring FVC is done by spirometry.

    Measured: 30 minutes after waking in post operative care unit

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Quality of recovery from surgery

    By means of a quality of recovery questionnaire

    Measured: First 24 hours post-operatively

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted16 Jun 2011 (estimated)
  2. Study startAug 2012
  3. Primary completionFeb 2013 (estimated)
  4. Study completionMar 2013 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Double blind
Who is masked
Participant, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
92 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01374464
Sponsor's protocol ID
11/LO/0934
Status last verified
Jun 2011
First submitted
14 Jun 2011
Last updated
16 Jun 2011
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No

Publications

  • Urmey WF, Talts KH, Sharrock NE. One hundred percent incidence of hemidiaphragmatic paresis associated with interscalene brachial plexus anesthesia as diagnosed by ultrasonography. Anesth Analg. 1991 Apr;72(4):498-503. doi: 10.1213/00000539-199104000-00014.

    PubMed 2006740
  • Riazi S, Carmichael N, Awad I, Holtby RM, McCartney CJ. Effect of local anaesthetic volume (20 vs 5 ml) on the efficacy and respiratory consequences of ultrasound-guided interscalene brachial plexus block. Br J Anaesth. 2008 Oct;101(4):549-56. doi: 10.1093/bja/aen229. Epub 2008 Aug 4.

    PubMed 18682410
  • McNaught A, Shastri U, Carmichael N, Awad IT, Columb M, Cheung J, Holtby RM, McCartney CJ. Ultrasound reduces the minimum effective local anaesthetic volume compared with peripheral nerve stimulation for interscalene block. Br J Anaesth. 2011 Jan;106(1):124-30. doi: 10.1093/bja/aeq306. Epub 2010 Nov 8.

    PubMed 21059701
  • al-Kaisy AA, Chan VW, Perlas A. Respiratory effects of low-dose bupivacaine interscalene block. Br J Anaesth. 1999 Feb;82(2):217-20. doi: 10.1093/bja/82.2.217.

    PubMed 10364997

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 4 study testing Interscalene brachial plexus block in people with Adverse Reaction to Peripheral Nerve- and Plexus-blocking Anesthetics, run by Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust at 1 site in United Kingdom.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 6 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 16 Jun 2011. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United Kingdom. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 4 studies take place after a treatment is approved, to learn more about its long-term benefits and risks in everyday use.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

Results are not available in the source record.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact Gillian Foxall, MBChB, MA (07917865767, gillianfoxall@nhs.net), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Change from baseline in Functional Vital Capacity post interscalene brachial plexus block (time frame: 30 minutes after waking in post operative care unit). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT01374464, which also lists 4 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 16 Jun 2011.

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