Systemic Steroids for Peripheral Nerve Blocks

July 31, 2018 updated by: Wake Forest University Health Sciences

The Effects of Systemic Steroids on the Duration of a Psoas Compartment Block.

This study will investigate the ability of systemic dexamethasone to prolong the sensory block duration for lumbar plexus nerve blockade.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The purpose of this randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial is to examine the equivalency of two different doses of dexamethasone when given intravenously as an adjuvant medication for postoperative pain management. Specifically, this study will investigate the prolongation of time to recovery of sensation following a lumbar plexus block in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasties. The investigators hypothesize that dexamethasone will prolong the sensory block time when compared to placebo and that similar results will be obtained in the 4 mg arm when compared to the 8 mg arm. The primary end point will be time to sensory recovery in the femoral nerve cutaneous distribution (part of the lumbar plexus) as determined by pin-prick sensation assessment. Secondary endpoints will include, but are not be limited to: time to first opioid administration, total opioid consumption over 30 hours, and rest and incident verbal numerical pain scores at 6,12,18,24 and 30 hours post block placement.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
115

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • North Carolina
      • Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States, 27157
        • Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 90 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria: Primary elective total hip arthroplasty surgery

  • must be a candidate for placement of a lumbar plexus block under anatomic landmark technique using electrical stimulation
  • must give written informed consent for anesthesia
  • must also be reliable and able to give accurate verbal pain scores postoperatively

Exclusion Criteria:

  • contraindications to regional anesthesia including, allergy to amide local anesthetics, presence of peripheral neurologic dysfunction, pre-existing coagulopathy or infection in the area of interest will be excluded.
  • insulin and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus
  • preoperative use of systemic corticosteroids within 30 days of surgery
  • chronic opioid use (defined as daily opioid dose of greater than 40 mg of oxycodone equivalents or any long-acting opioid)
  • pregnancy
  • failure to effectively place the lumbar plexus block.
  • known prior adverse reaction to dexamethasone (for example: psychosis) or an allergy to dexamethasone

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: PARALLEL
  • Masking: TRIPLE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: 4 mg dexamethasone group
Following lumbar plexus nerve block administration using bupivacaine and epinephrine, 4 mg of systemic dexamethasone will be administered to this group intravenously. The volume given intravenously will be identical for all groups.
Drug: Dexamethasone
A lumbar plexus nerve block will be performed for patients undergoing hip arthroplasty. A total of 25cc's of 0.25% bupivacaine with 1:400,000 epinephrine will be administered for postoperative analgesia. Surgical anesthesia will be provided either by an intrathecal spinal block or general anesthesia. Successful blockade will be assumed if the patient has a decrease or loss of pinprick sensation in the femoral nerve distribution, which innervates the anterior thigh. If no evidence of blockade is present, testing will occur again at 30 minutes post block. Testing will be performed with a 25 gauge Whitacre needle and once present the area of testing will be marked with a surgical marking pen so that repeat sensory testing can be undertaken at that same site over the course of the study. The subjects will then receive dexamethasone (4 or 8 mg) or placebo (saline) based on arm placement.
Other Names:
  • dexamethasone sodium phosphate injection
Drug: Bupivacaine
Bupivacaine will be used in lumbar plexus nerve block mixture.
Other Names:
  • Bupivacaine Hydrochloride
Drug: Epinephrine
Epinephrine will be used in lumbar plexus nerve block mixture.
Other Names:
  • Adrenaline
Procedure: Lumbar Plexus Nerve Block
This is the procedure that will be performed.
Experimental: 8 mg dexamethasone group
Following peripheral nerve block using bupivacaine and epinephrine administration, 8 mg of systemic dexamethasone will be administered to this group intravenously. The volume given intravenously will be identical for all groups.
Drug: Dexamethasone
A lumbar plexus nerve block will be performed for patients undergoing hip arthroplasty. A total of 25cc's of 0.25% bupivacaine with 1:400,000 epinephrine will be administered for postoperative analgesia. Surgical anesthesia will be provided either by an intrathecal spinal block or general anesthesia. Successful blockade will be assumed if the patient has a decrease or loss of pinprick sensation in the femoral nerve distribution, which innervates the anterior thigh. If no evidence of blockade is present, testing will occur again at 30 minutes post block. Testing will be performed with a 25 gauge Whitacre needle and once present the area of testing will be marked with a surgical marking pen so that repeat sensory testing can be undertaken at that same site over the course of the study. The subjects will then receive dexamethasone (4 or 8 mg) or placebo (saline) based on arm placement.
Other Names:
  • dexamethasone sodium phosphate injection
Drug: Bupivacaine
Bupivacaine will be used in lumbar plexus nerve block mixture.
Other Names:
  • Bupivacaine Hydrochloride
Drug: Epinephrine
Epinephrine will be used in lumbar plexus nerve block mixture.
Other Names:
  • Adrenaline
Procedure: Lumbar Plexus Nerve Block
This is the procedure that will be performed.
Placebo Comparator: Control Group
Normal saline will be used as a placebo control group given at the same time and in the same manner as the experimental groups following peripheral nerve block administration. The volume given intravenously will be identical for all groups.
Drug: Bupivacaine
Bupivacaine will be used in lumbar plexus nerve block mixture.
Other Names:
  • Bupivacaine Hydrochloride
Drug: Epinephrine
Epinephrine will be used in lumbar plexus nerve block mixture.
Other Names:
  • Adrenaline
Procedure: Lumbar Plexus Nerve Block
This is the procedure that will be performed.
Drug: Saline
Patients randomized to the placebo group will receive normal saline intravenously.
Other Names:
  • Normal saline, NaCl

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Duration of Sensory Blockade
Time Frame: 30 hours
The primary outcome will be duration of sensory blockade in the distribution of the lumbar plexus as determined by pin-prick sensation as tested every two hours with pin-prick sensation.
30 hours

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Time to First Analgesic Request
Time Frame: 30 hours
Time (in minutes) will be recorded to first analgesic request following the block placement
30 hours
Total Opioid Consumption
Time Frame: 30 hours
30 hours
Verbal Numeric Pain Score Comparisons
Time Frame: 24 hour
This secondary outcome includes pain scores utilizing the verbal numeric pain score scale (0 to 11). Higher values indicate worse outcomes (higher pain scores). Lower values are better.
24 hour

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
January 1, 2017

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
January 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 1, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 2, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 8, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 31, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 31, 2018

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB00032805

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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