Empower Opioid Misuse & Chronic Pain (RAP_EOM)

July 13, 2023 updated by: University of California, San Francisco

Empower Opioid Misuse Theranova Study for Veterans With Chronic Pain

This study evaluates the effects of peripheral nerve stimulation on opioid craving and use and pain in participants with chronic non-cancer pain (NCP) and opioid misuse. Participants will be randomized to receive the active or sham control treatment for the duration of the study.

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

This pilot study aims to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminarily examine efficacy of peripheral nerve stimulation with the Empower Neuromodulation System on reducing opioid craving and use and decreasing pain. Opioid prescribing for chronic pain has increased dramatically over the past several decades, with devastating public health consequences, including high rates of opioid misuse and overdose deaths. Safe nonpharmacological treatments are urgently needed. In this randomized, controlled study, thirty Veterans with chronic non-cancer pain (NCP) and opioid misuse will be recruited and randomly assigned (1:1) to either the Active or Control treatment. On Days 1-7, participants will undergo baseline monitoring, and on Days 8-21, participants will undergo daily nerve stimulation treatment. Pain scores, craving, and opioid use will be measured daily Days 0-21. Our goal is to provide an intervention that, alone or in conjunction with current treatments, reduces craving and reduces reliance on opioids in high-risk chronic pain patients.

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.
10

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.
  • Not Applicable

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
    • California
      • San Francisco, California, United States, 94121
        • San Francisco VA 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 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • VA-eligible Veterans
  • Ages 18-75
  • Currently prescribed and taking chronic opioids (≥90 days dispensed in past 12 months) for non-malignant, non-palliative pain
  • Current (past 12 months) opioid misuse, defined as opioid use not as prescribed. Participants with COMM ≥ 9, SOAPP-R ≥ 18, and/or medical and pharmacy records reflective of opioid misuse in the past 12 months.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Injury or damage to the ulnar nerve, and/or neuropathy in the upper extremities
  • Pregnant or planning to become pregnant
  • Currently implanted with an electrical and/or neurostimulator device, including cardiac pacemaker or defibrillator, vagal neuro-stimulator, deep brain stimulator, spinal stimulator, sacral stimulator, bone growth stimulator, or cochlear implant
  • Use of an investigational drug/device therapy within the past 4 weeks
  • Current medical or psychiatric instability as determined by the participant's primary care provider and/or study PI
  • Severe opioid use disorder (OUD) requiring medication-assisted therapy (buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone IM) for OUD
  • Injury or nerve damage at the arm or palm that prevents safe use of Empower device at either site
  • Unable to provide informed written consent
  • Prone to epilepsy or seizures

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 Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

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: Experimental group tested at the active treatment site
The theranova empower device will be tested at the active treatment site.
Device: Empower Neuromodulation System Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation
Participants will self-administer treatment with the Empower device two times daily for two weeks. Participants will complete surveys over the two-week period to evaluate the effects of the Empower treatment.
Sham Comparator: Control sham group tested at the sham control treatment site
The theranova empower device will be tested the sham control treatment site.
Device: Empower Neuromodulation System Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation
Participants will self-administer treatment with the Empower device two times daily for two weeks. Participants will complete surveys over the two-week period to evaluate the effects of the Empower treatment.

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
Pain Intensity Score Measures
Time Frame: Baseline to Week 3

Each participant will be given the Empower app and trained on app use. They will record pain levels daily on the Empower app, with a 0-100 scale. 0 indicating a lack of pain outcome, and 100 indicating maximum pain score. Pain score measures will be taken throughout the study. The Empower App will prompt all participants daily to complete the Numeric Rating Scale to assess pain levels immediately before and after treatment.

Participants complete daily measures of Visual Analog Scale for scores on Numeric Rating Pain Scale, to assess pain intensity before and after treatment or sham condition. The data reported is the mean average of all scores taken daily from baseline to week 3, and reflects scores from both before and after treatment.
Baseline to Week 3
Opioid Craving Intensity With Empower Neuromodulation Active Treatment Versus Control Treatment
Time Frame: Baseline to Week 3

Each participant will be given the Empower app and trained on app use. They will record craving levels daily on the Empower app, with a 0-100 scale. 0 indicating an outcome with a lack of craving, and 100 indicating an outcome with maximum craving intensity.

The Empower App will prompt all participants daily to complete the following measure of Visual Analog Scale, to assess craving intensity before and after treatment.

Participants complete daily measures of Visual Analog Scale, to assess craving immediately before and after treatment or sham condition. The data reported is the mean average of all scores taken daily from baseline to week 3, and reflects scores from both before and after treatment.
Baseline to Week 3
Mean Morphine Equivalent Doses: Opioid Use With Empower Active Treatment Versus Control Treatment
Time Frame: Baseline to Week 3

The Empower App will prompt all participants daily to complete the measure of prescribed and nonprescribed self-reported opioid use for the previous day, and morphine equivalents will be recorded weekly through timeline follow back reviews with staff.

Population being treated at active and sham sites report opioid use, in Morphine Equivalent (mg) doses.
Baseline to Week 3

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
General Health Monitored
Time Frame: Treatment Time Frame: Week 1 to Week 3
General health measures will be monitored through surveys administered through Qualtrics (except for Week 0 screening visit surveys). The surveys will be emailed to participants to measure multidimensional assessment of interoceptive awareness (MAIA-2) 0-5 scale, physical activity (PAS-2) records average activity time per week, brief anxiety inventory (BAI) 0-3 scale, insomnia severity index (ISI) with a 0-4 scale, and distress intolerance index (DII) with a 0-4 scale. Increased MAIA-2 & PAS2, or decreased BAI, ISI, and DII show improvement.
Treatment Time Frame: Week 1 to Week 3

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.
University of California, San Francisco

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Ellen Herbst, MD, University of California, San Francisco

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 (Actual)

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.
November 20, 2019

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.
March 21, 2022

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.
March 21, 2022

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).
October 23, 2019

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.
December 2, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

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.
December 3, 2019

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 3, 2023

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 13, 2023

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, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • 19-27491

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

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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