Dexmedetomidine in TAP Block for Inguinal Hernia Repair (TAP-dex)

July 21, 2025 updated by: Dr Kassiani Theodoraki, Aretaieion University Hospital

The Effect of Adding Dexmedetomidine to the Local Anesthetic Solution for Ultrasonography-guided TAP Block in Inguinal Hernia Repair

This prospective double-blind randomized study will aim at evaluating the short- and long-term postoperative analgesic efficacy of the ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block with a combination of local anesthetic and dexmedetomidine in inguinal hernia repair under general anesthesia

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

Inguinal hernia repair is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures worldwide, especially in the day-case setting. It can be accompanied by moderate to severe postoperative pain, which can delay return to normal daily activities or lead to the development of chronic pain. Chronic pain after hernia repair has a reported prevalence ranging between 0% and 43% with both nociceptive and neuropathic features. The transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block is an effective regional anesthetic technique to reduce postoperative pain intensity, time to first rescue anesthetic administration and opioid demand after upper and lower abdominal surgery. Dexmedetomidine is a selective α2-adrenergic agonist with analgesic properties that has been shown to prolong local anesthetic action when used as an adjunct to local anesthetic solutions in neuraxial anesthesia. The aim of this prospective, double-blind placebo controlled randomized study will be to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of ultrasound-guided TAP block where local anesthetic is supplemented by dexmedetomidine in patients undergoing unilateral elective inguinal hernia repair with the Lichtenstein technique under general anesthesia.

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.
60

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

  • Greece
    • Αττική
      • Athens, Αττική, Greece, 11528
        • ARETAIEION University Hospital

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

14 years to 76 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) patients I-III undergoing inguinal hernia repair with a mesh
  • open hernia repair
  • elective surgery

Exclusion Criteria:

  • inability to consent to the study due to language barriers or cognitive dysfunction -
  • bilateral inguinal hernia repair,
  • body mass index over 40 kg m-2,
  • skin infection at the puncture site
  • contraindication to paracetamol or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAIDs) administration
  • known previous hepatic or renal impairment as assessed by the patients' history and routine biochemical markers
  • coagulation abnormalities
  • history of gastroesophageal reflux and preoperative use of opioids or NSAIDs for chronic pain conditions
  • reoperation of recurrent inguinal hernia after previous mesh repair

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: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

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.
Active Comparator: local anesthetic and dexmedetomidine
ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane block with 25 mL ropivacaine 0.5% and 2 mL dexmedetomidine
Other: local anesthetic and dexmedetomidine
in patients allocated to the dexmedetomidine group, ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane block will be performed with the combination of local anesthetic and dexmedetomidine
Other Names:
  • medication used in regional anesthetic technique
Placebo Comparator: local anesthetic and placebo
ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane block with 25 mL ropivacaine 0.5% and 2 mL normal saline
Other: local anesthetic and placebo
in patients allocated to the dexmedetomidine group, ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane block will be performed with the combination of local anesthetic and normal saline
Other Names:
  • medication used in regional anesthetic technique

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 score 6 hours postoperatively
Time Frame: 6 hours after surgery
pain score by the use of Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) 6 hours postoperatively, ranging from 0 to 10, where 0 means "no pain" and 10 means "worst pain imaginable"
6 hours after surgery
pain score 24 hours postoperatively
Time Frame: 24 hours after surgery
pain score by the use of Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) 24 hours postoperatively, ranging from 0 to 10, where 0 means "no pain" and 10 means "worst pain imaginable"
24 hours after surgery
pain score 3 hours postoperatively
Time Frame: 3 hours after surgery
pain score by the use of Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) 3 hours postoperatively, ranging from 0 to 10, where 0 means "no pain" and 10 means "worst pain imaginable"
3 hours after surgery

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
incidence of chronic pain
Time Frame: 6 months after surgery
occurrence of chronic pain at the site of the operation, with the use of the NRS, at rest and during movement
6 months after surgery

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
satisfaction from postoperative analgesia
Time Frame: 24 hours postoperatively
satisfaction from postoperative analgesia on a four-point Likert scale with 1 marked as minimal satisfaction and 4 as maximal satisfaction
24 hours postoperatively
morphine consumption
Time Frame: 24 hours postoperatively
morphine consumption through patient-controlled analgesia device for 24 hours postoperatively
24 hours postoperatively
transversus abdominis plane-related complications
Time Frame: 48 hours postoperatively
transversus abdominis plane-related complications at the site of the local anesthetic injection
48 hours postoperatively

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.
Aretaieion University Hospital

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: Kassiani Theodoraki, PhD, DESA, ARETAIEION University Hospital

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 (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.
April 1, 2018

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.
December 31, 2023

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.
December 31, 2023

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).
May 21, 2020

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.
May 21, 2020

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.
May 27, 2020

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.
July 22, 2025

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 21, 2025

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, 2025

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.
  • TAP-dexmedetomidine

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

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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