Ketamine in Patients Undergoing TEVAR Procedures Receiving NCI (2020Ketamine)

October 15, 2025 updated by: Sam Tyagi

A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Study to Identify the Opioid-sparing Effects, and Pain-reduction Potential of Low Dose Ketamine on Patients Undergoing TEVAR Procedures Receiving NCI

The objective of this study is to identify the opioid-sparing effects, and pain-reduction potential of low dose, sub-dissociative ketamine on patients undergoing thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) procedures receiving naloxone continuous infusion (NCI).

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

Patients undergoing descending aortic repair often experience post-operative pain, and have high post operative opioid requirements. That pain is partially due to the use of naloxone continuous infusion (NCI). NCI is part of a bundled approach used in the first 48 hours post-operatively to prevent spinal cord ischemia, a devastating complication associated with surgical repair of the descending aortic. Data indicate that patients receiving NCI experience elevated post-operative pain scores and increased opioid requirements during the 48-hr post-operative NCI administration, compared to patients not receiving NCI.

Ketamine is an FDA-approved N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist that has been shown to provide adjunctive analgesia and opioid-sparing effects in post-operative surgical patients. At low doses, ketamine provides analgesic benefit without the anesthetic effects seen at higher doses. These doses are commonly referred to sub-dissociative. This study will evaluate whether use of sub dissociative ketamine (SDK) in patients undergoing aortic procedures with the use of NCI will lead to decreased post-operative opioid consumption, and produce improved pain scores in the first 48 hours.

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 (Estimated)

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.
30

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 2

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Kentucky
      • Lexington, Kentucky, United States, 40536
        • Recruiting
        • University of Kentucky Medical Center
        • Contact:

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

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • willing to give informed consent
  • scheduled for elective thoracic aorta repair or thoracoabdominal aortic repair
  • requires naloxone continuous infusion for spinal prophylaxis

Exclusion Criteria:

  • allergy to ketamine, acetaminophen, or fentanyl
  • diagnosis of schizophrenia
  • history of hydrocephalus or central nervous system mass
  • incarcerated individuals
  • pregnant or lactating individuals

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: 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.
Placebo Comparator: Standard of Care
Participants in this group will receive standard of care as well as a saline infusion during the study period.
Drug: Saline
Saline infusion
Experimental: Sub-Dissociative Ketamine
Participants in this group will receive standard of care as well as a continuous ketamine infusion at the induction of anesthesia and for 48 hours postoperatively.
Drug: Ketamine
Continuous ketamine infusion at a dose of 0.2 mg/kg/hr, initiated at the induction of anesthesia and continued for 48 hours postoperatively.

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
Cumulative Opioid Dose
Time Frame: 48 hours
Total morphine milligram equivalents (MME) will be assessed every 6 hours for 48 hours.
48 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
Change in Pain
Time Frame: 48 hours
Pain will be assessed using a 10-Point Numerical Pain Scale (as part of standard of care) every hour for the first 24 hours and every two hours for the next 24 hours. Scores range from 0-10; higher scores indicated higher levels of pain.
48 hours
Number of Patients with Ketamine-Induced Delirium
Time Frame: 48 hours
Ketamine-induced delirium will be monitored via the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM-ICU) survey every 8 hours for 48 hours. The CAM-ICU assesses four diagnostic features of delirium and the result is a binary (yes or no) determination.
48 hours
Number of Patients with Uncontrolled Hypertension
Time Frame: 48 hours
Uncontrolled hypertension is defined as a systolic pressure of 160 mmHg despite 3 intravenous antihypertensive agents.
48 hours

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.
Sam Tyagi

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.
  • Study Director: Anna Rockich, Pharm D, University of Kentucky
  • Principal Investigator: Samuel Tyagi, MD, University of Kentucky

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.
December 8, 2020

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
August 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
August 1, 2027

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 19, 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.
October 19, 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.
October 23, 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.
October 20, 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.
October 15, 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.
October 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.
  • 60617

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

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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