Mepivacaine Versus Bupivacaine Onset Time in Ultrasound-guided Ankle Blocks

September 16, 2026 updated by: Bridget P. Pulos, Mayo Clinic

Onset of Sensory Blockade in Ultrasound-Guided Ankle Block With Mepivacaine Versus Bupivacaine: A Randomized Non-Inferiority Clinical Trial

The purpose of this research is to determine if both local anesthetics (mepivacaine and bupivacaine) are similar in their onset of sensory block to assess the efficiency of ultrasound-guided ankle blocks in our practice. Currently it is the standard of care to perform ankles blocks with both mepivacaine and bupivacaine. However, given similarity in their safety profile researchers would like to compare if one is non-inferior to the other in terms of onset time of ankle block.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Enrolling by invitation

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.

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.
50

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
    • Minnesota
      • Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 55905
        • Mayo Clinic in Rochester

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 and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age greater than or equal to 18 years old.
  • Patients who provide informed consent to participate.
  • Patients undergoing foot surgery who require a peripheral nerve block of the ankle as primary anesthesia.
  • ASA (American Society of Anesthesiology) Physical Status Classification I - III.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Inability to consent.
  • Allergy to local anesthetic.
  • Infection at site of injection.
  • Pregnancy.
  • Coagulopathy.
  • Hepatic or renal failure.
  • Preexisting neuropathy in operative limb.
  • Planned spinal anesthetic or general anesthesia.

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: 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.
Active Comparator: Mepivacaine group
Subjects will receive an ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve block at the ankle with mepivacaine prior to undergoing foot surgery
Drug: Mepivacaine
Up to two 30 ml vials of mepivacaine 1.5% via ultrasound-guided nerve blockade of the tibial and deep peroneal nerves
Active Comparator: Bupivacaine group
Subjects will receive an ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve block at the ankle with bupivacaine prior to undergoing foot surgery
Drug: Bupivacaine
Up to two 30 ml vials of bupivacaine 0.5% via ultrasound-guided nerve blockade of the tibial and deep peroneal nerves

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
Onset of sensory Blockage
Time Frame: 20 minutes
Time in minutes for successful surgical sensory blockade following the ankle block
20 minutes

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
Block Failure
Time Frame: 20 minutes
Number of subjects to experience block failure as defined as opioid administration operatively and /or conversion to general anesthesia
20 minutes
Pain Scores
Time Frame: Post-procedural, approximately 2-4 hours
Pain scores in post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) will be obtained using the numerical rating scale (0-10 point scale with 0 representing no pain and 10 representing the worst possible pain)
Post-procedural, approximately 2-4 hours
Total opioid received intra-operatively
Time Frame: Intra-operatively, approximately 4-6 hours
Total amount of opioid received intra-operatively
Intra-operatively, approximately 4-6 hours
Time to first opioid use
Time Frame: 24 hours
Time measured in minutes to the first opioid use
24 hours
Number of complications
Time Frame: 24 hour
Total number of procedural complications
24 hour
Total anesthesia-related time
Time Frame: 20 minutes
Measured in minutes, defined as performance time plus onset time of local anesthesia
20 minutes
Overall Benefit of Analgesia Score (OBAS)
Time Frame: 24 hours after discharge
Seven questions to access pain intensity, adverse effects and satisfaction with treatment. Possible score range from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating worse outcome
24 hours after discharge
Total opioid use after discharge
Time Frame: 24 hours after discharge
Total amount of opioids used used for pain control after discharge
24 hours after discharge
Duration of the ankle block
Time Frame: 24 hours after discharge
Length of time measured in minutes the patient to felt until the ankle block completely wore off
24 hours after discharge

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.
Mayo Clinic

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: Bridget Pulos, MD, Mayo Clinic

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.

Helpful Links

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.
March 11, 2024

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.
December 31, 2026

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.
March 30, 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).
June 16, 2022

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 16, 2022

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.
June 21, 2022

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.
September 18, 2026

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.
September 16, 2026

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.
September 1, 2026

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.
  • 22-000140

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.

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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