A Study of Intravenous Acetaminophen for Small Bowel Obstruction

May 8, 2026 updated by: Tatjana Gavrancic, Mayo Clinic

A Randomized Study Comparing Intravenous (IV) Acetaminophen to Usual Care for Pain Management for Small Bowel Obstruction - Feasibility Study

The purpose of this study is to compare IV Acetaminophen for pain control to the usual care with opioids in patients admitted for small bowel obstruction.

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.

Detailed Description

The primary aim of this study is to assess the feasibility of conducting a randomized trial involving intravenous acetaminophen for pain control compared to usual care with opioids in patients admitted for small bowel obstruction and to summarize pain scores up to 72 hours after treatment. Patients presented and diagnosed with small bowel obstruction (SBO) will be screened for eligibility and will be offered participation in this study. Patients admitted for SBO for medical management with pain on admission will be eligible to participate in study. This will include patients with malignant and nonmalignant SBO. Participants will be randomly assigned into one of two groups, either the Treatment Group which receive IV acetaminophen or the Usual Care Group which will receive intravenous morphine or hydromorphone as needed for pain control. A Nasogastric (NG) tube will be placed when it is indicated, if patient is having significant nausea or vomiting. Pain scores will be followed as usual pain management assessment and reported in the medical record. Once SBO is resolved (usually 3 days after admission), active study participation will end. Participants may be followed via their medical record up to 30 days after discharge.

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.
18

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 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
    • Florida
      • Jacksonville, Florida, United States, 32224
        • Mayo Clinic Florida

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Small bowel obstruction diagnosed by radiographic study; and
  • Abdominal pain on admission.
  • Nothing per mouth diet.
  • The ability to give appropriate consent or have an appropriate representative available to do so.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Known liver failure or cirrhosis.
  • Acetaminophen toxicity on admission.
  • Known acetaminophen allergy.
  • Alcohol intoxication on admission.
  • History of substance abuse.
  • Creatinine clearance < 30 (or Creatinine level > 2).
  • Liver transplant recipients.
  • Ileus on admission.
  • Admitted for surgical intervention for SBO.
  • Admitted for venting Gastric tube placement.
  • On chronic opioid therapy (defined as use of opioid on daily or near daily basis within previous 45 days (both long acting and short acting).
  • Presentation without abdominal pain on admission.
  • Already hospitalized for other reasons and develop SBO while at the hospital.
  • Pregnant women.
  • Unable to provide informed consent.

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: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

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: IV Acetaminophen Group
Subjects presented to emergency department (ED) and diagnosed with small bowel obstruction which receive IV acetaminophen
Drug: Acetaminophen
1000mg intravenous every 6 hours on day 1 and day 2. 1000mg intravenous every 8 hours on day 3 as needed.
Other Names:
  • Tylenol
No Intervention: Usual Care Group
Subjects presented to emergency department (ED) and diagnosed with small bowel obstruction will receive intravenous opioids per their provider's choice as standard of care.

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
Resolution of small bowel obstruction
Time Frame: 3 days
Days until small bowel obstruction resolution, measured by admission date to date that diet was placed
3 days
Pain Scores
Time Frame: 3 days
Pain is measured by a pain scale of subjective pain reported by patients and measured by nurses and ranges from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain).
3 days
Length of hospital stay
Time Frame: 3 days
Measured by days from admission day to discharge day
3 days

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
Death
Time Frame: 3 days
Number of subject deaths
3 days
Bowel Perforation
Time Frame: 3 days
Number of subject to experience a bowel perforation
3 days
Surgery
Time Frame: 3 days
Number of subjects to require surgical intervention for small bowel obstruction treatment
3 days
Allergic reaction to acetaminophen
Time Frame: 3 days
Number of subjects to experience an allergic reaction to acetaminophen
3 days

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: Tatjana Gavrancic, 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.
October 11, 2023

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 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.
December 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).
May 18, 2023

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 18, 2023

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 26, 2023

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.
May 12, 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.
May 8, 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.
May 1, 2026

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.
  • 23-000547

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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