Liposomal Bupivacaine in Simultaneous Bilateral Total Knee Arthroplasty

August 1, 2017 updated by: OrthoCarolina Research Institute, Inc.

The Safety of Liposomal Bupivacaine in Simultaneous Bilateral Total Knee Arthroplasty

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the serum levels (pharmacokinetics) of bupivacaine in a series of patients undergoing simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty with the use of a standardized periarticular injection containing free bupivacaine and liposomal bupivacaine.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a commonly performed and successful surgical procedure that has been shown to dramatically decrease pain and improve patient's function and quality of life. Certain patients may present with significant pain and limitations due to pain in both knees and based on age, health and degree of deformity may be candidates for bilateral simultaneous total knee arthroplasty. The safety and efficacy of simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty has been well documented in the literature.

Inadequate postoperative pain control following TKA has been one of the greatest sources of patient dissatisfaction following total knee arthroplasty. Traditionally, it has been managed with parenteral and oral narcotics. Recently, a number of studies have demonstrated the efficacy of multimodal analgesia following a variety of surgical procedures. These multimodal regimens vary and consist of any number of medications including non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, anti-epileptics, and peripheral nerve blocks among others. These multimodal regimens have been associated with a reduction in the use of opioid analgesics, leading to fewer opioid-associated adverse events.

One of the newest modalities introduced on the market is liposomal bupivacaine (Exparel). Liposomal bupivacaine is a lipid encapsulated bupivacaine that allows for depo administration of the medication into the soft tissue during a surgical procedure. The lipids are engineered to slowly release over an approximately 72 hour time period, resulting in the slow release of free bupivacaine in to the soft tissue of the surgical site. This has the proposed advantage of a longer duration of analgesia compared to standard bupivacaine injections.

Liposomal bupivacaine is applied in a periarticular injection at the conclusion of TKAs to aid in post-operative pain control. Due to the lipid encapsulation of the bupivacaine, only 3% free bupivacaine is released into the tissue at initial infiltration, with the remainder released slowly over approximately a 72 hour time frame. To cover, this gap period, the liposomal bupivacaine is mixed with standard bupivacaine to allow for an immediate analgesic effect.

A potential risk, although low, is the concern for bupivacaine toxicity. Toxicity from bupivacaine is associated with central nervous system issues (seizures) and cardiac toxicity. Toxicity is dose dependent and recommended levels should not exceed 400mg/24 hr period. With the use of bupivacaine into each surgical site, there is a theoretical risk, if administered intra-vascularly, of bupivacaine toxicity. To date, no study has evaluated the safety of liposomal bupivacaine when used in simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty. The use of liposomal bupivacaine is FDA approved for infiltration of one vial into one surgical site. Other specialties have evaluated the use of one vial of liposomal bupivacaine into two surgical sites (breast augmentation) at one surgery without any adverse events.

To date, approximately 8-10 patients at the investigator's institution have undergone simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty with the use of liposomal bupivacaine without a known adverse event. A recent study published by Bramlett (2012) used 2 vials (532mg) in one knee to evaluate efficacy. There were no changes in patient's vitals signs or cardiac events in those patients receiving liposomal bupivacaine at the highest dose. In addition, a study by Bergese looked at doses of up to 600mg of liposomal bupivacaine in a Phase 2 safety study and found no adverse cardiac events. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the serum levels (pharmacokinetics) of bupivacaine in a series of patients undergoing simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty with the use of a standardize periarticular injection containing free bupivacaine and liposomal bupivacaine.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

20

Phase

  • 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
    • North Carolina
      • Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, 28209
        • OrthoCarolina, PA

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients deemed appropriate candidates for simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty.
  • Patients receiving general anesthesia
  • Understands the local language and is willing and able to follow the requirements of the protocol
  • Understands the informed consent and signs the institutional review board/ independent ethics committee (IRB/IEC) approved informed consent form

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients less than 18 years of age
  • Allergy to bupivacaine
  • Allergy to epinephrine
  • Patients who are not medically cleared to undergo bilateral total knee replacement surgery, or
  • Patient-reported liver impairment (per investigator discretion)
  • Patient-reported renal impairment (per investigator discretion)
  • Patients receiving spinal anesthesia
  • Females who are pregnant or lactating

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: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Liposomal bupivacaine
Patients will receive liposomal bupivacaine following simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty.
Drug: Liposomal bupivacaine
One (1) 20 mL vial of 266 mg liposomal bupivacaine (3% (~8mg free bupivacaine)) will be injected into each surgical (knee) site following simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty. In addition, 30 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine (75 mg free bupivacaine) will be injected into each surgical (knee) site for a total of 83 mg free bupivacaine injected into each surgical (knee) site.
Other Names:
  • Exparel

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Adverse Events
Time Frame: Up to 72 hours following injection
Number of Participants with Adverse Events
Up to 72 hours following injection

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Plasma Bupivacaine Levels
Time Frame: Up to 72 hours following injection
Blood samples will be drawn and analyzed to establish levels of bupivacaine detectable in the blood. Blood samples will be drawn at baseline (prior to injection), upon injection, at 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours post-injection and analyzed to determine levels of bupivacaine present.
Up to 72 hours following injection

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

OrthoCarolina Research Institute, Inc.

Investigators

  • Study Director: Susan M Odum, PhD, Senior Research Scientist
  • Principal Investigator: Bryan D Springer, MD, Physician

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)

January 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

November 21, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 16, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 23, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

January 29, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 31, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 1, 2017

Last Verified

August 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 11-14-10B

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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