PANDA-Regional Feasibility Study of a Smartphone Pain Management Application

The At-home Feasibility Evaluation of PANDA-Regional, a Smartphone Application Designed to Support Post-operative Pain Management in Patients Undergoing Peripheral Nerve Blocks

Despite the numerous benefits of peripheral nerve blocks (PNBs) over general anesthesia (GA) in a variety of surgical procedures, PNBs can be associated with increased post-operative pain if pain medications are not taken correctly (titrated). Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence as patients often have difficulty titrating medications in the absence of direct medical care. PANDA, a smartphone-based postoperative pain management tool, is designed to address this issue by helping patients manage their pain medications. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of this application in patients who are discharged after receiving PNBs. The goal is to identify areas of improvement for the application itself. It is hypothesize that PANDA will be successful in supporting patients' postoperative pain management.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Postoperative Pain; Anesthesia, Conduction
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Panda application

Detailed Description

As above

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 29
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • British Columbia
    • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6Z 1Y6
      • St. Paul's Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 19 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Undergoing ambulatory surgical procedures that require peripheral nerve blocks for which there is an anticipated post-surgical pain model
• Planned post-discharge analgesic medications including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, acetaminophen and/or opioids for at least 2 days
• ASA I-III
• Written informed consent
• Have a smartphone device at their disposal

Exclusion Criteria:

• Inability or refusal to provide informed consent
• Presence of significant cognitive impairment, visual impairments, neurological injury, or psychomotor dysfunction that impairs ability to use the app
• Inability to follow study instructions and complete questionnaires in English

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Sequential Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Feasibility Cycle 1; Participants use the initial PANDA application.	Other: Panda application; A smartphone-based postoperative pain management tool
Experimental: Feasibility Cycle 2; Participants use the PANDA application after modifications are made based on suggestions from participants in cycle 1.	Other: Panda application; A smartphone-based postoperative pain management tool
Experimental: Feasibility Cycle 3; Participants use the PANDA application after modifications are made based on suggestions from participants in cycle 1 and 2.	Other: Panda application; A smartphone-based postoperative pain management tool

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility of the PANDA application	Measured by assessing the participants' compliance with the application in supporting ongoing pain assessments and analgesic administration.	2-7 days post-operatively

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Identify usability issues	Assessed by having participants complete a Computer Systems Usability Questionnaire (CSUQ) and a brief phone interview	2-7 days post-operatively

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of British Columbia
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ronald Ree, MD, University of British Columbia; Study Chair: Cynthia Fan, MD, University of British Columbia; Study Chair: Mark Ansermino, MBBCH, University of British Columbia; Study Chair: Terri Sun, MD, University of British Columbia; Study Chair: Lily Yu Long Chiu, MD, University of British Columbia; Study Chair: Dustin Dunsmuir, University of British Columbia

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Dotto A, Dunsmuir D, Sun T, Chiu LYL, Ree R, Ansermino JM, Yarnold CH. The use of the Panda-Nerve Block pain app in single-shot peripheral nerve block patients: a feasibility study. Can J Anaesth. 2020 Sep;67(9):1140-1151. doi: 10.1007/s12630-020-01732-2. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 11, 2017
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 31, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): March 31, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 28, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 5, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): December 12, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 19, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 18, 2019
• Last Verified: April 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Postoperative Complications; Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Pain, Postoperative
• Other Study ID Numbers: H16-1196

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