Improving Post-Operative Pain and Recovery in Gynecologic Surgery

This is a clinical investigation to determine the efficacy of rectal versus intravenous acetaminophen in patients undergoing a minimally invasive hysterectomy. All women will receive acetaminophen either rectally or intravenously immediately postoperative, prior to extubation. Patient's will be randomly assigned to either the rectal acetaminophen or the intravenous acetaminophen group. Patient outcomes will be measured through a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) from 0-10 for pain scores, and total opioid consumption measured in morphine milligram equivalent (MME) for the first 24 hours following surgery, or upon discharge, whichever comes first.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Postoperative Pain; Opioid Use; Acetaminophen
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Rectal acetaminophen; Drug: Intravenous acetaminophen

Detailed Description

Patient's undergoing major gynecologic surgery require effective postoperative pain management in order to enhance recovery and ultimately allow patients to return to their preoperative functional state. Traditionally, acute postoperative pain control has been achieved largely with the use of opioid medications. Excessive use of opioids can have adverse effects on the recovery process. Side effects include, but are not limited to dizziness, sedation, nausea/vomiting, respiratory depression, euphoria, constipation, and abuse. In addition, opioid monotherapy can delay post-operative ambulation, contribute to prolonged hospital stay and resumption of activities of daily living, and furthermore, have long-term sequelae for individuals as well as society at whole.

Over the past decade, a multimodal approach to pain management has been explored in attempts to optimally treat acute postoperative pain. This approach is one of the keys to improving the recovery process.

Acetaminophen is a non-opioid analgesic with a well-established safety and tolerability profile that is commonly used in multimodal approach to treating surgical pain. It is available in oral, rectal and Intravenous (IV) formulation. IV acetaminophen in particular is increasingly used for pain control after surgery as it has demonstrated a significant analgesic benefit in a variety of surgery types by reduction in pain intensity while decreasing total opioid use. Many studies have evaluated the efficacy of acetaminophen based on route of administration. A systematic review demonstrated that there is no clear indication for intravenous acetaminophen for patients who can tolerate an oral dosage as there was no difference if efficacy outcomes. This is valuable information as the cost of IV acetaminophen is exponentially more than the oral form. Although the oral form of acetaminophen is as efficient as controlling pain when compared to IV, and is notably cheaper, it is not the best option for the nauseated patient or patients whom are restricted from oral intake following surgery. Rectal acetaminophen is therefore a feasible alternative option in such patients.

Data on the use of rectal acetaminophen in adults for postoperative pain management is limited. Pettersson and colleagues (2005) compared oral, rectal and IV paracetamol in day surgery patients. Although they demonstrated significantly higher plasma paracetamol concentrations in patients who received oral and IV formations at multiple time points, there was no difference in pain ratings. In another study, rectal paracetamol was shown to have a significant morphine-sparing effect after hysterectomy.

At this time, there has been no study in the gynecologic literature to compare IV to rectal acetaminophen in terms of pain control and effect on overall opioid use in the acute post-operative period.

The rationale for this study is to determine the optimal way of managing post-operative pain in gynecologic surgery in attempt to improve the overall recovery process. More specifically, this study will determine if the route of administration of acetaminophen has an effect on post-operative pain and use of opioid medication following a minimally invasive hysterectomy. The results of this study may guide post-operative pain management after gynecologic surgery, and help limit the amount of opioid use, while potentially reducing pharmacological costs for patients and hospitals.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 40
• Phase: Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Ohio
    • Canton, Ohio, United States, 44710
      • Aultman Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Willing to consent
• Amendable to receive either rectal or intravenous acetaminophen
• Planned hospital stay for at least 24 hours.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients unable to provide informed consent
• Patients with a history of regular opioid use prior to surgery based on their current home medication list
• Patients who have required regular opioid intake for the 7 days preceding surgery
• Patients with known hypersensitivity to acetaminophen
• Patients with a baseline preoperative liver function enzymes (AST and ALT) that are greater than twice the upper limits
• Unable to complete procedure as planned.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Rectal acetaminophen; Patients will receive two 650mg suppositories rectally of acetaminophen for a total dose of 1300mg at the end of surgery.	Drug: Rectal acetaminophen; Rectal 1300mg
Active Comparator: Intravenous acetaminophen; Patients will receive one dose of 1000mg of acetaminophen, administered intravenously, at the end of surgery.	Drug: Intravenous acetaminophen; Intravenous 1000mg

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Postoperative Pain: Standardized Pain Scale	Post-operative pain control using a standardized pain scale from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worse pain) measured every 4 hours for the 24 hours, or discharge, whichever comes first. Time points were averaged for each participate and reported as a single value.	The first 24 hours following surgery, or upon discharge, whichever comes first.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Opioid Use	Total amount of opioid rescue calculated by converting all opiates to Morphine Milligram Equivalents in the first 24 hours following surgery, or upon discharge, whichever comes first.	The first 24 hours following surgery, or upon discharge, whichever comes first.

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Postoperative Pain: Standardized Pain Scale	Post-operative pain control using a standardized pain scale from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worse pain) for the first 6 hours after surgery. Time points were averaged for each participate and reported as a single value.	The first 6 hours following surgery
Postoperative Pain: Standardized Pain Scale	Post-operative pain control using a standardized pain scale from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worse pain) for the first 12 hours after surgery. Time points were averaged for each participate and reported as a single value.	The 12 hours following surgery
Opioid Use	Total amount of opioid rescue calculated by converting all opiates to Morphine Milligram Equivalents in the first 6 hours following surgery	The first 6 hours following surgery
Opioid Use	Total amount of opioid rescue calculated by converting all opiates to Morphine Milligram Equivalents in the first 12 hours following surgery	The first 12 hours following surgery
Estimated Blood Loss	Total estimated blood loss in millilitres for the surgery	During the duration of the surgery, from start to end time, on average 1.5 hours
Operative Time	Operative time in minutes determined by the operating room record	From the start to end of the surgery

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Aultman Health Foundation

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Jibril F, Sharaby S, Mohamed A, Wilby KJ. Intravenous versus Oral Acetaminophen for Pain: Systematic Review of Current Evidence to Support Clinical Decision-Making. Can J Hosp Pharm. 2015 May-Jun;68(3):238-47. doi: 10.4212/cjhp.v68i3.1458.
• Chou R, Gordon DB, de Leon-Casasola OA, Rosenberg JM, Bickler S, Brennan T, Carter T, Cassidy CL, Chittenden EH, Degenhardt E, Griffith S, Manworren R, McCarberg B, Montgomery R, Murphy J, Perkal MF, Suresh S, Sluka K, Strassels S, Thirlby R, Viscusi E, Walco GA, Warner L, Weisman SJ, Wu CL. Management of Postoperative Pain: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the American Pain Society, the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, and the American Society of Anesthesiologists' Committee on Regional Anesthesia, Executive Committee, and Administrative Council. J Pain. 2016 Feb;17(2):131-57. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2015.12.008. Erratum In: J Pain. 2016 Apr;17(4):508-10. Dosage error in article text.
• Cao X, et al. Effect of intraoperative or postoperative intravenous acetaminophen on postoperative pain scores and opioid requirements in abdominal and spinal surgery patients. Int J Clin Exp Med 11(4)4120-4125, 2018.
• Sconzo Jr FR, Ramamoorthy S. The role of multimodal analgesia in colorectal surgery: a review of clinical data and case-based presentations featuring Ofirmev (acetaminophen) injections. Diseases of the Colon & Rectum 58(2):1-15, 2015.
• Petterson PH, Hein A, Owall A, Anderson RE, Jakobsson JG. Early bioavailability in day surgery: a comparison between orally, rectally, and intravenously administered paracetamol. J. of Ambulatory Surgery 12:27-30, 2005.
• Cobby TF, Crighton IM, Kyriakides K, Hobbs GJ. Rectal paracetamol has a significant morphine-sparing effect after hysterectomy. Br J Anaesth. 1999 Aug;83(2):253-6. doi: 10.1093/bja/83.2.253.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 23, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 1, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): June 1, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 21, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 22, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): November 25, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 20, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 18, 2022
• Last Verified: January 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Postoperative Pain; Opioid Use; Acetaminophen; Hysterectomy; Minimally-invasive Hysterectomy
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Postoperative Complications; Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Pain, Postoperative; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Peripheral Nervous System Agents; Analgesics; Sensory System Agents; Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; Antipyretics; Acetaminophen
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2019.08.20.MB

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