Non-Opioid Pain Medications After Intracapsular Adenotonsillectomy

January 12, 2024 updated by: David Chi, MD

Use of a Non-Opioid Pain Regimen for Post-Operative Analgesia Following Intracapsular Adenotonsillectomy

The goal of this study is to determine if non-opioid pain control is a safe way to manage pain after intracapsular adenotonsillectomy surgery in children. This study is the second part of our randomized clinical trials of assessing pain after adenotonsillectomy (T&A), the first being total T&A. The investigators will repeat the methodology in the first clinical trial by randomly assigning children aged 3-17 to one of two groups: one group will receive non-opioid pain medication only, and the other group will receive opioid and non-opioid medications for pain control. The investigators will analyze the data and determine if there is a difference in pain control between the two drug regimens, and if there are any other associated complications between the two groups.

This study is important because if we can demonstrate that there is little difference in outcomes and pain control between the two groups, a strong argument can be made for reducing or eliminating opioid prescription after intracapsular adenotonsillectomy. This may protect future children from the risks of taking opioid medications and help to reduce the scope of the opioid epidemic.

Study Overview

Status

Terminated

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Purpose: To determine if non-opioid pain control is a safe and effective option in the treatment of post-operative pain following intracapsular adenotonsillectomy in various pediatric age groups.

Methods: The subject population will be patients between the ages of 3 and 17 who will undergo intracapsular adenotonsillectomy (T&A). Intracapsular versus total T&A technique will be predetermined by the child's physician and will not be a part of the study. The study will consist of two unblinded arms - patients receiving standard pain control regimen which include opioids and non-opioids, and patients receiving non-opioid pain medications only. In the diary they will receive, patients or caregivers will record frequency of pain medication taken each day with daily symptoms, a survey, and pain ratings measured by the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale. Within 4-8 weeks post-operatively the patients will return for a follow up appointment along with their diary. If the patient does not have a follow-up appointment, the families may return the pain diary by email to the research coordinator or by mail with the given postage paid envelope. Demographic information such as age, race, gender, household income will be extracted from the diary and the electronic medical record. Information such as surgical technique, concurrent operations, post-operative pain prescription (types, weight based dosage, and total days prescribed) will be extracted from the electronic medical record and recorded as well. Outcomes measured will include pain scale rating and rates of complications between the two groups. We will also be investigating whether or not an opioid disposal pouch helps the process of disposing any leftover opioids from the trial. We will be providing all patients in the opioid arm an opioid disposal education document and randomizing half to receive the opioid disposal pouch.

Significance: If it can be demonstrated that non-opioid pain control after intracapsular adenotonsillectomy does not lead to increased pain or worse outcomes in certain pediatric age groups, a strong argument can be made for the cessation of opioid prescription for these ages following this technique. Given the widespread opioid epidemic, this would be a significant step in curbing the massive opioid problem, as well as reducing the adverse effects of opioid usage in pediatric populations.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

72

Phase

  • Phase 2
  • Phase 1

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
    • Pennsylvania
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15224
        • UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh

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

3 years to 17 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients age 3 - 17 undergoing adenotonsillectomy

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Down syndrome
  • History of coagulopathy
  • Craniofacial abnormalities other than plagiocephaly or submucous cleft palate (SMCP)
  • Caregivers who cannot speak, read, or write in English proficiently
  • Patients who take opioids during the enrollment period
  • Patients who take chronic opioids
  • Pregnancy
  • Allergy to or contraindication for taking any of the study medications
  • Patients who have the inability to communicate
  • Patients who have the inability to localize pain

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: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Opioid pain control
Patients in this group will be receiving triple therapy for pain control with oxycodone, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen. They will be asked to complete a pain diary which will be used to determine the level of pain control achieved with this regimen. The diary will be completed by post-operative day 14. A post-operative appointment between 4-8 weeks will be scheduled and the patient and caregiver will return the pain diary or by email/mail if no appointment was scheduled. Families will receive an opioid disposal education document.
Drug: Oxycodone
Oxycodone will be prescribed at a dose in the range of 0.025 mg/kg to 0.10 mg/kg every four hours or as needed for adequate pain management. The total supply will be limited to seven days. It will be prescribed in liquid suspension form for ease of use in pediatric populations. Subjects or parents will purchase this medication and dosage will be given to subjects in easy-to-understand language.
Drug: Ibuprofen
Ibuprofen will be prescribed at 10 mg/kg to be taken every 6 hours for the first three post-operative days. After the first three days, the subject should take the ibuprofen every 6 hours as needed for pain control. The daily dose of ibuprofen is not to exceed 1200mg or more than 4 individual doses. It will be prescribed in liquid suspension form for ease of use in pediatric populations. Subjects or parents will purchase this medication and dosage will be given to subjects in easy-to-understand language.
Drug: Acetaminophen
Acetaminophen will be prescribed at 15mg/kg to be taken every 4 hours for the first three days, except when sleeping. After the first three days, the subject should take the acetaminophen every 4 hours as needed for pain control. The daily dose of acetaminophen is not to exceed 5 doses in 24 hours. It will be prescribed in liquid suspension form for ease of use in pediatric populations. Subjects or parents will purchase this medication and dosage will be given to subjects in easy-to-understand language.
Other: Opioid disposal education
An opioid disposal education document will be provided to all families in the opioid group. This education document has information on unused or expired prescription medication disposal and specific information about permanent collection sites within our health system, drug take-back locations, drug take back day, and disposing at home.
Experimental: Opioid pain control + Disposal Pouch
Patients in this group will be receiving triple therapy for pain control with oxycodone, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen. They will be asked to complete a pain diary which will be used to determine the level of pain control achieved with this regimen. The diary will be completed by post-operative day 14. A post-operative appointment between 4-8 weeks will be scheduled and the patient and caregiver will return the pain diary or by email/mail if no appointment was scheduled. Half of the families randomized to the opioid group will be further randomized to receive an opioid disposal bag + an opioid disposal education document. The pouch is a drug deactivation disposal pouch to dispose the opioid at home.
Drug: Oxycodone
Oxycodone will be prescribed at a dose in the range of 0.025 mg/kg to 0.10 mg/kg every four hours or as needed for adequate pain management. The total supply will be limited to seven days. It will be prescribed in liquid suspension form for ease of use in pediatric populations. Subjects or parents will purchase this medication and dosage will be given to subjects in easy-to-understand language.
Drug: Ibuprofen
Ibuprofen will be prescribed at 10 mg/kg to be taken every 6 hours for the first three post-operative days. After the first three days, the subject should take the ibuprofen every 6 hours as needed for pain control. The daily dose of ibuprofen is not to exceed 1200mg or more than 4 individual doses. It will be prescribed in liquid suspension form for ease of use in pediatric populations. Subjects or parents will purchase this medication and dosage will be given to subjects in easy-to-understand language.
Drug: Acetaminophen
Acetaminophen will be prescribed at 15mg/kg to be taken every 4 hours for the first three days, except when sleeping. After the first three days, the subject should take the acetaminophen every 4 hours as needed for pain control. The daily dose of acetaminophen is not to exceed 5 doses in 24 hours. It will be prescribed in liquid suspension form for ease of use in pediatric populations. Subjects or parents will purchase this medication and dosage will be given to subjects in easy-to-understand language.
Other: Opioid disposal education
An opioid disposal education document will be provided to all families in the opioid group. This education document has information on unused or expired prescription medication disposal and specific information about permanent collection sites within our health system, drug take-back locations, drug take back day, and disposing at home.
Other: Opioid disposal pouch
Half of the opioid group will be randomized assigned to an opioid disposal pouch arm. This pouch is a drug deactivation system that can be disposed in the trash in a household.
Active Comparator: Non-opioid pain control
Patients in this group will be receiving therapy for pain control with acetaminophen and ibuprofen only. They will be asked to complete a pain diary which will be used to determine the level of pain control achieved with this regimen. The diary will be completed by post-operative day 14. A post-operative appointment between 4-8 weeks will be scheduled and the patient and caregiver will return the diary or by email/mail if no appointment was scheduled.
Drug: Ibuprofen
Ibuprofen will be prescribed at 10 mg/kg to be taken every 6 hours for the first three post-operative days. After the first three days, the subject should take the ibuprofen every 6 hours as needed for pain control. The daily dose of ibuprofen is not to exceed 1200mg or more than 4 individual doses. It will be prescribed in liquid suspension form for ease of use in pediatric populations. Subjects or parents will purchase this medication and dosage will be given to subjects in easy-to-understand language.
Drug: Acetaminophen
Acetaminophen will be prescribed at 15mg/kg to be taken every 4 hours for the first three days, except when sleeping. After the first three days, the subject should take the acetaminophen every 4 hours as needed for pain control. The daily dose of acetaminophen is not to exceed 5 doses in 24 hours. It will be prescribed in liquid suspension form for ease of use in pediatric populations. Subjects or parents will purchase this medication and dosage will be given to subjects in easy-to-understand language.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Average pain burden
Time Frame: 14 days post-operatively
Average pain over 14 post-operative days before and after medications. This is quantified using the validated Wong-Baker FACES pain metric. The scale is from 0 to 10 with 10 being worse outcome. Patients receive a take-home pain diary and for 14 days report their maximum pain both before and after taking each pain medication. The mean of these pain ratings will be the primary outcome measure.
14 days post-operatively

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
ED (Emergency Department) or urgent care visits
Time Frame: 14 days post-operatively
Number of emergency department or urgent care visits in 14 post-operative days - assessed via the electronic medical record and the take-home pain diary.
14 days post-operatively

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of readmissions
Time Frame: 14 days post-operatively
Number of hospitalizations after discharge in 14 days - assessed using the electronic medical record and the take-home pain diary.
14 days post-operatively
Frequency of each analgesic used
Time Frame: 14 days post-operatively
In the take-home pain diary, patients will place an 'x' on each time block every day that medication was given for each of the three medications. The frequencies will be summed for a total number and averaged within each group to determine the average number of times of each analgesic used.
14 days post-operatively
Duration of each analgesic used
Time Frame: 14 days post-operatively
Using the results of the take-home pain diary, we will calculate the average number of days of use of each analgesic for each group. The last day after which there is no subsequent use of analgesic will define the end-point of the duration of use.
14 days post-operatively
Pain relief satisfaction
Time Frame: 14 days post-operatively
Score assigned by the patient at the end of 14 post-operative days in the take-home pain diary using a 5-point Likert scale of 0 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). Patients will respond to the following statement "I am happy with the pain relief I received in the last 14 days" with responses ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The responses will be assigned a numerical value and the average value for all subjects in the group will be reported as the overall pain relief satisfaction. Higher scores indicate a better outcome.
14 days post-operatively
Post-operative nursing phone calls
Time Frame: 14 days post-operatively
Number of post-operative phone calls to nursing staff, obtained using the electronic medical record.
14 days post-operatively
Night-time awakenings
Time Frame: 14 days post-operatively
Number of night-time awakenings reported in 14 days - assessed via the take-home pain diary.
14 days post-operatively
Non-opioid group switching to opioid group
Time Frame: 14 days post-operatively
Number of non-opioid group members switching to receiving opioid medication - assessed via the take-home pain diary.
14 days post-operatively
Need for follow-up appointment
Time Frame: two months post-operatively
Does the parent/guardian believe his/her child would require a follow-up appointment - assessed using the individual pain diary.
two months post-operatively
Household income
Time Frame: 14 days post-operatively
Total household income ranges will be assessed in the take-home pain diary and reported.
14 days post-operatively
Education level
Time Frame: 14 days post-operatively
Using the take-home pain diary, parents/guardians of the patients will identify the highest level of education achieved by anyone in the household.
14 days post-operatively
Side effects of medications
Time Frame: 14 days post-operatively
Number of any of the following side effects experienced: Nausea, vomiting, constipation, stomach ache, difficulty breathing. Assessed at follow-up and take-home pain diary.
14 days post-operatively
Use of the opioid disposal pouch
Time Frame: Up until the return of the pain diary within 8 weeks of the surgery
Number of patients who reported that they used the opioid disposal pouch on the last page of the pain diary
Up until the return of the pain diary within 8 weeks of the surgery

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

David Chi, MD

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: David H Chi, MD, Clinical Director, Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh

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)

April 13, 2021

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 3, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

July 3, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 5, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 5, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

March 10, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 17, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 12, 2024

Last Verified

January 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • STUDY19040036 (Part 2)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Only co-investigators as listed under the University of Pittsburgh IRB (Institutional Review Board) protocol for this study will have access to all data and analysis. Data will be shared via UPMC-associated OneDrive and will only be shared between these investigators.

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.

Clinical Trials on Opioid Use

Clinical Trials on Oxycodone

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Algeria

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

3
Subscribe