Comparison of Pain Relief Methods for Hip Surgery: A Study on Two Different Nerve Block Techniques

May 1, 2026 updated by: Muzaffer GENCER, Başakşehir Çam & Sakura City Hospital

Comparison of Analgesic Effectiveness Between Pericapsular Nerve Group (PENG) Block and Lumbar Erector Spinae Plane Block in Patients Undergoing Total Hip Arthroplasty With Spinal Anesthesia: a Randomized Controlled Trial

This prospective randomized comparative study aims to compare the analgesic efficacy of pericapsular nerve group block (PENG) and lumbar erector spinae plane block (L-ESP) groups to relieve postoperative pain in participants over the age of 18 undergoing total hip arthroplasty under spinal anesthesia. The main question it aims to answer is:

To demonstrate whether PENG block or L-ESP block is more effective in postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty surgery based on pain scores, opioid consumption, and patient satisfaction.

Total hip arthroplasties cause severe pain with movement in the postoperative period. After surgery, the movements of the participants are severely restricted, which increases the possibility of complications. In this study, the participants' pain status, VAS score, opioid consumption through patient-controlled analgesia, and patient satisfaction will be measured with a questionnaire for 24 hours at predetermined time points and then compared. Both types of blocks have pain-relieving effects. This study will only investigate which one is more effective in reducing pain, and there will be no deficiency in relieving the pain of the participants.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Due to increasing life expectancy and the prevalence of obesity, hip arthroplasty surgeries have been steadily increasing, especially in the last twenty years, and these patients experience very serious postoperative pain. Postoperative pain control has a significant impact on earlier ambulation, initiation of physical therapy, better functional recovery, and patient satisfaction. At the same time, optimal pain management is of great importance in contributing to the reduction of the duration of hospital stay, the risk of adverse events such as deep vein thrombosis, and mortality.

Although peripheral nerve blocks have been shown to be effective as part of multimodal analgesia for successful postoperative pain management, the superiority of nerve blocks over each other in terms of analgesic efficacy is a subject of research.

This study was planned to show which of the Pericapsular Nerve Group (PENG) Block and Lumbar Erector Spina Plane Block to be applied to patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty is more effective in terms of postoperative effective analgesia duration, perioperative hemodynamic stability, reducing opioid dependence and postoperative delirium, reducing total opioid consumption, providing early mobilization and shortening the length of hospital stay.

Pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block is a promising regional analgesia procedure that protects the motor function of the hip joint by blocking the obturator nerve, femoral nerve and accessory obturator nerves by injecting local anesthetic between the superior pubic ramus and psoas muscle tendon. Erector spina plane block (ESPB) has been widely used at the thoracic vertebral level in 2016 with ultrasound-guided local anesthetic injection between the erector spinae muscle and the transverse process of the thoracic vertebra. In a single case study published in 2018, lumbar ESPB (L-ESPB) was used as postoperative analgesia after hip arthroplasty, and the local anesthetic injected from the fourth lumbar spine level (L4) spread to the cephalic and caudal directions and provided satisfactory hip analgesia.

Since both blocks are relatively newly defined blocks, there are limited studies in the literature and it is aimed to find an answer to the question of which of these two block types should be preferred by evaluating different parameters in providing postoperative analgesia in hip arthroplasty surgery.

Pericapsular Nerve Group Block (PENG) (Group P) or Lumbar Erector Spina Plane Block (Group E) will be applied preoperatively to patients hospitalized in the orthopedics and traumatology clinic who come to the operating room to undergo Total Hip Arthroplasty Surgery, after the necessary information is provided and monitoring is provided before being taken to the operation with spinal anesthesia. Randomization will be done 1:1 with a computer (using http://www.randomizer.org). Spinal anesthesia will be applied to patients who have preoperative block.

Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) will be applied to all patients to evaluate opioid consumption at the end of the surgery. The patient's total opioid consumption will be recorded. Pain is a symptom known to be subjective and will be questioned with the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), a standardized scale, in order to minimize differences between patients. At predetermined time points, Baseline 0, after the block, peroperative 15th minute, 1st hour, 2nd hour and postoperative 1st, 3rd, 6th, 12th, 24th hours, the patients' pain scores with the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) (0-10; 0-3: mild pain, 4-6: moderate pain, 7-10: severe pain) will be questioned and noted. When the pain score is 4 and above, 20 mg tenoxicam will be administered as rescue analgesia and the total amount required will be recorded.

In both groups, patients' demographic data, ASA scores, surgery duration, hemodynamic parameters during the operation (systolic, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, heart rate and SpO2 values), the time when the pain sensation started after the operation, the block termination process in the service follow-ups, the time when the additional analgesics was first needed, the dose administered, the numerical rating scale when the patient was asked to describe the pain intensity numerically, patient satisfaction scores (4: very satisfied, 3: satisfied, 2: less satisfied, 1: not satisfied), hospital stay, nausea-vomiting score and other complications related to the applied blocks will be recorded and followed for the first 24 hours.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

52

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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 Backup

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Türki̇ye
      • Istanbul, Türki̇ye, Turkey (Türkiye)
        • Recruiting
        • Basaksehir Cam ve Sakura City Hospital
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Muzaffer GENCER
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • AZİZ BERKAY SÜNE
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • ABDURRAHMAN ENGİN BAYDEMİR
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Funda GÜMÜŞ

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Voluntary willingness to participate in the study.
  • Patients who will undergo Total Hip Arthroplasty surgery.
  • Patients aged over 18 years.
  • ASA score I-II-III.
  • Patients who are fully oriented and can cooperate.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • ASA score IV-V.
  • Patients who refuse to participate in the study.
  • Patients under 18 years of age.
  • Presence of active infection in the area to be operated on.
  • Chronic pain and continuous analgesic use.
  • Patients with coagulation disorders.
  • Patients who cannot cooperate with postoperative pain follow-up.
  • Patients with allergies to local anesthetic agents.
  • Presence of neuropathy or myopathy in the operated extremity.

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: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Participants undergoing total hip arthroplasty with preoperative PENG block
Procedure: Evaluation of the postoperative analgesic effectiveness of PENG block in participants undergoing total hip arthroplasty under spinal anesthesia
Evaluation of the postoperative analgesic effectiveness of PENG block in participants undergoing total hip arthroplasty under spinal anesthesia
Active Comparator: Participants undergoing total hip arthroplasty with preoperative Lumbar ESP block
Procedure: Evaluation of the postoperative analgesic effectiveness of lumbar erector spinae block in participants undergoing total hip arthroplasty under spinal anesthesia
Evaluation of the postoperative analgesic effectiveness of lumbar erector spinae block in participants undergoing total hip arthroplasty under spinal anesthesia

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Effectiveness on pain scores
Time Frame: at Baseline 0, after the block, perioperative 15th minute, 1st hour, 2nd hour, and postoperative 1st, 3rd, 6th, 12th, and 24th hours after preoperative peripheral nerve block
Postoperative pain assessment is performed using the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS). Participants are asked about their rest pain at Baseline 0, after the block, perioperative 15th minute, 1st hour, 2nd hour, and postoperative 1st, 3rd, 6th, 12th, and 24th hours after applying a postoperative peripheral nerve block. With this method, participants rate their pain with a precise numerical value from 0 to 10. While zero(0) represents "no pain"; Ten (10) represents the opposite end of the pain continuum (e.g., "The most intense pain imaginable," "As intense pain as possible," "Maximum pain").
at Baseline 0, after the block, perioperative 15th minute, 1st hour, 2nd hour, and postoperative 1st, 3rd, 6th, 12th, and 24th hours after preoperative peripheral nerve block

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Effect on total narcotic analgesic consumption
Time Frame: The total number of bolus doses administered by the intravenous PCA device at the end of 24 hours postoperatively
After the surgery, patients will be given intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). "Tramadol" was preferred as the treatment method to be used for the PCA method. In preparation for PCA, 400 mg of tramadol is added to 100 cc of physiological saline. As PCA protocol, without basal infusion dose, 5 cc (20 mg) bolus dose, 20 minutes lockout period (maximum 3 bolus doses in 1 hour) are set. The total number of bolus doses administered by the participants on the PCA device at the end of 24 hours will be recorded and evaluated as the amount of additional opioid needed.
The total number of bolus doses administered by the intravenous PCA device at the end of 24 hours postoperatively
Time, frequency, and amount of rescue analgesia administration
Time Frame: first 24 hours postoperatively
Pain scores (0-10; 0-3: mild pain, 4-6: moderate pain, 7-10: severe pain) will be questioned and noted with the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS). When the pain score is 4 and above, 20 mg tenoxicam will be administered as rescue analgesia and the total amount required will be recorded.
first 24 hours postoperatively
Time-dependent perioperative changes in preoperative blood pressure
Time Frame: Pre-block, post-block, perioperative 0th and 30th minutes, 1st and 2nd hours, and end of surgery
Pre-block, post-block, perioperative 0th and 30th minutes, 1st and 2nd hours, and end of surgery blood pressure values will be noted.
Pre-block, post-block, perioperative 0th and 30th minutes, 1st and 2nd hours, and end of surgery
Time of first mobilization
Time Frame: first 24 hours postoperatively
Time of first mobilization will be noted.
first 24 hours postoperatively
Length of hospital stay
Time Frame: first 24 hours postoperatively
Length of hospital stay will be noted.
first 24 hours postoperatively
Postoperative nausea and vomiting assessment
Time Frame: first 24 hours postoperatively
Nausea-vomiting descriptive scale (0: none, 1: mild nausea, 2: nausea, 3: vomiting once, 4: vomiting more than once) will be noted and 0.1 mg/kg IV ondansetron will be administered for scores of 2 and above.
first 24 hours postoperatively

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Başakşehir Çam & Sakura City Hospital

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 21, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 28, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 9, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

February 12, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 7, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 1, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • BSH-ANES-BS-01

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

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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