Reversal of Spinal Anesthesia Residual Motor Block Via Intrathecal Catheter (IT-Cath)

July 30, 2026 updated by: Joan Spiegel, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Reversal of Spinal Anesthesia Residual Motor Block Via Intrathecal Catheter: A Pilot Study

The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of administering a predetermined amount of normal saline into the intrathecal or subarachnoid space via a small spinal catheter to reduce or eliminate the effects of previously injected spinal anesthetic following lower extremity orthopedic surgery.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This is a prospective, randomized, interventional study to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of administering normal saline into the intrathecal or subarachnoid space through a small gauge epidural catheter via a single spinal needle to reverse residual anesthesia following lower extremity orthopedic surgery. This method is adapted from observations in obstetric populations where saline administered via the spinal catheter reduced headaches. This study investigates whether orthopedic patients will also receive unique benefits.

Research procedures overview:

  • Randomization to intervention or control arm,
  • Use of 6-inch BD 20-gauge Quincke spinal needle, through which a B. Braun Perifix 24-gauge polyurethane catheter
  • Administration of normal saline
  • Administration of post-operative survey while in the PACU
  • Medical record review and abstraction.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

24

Phase

  • Phase 2

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 Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
        • Recruiting
        • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
        • Contact:

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

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients having elective lower extremity joint replacement surgery
  2. Patients >18 years

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Contraindications to spinal anesthesia (refusal, lumbar spinal hardware, spinal abnormalities)
  2. Patient on anticoagulation not withheld
  3. Patient receiving re-operation on the same joint
  4. Prior intra-cranial bleeding
  5. Patient's ASA status >3
  6. Non-English speaking
  7. Bromage score of 6 at the time of first PACU assessment post-enrollment

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
No Intervention: Control
Patients randomized to the control group will receive a combined spinal intrathecal catheter and the same dosing of spinal medications. All aspects of care and monitoring will be the same as non-study patients. The control group will not receive a dose of intrathecal saline post-op
Experimental: Saline administered via the intrathecal catheter
Patients randomized to the Intervention group will be administered 10ml of sterile normal saline via the intrathecal catheter post-op prior to catheter removal.
Drug: Normal Saline 10 mL Injection
Patients randomized to this arm will have saline administration via intrathecal catheter post-op prior to removal

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Time to residual motor blockade reversal
Time Frame: Initiation of spinal anesthetic to reversal, up to sixty minutes after removal of catheter.
Time to residual motor blockade reversal as measured by Bromage score following saline administration and catheter removal, up to a maximum of 60 minutes.
Initiation of spinal anesthetic to reversal, up to sixty minutes after removal of catheter.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

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)

March 19, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 3, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 9, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

February 12, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 31, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 30, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2025P000372

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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