Pericapsular Nerve Group (PENG) Block on Postoperative Pain Management After Acetabular Fracture Fixation

August 12, 2026 updated by: University of Puerto Rico

Efficacy of Pericapsular Nerve Group (PENG) Block on Postoperative Pain Management After Acetabular Fracture Fixation: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to find out whether a Pericapsular Nerve Group (PENG) block, a type of nerve block used to control pain, can reduce pain after surgery in adults with an acetabular (hip socket) fracture who are undergoing surgical repair. The study will also evaluate the safety of the PENG block.

The main questions this study aims to answer are:

Does a PENG block reduce pain after surgery? Does a PENG block reduce the need for opioid pain medications after surgery? Are there any side effects or complications related to the PENG block? Researchers will compare patients who receive a PENG block with patients who do not receive a PENG block to determine whether the block improves pain control after surgery.

Participants will:

Be randomly assigned to receive either a PENG block or no PENG block before surgery while under general anesthesia.

Undergo surgery to repair their acetabular fracture. Receive the same standard pain medications after surgery. Be asked to rate their pain at several time points after surgery using a standard pain scale.

Have their use of pain medications, recovery, and any side effects recorded during their hospital stay and follow-up.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

70

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 Locations

  • Puerto Rico
      • San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00935
        • Recruiting
        • Puerto Rico Medical Center
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Luis Lojo Sojo, MD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Norberto J Torres Lugo, MD

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

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patient age 18 years or older
  • Acetabular Fracture amenable to surgery through the Kocher-Langenbeck approach
  • Full weight-bearing capacity prior to the trauma
  • Providing written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Age less than 18 years old
  • Fracture pattern not amenable to surgery through Kocher-Langenbeck approach
  • Lower extremity fracture ipsilateral to the acetabular fracture
  • Any traumatic injury that requires surgical management by other surgical specialty
  • Bilateral Acetabular Fractures
  • Limited weight bearing capacity prior to the trauma
  • Procedure performed under any anesthesia other than GETA
  • Chronic opioid use
  • History of Substance Abuse
  • Allergies or history of adverse reactions to any of the drugs used in the
  • Mental Disability
  • History of Psychiatric disorders

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: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: PENG Block Group
This group includes participants who will receive the pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block after surgical intervention.
Procedure: Pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block
PENG Block is a regional block technique well documented in the literature for certain orthopedic injuries and interventions. However, the efficacy of this intervention on acetabular fracture fixation has not been well studied or addressed in previous literature.
No Intervention: NO PENG Block Group
This group includes participants who will not receive the pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block after surgical intervention and will be considered our control group.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS)
Time Frame: From surgery to 48 hours after surgery (12 hour Intervals)
The NPRS is an 11-point scale scored from 0-10, with " 0 " representing no pain and "10" being the most intense pain experienced. Patients verbally select a value that is most in line with the intensity of pain that they have experienced at each time point under evaluation.
From surgery to 48 hours after surgery (12 hour Intervals)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Morphine Miligram Equivalent (MME)
Time Frame: From surgery to 48 hours after surgery (12 hour Intervals)
MME is the total amount of an opioid drug converted to an equivalent strength of oral morphine. This measure is used to track the consumption of opioids in a standardized, uniform way.
From surgery to 48 hours after surgery (12 hour Intervals)
Time to first opioid dose
Time Frame: From surgery to 48 hours after surgery (Will quantify from surgery to time of administration)
Will measure in minutes the time that patient spent without consuming opioids before requesting their first rescue therapy (opioid) dose.
From surgery to 48 hours after surgery (Will quantify from surgery to time of administration)
Postoperative Complications
Time Frame: From surgery to 48 hours after surgery
Inpatient complications are unforeseen medical issues that arise during a hospital stay, potentially extending recovery time or requiring additional treatment.
From surgery to 48 hours after surgery

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Puerto Rico

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Luis Lojo Sojo, MD, University of Puerto Rico

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)

September 8, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

January 30, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 6, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 12, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

August 14, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 14, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 12, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2406241594

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Data will be stored in an encrypted digital file and made available for file sharing upon a valid request.

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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